Marc Lievremont has baffled rugby commentators by picking two scrum-halves in his starting XV for France’s clash with New Zealand on Sunday, September 25.

Scrum-halves Morgan Parra and Dimitri Yachvili are named as the half-back pair, with regular fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc left on the bench.

Parra has never started a match for France at fly-half and it is likely that he will face off against New Zealand’s Dan Carter in what is being described as France’s most important game since the last World Cup.

"I thought about this long into the night, especially the decision about the half-backs, which wasn't an easy one," said Lievremont.

"Francois Trinh-Duc is paying the price a bit for the last two games, and Morgan has done very well when he's played.

"Even though he's not the biggest of lads, he's very courageous and I trust the back row will protect him."

The selection has angered many New Zealand rugby journalists, with some of them claiming that France have deliberately chosen a weaker side in an attempt to throw the match.

"It is an insult to the 60,000 who have bought tickets expecting a contest between teams at full strength," said Peter Bills of the New Zealand Herald.

"France have made so many bizarre selections for this weekend that the conspiracy theory is the only logical explanation."

France: Damien Traille, Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Maxime Medard, Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili, Louis Picamoles, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (c), Pascale Pape, Lionel Nallet, Luc Ducalcon, Dimitri Szarzewski, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Replacements: William Servat, Fabien Barcella, Julien Pierre, Imanol Harinordoquy, Francois Trinh-Duc, Fabrice Estebanez, Cedric Heymans