Preview: France v England

French captain Gaelle Mignot wins her 50th cap on Saturday.

France,with an enlarged sevens squad taking away many of their more experienced players, are likely to field the most inexperienced test team that we have seen from them for many years. The team, announced this morning (Friday) is a fascinating combination of old and, given the usual nature of French teams, this means unpredictability squared.

Over half the initial training squad had played fewer than 10 tests, and five were uncapped. However only three of the new faces make the match squad - Agathe Sochat (hooker), Romane Menager (back row), and Pauline Bourdon (scrumhalf/centre) - with just Romane making the starting 15.

Romane aside, overall the pack is an experienced one with Gaelle Mignot at its heart, collecting her 50th cap, but even here there is a hint at the experimental with the more experienced Lise Arricastre left on the bench in favour of Patricia Carricaburu.

The weakness of the squad overall would appear to be kicking - which has been a perennial problem for the French. As a result, perhaps, Audrey Abadie gets the nod at 10 with Cabalou missing out entirely, which is a pity after her good performances in the Six Nations. Much of the rest of the backline is no real surprise, but Julie Billes at 15 will be an interesting experiment. She has great pace, but France have struggled in previous years with pacey non-kicking full backs unable to clear their lines. It may be that backs coach Philippe Laurent will move things around and give players like Boujard some time in the position later in the game

The real test may come in the final quarter when the bench needs to be used. Last season’s defeats came in games where the coaching staff either felt that they dare not risk these young players and had to soldier on with tired, if experienced, legs (against Ireland) or maybe promoted them too soon (against Italy). Perhaps as a result there are some reliable older faces on this bench, especially among the forwards. The replacement backs are young and enthusiastic with some real potential which I am sure we will get to see.

Englandmeanwhile, while also missing a large swathe of players involved in sevens, have named a team with just one uncapped player with the experienced Sarah Hunter captaining the team.

England go into the first of their two Autumn internationals looking for a positive end to a mixed season in which they introduced a raft of new faces and combinations with the sevens programme taking away large experience. However the experience of a tough Six Nations and the lessons of the Super Series in the summer should stand them in good stead as they begin to put the building blocks in place for the 2017 World Cup.

Up front in particular, like France, England will expect to be strong. Rochelle Clarke, Tamara Taylor, Laura Keates and Marlie Packer - who were also part of last year's successful World Cup campaign - are all included while the likes of Hannah Gallagher and Amy Cockayne are also players who are coming into their own in the England shirt and are set to be around for years to come.

That experience is tempered by lighter experience in the backs, which is pacey but physically also quite light. Sarah McKenna at fullback is an experienced footballing player who can also play flyhalf so her kicking skills will be more than useful while the wings are relatively new faces with Lottie Clapp winning her first cap opposite Katie Mason. Emily Scott is a talented playmaker at flyhalf and she has helpful experience outside her in Ceri Large and Lauren Cattell.England's bench is sure to play a role with the likes of Emma Croker and LaToya Mason in a position to offer real nous later in the game.Head coach Simon Middleton said: “The forwards are experienced so I’m expecting them to step-up in these autumn internationals against two sides with very good packs. There is definitely some pressure to perform in that area.France are very good at set piece. They have a strong line-out and driving maul, and have some strong ball carriers. It will be a very physical game. They have the capacity to play up front but also with a bit more width out back."

England team:Sarah Mckenna; Katie Mason, Lauren Cattell, Ceri Large, Charlotte Clapp; Emily Scott, Leanne Riley; Rochelle Clarke, Amy Cokayne, Laura Keates, Tamara Taylor, Abbie Scott, Hannah Gallagher, Marlie Packer, Sarah Hunter (C)

Replacements: Vickii Cornborough, Emma Croker, Justine Lucas, Harriet Millar-Mills, Izzy Noel-Smith, Latoya Mason, Rachel Lund, Ruth Laybourn

French squad:1  Julie Duval  (Ovalie Caennaise); 2  Gaëlle Mignot  (Montpellier) ; 3  Patricia Carricaburu  (Lons); 4  Audrey Forlani  (Blagnac-Saint Orens); 5  Marine De Nadaï  (Montpellier); 6  Romane Menager  (Lille-Villeneuve d’Ascq); 7  Laetitia Grand  (Lons); 8  Safi N’diaye  (Montpellier); 9  Yanna Rivoalen  (Lille-Villeneuve d’Ascq); 10  Audrey Abadie  (Blagnac-Saint Orens); 11  Marion Lievre  (Bobigny); 12  Lucille Godiveau  (Bobigny); 13  Elodie Poublan  (Montpellier); 14  Céline Heguy  (Bayonne); 15  Julie Billes  (Montpellier)

Replacements: 16  Agathe Sochat  (Bordeaux); 17  Lise Arricastre  (Lons); 18  Céline Ferer  (Bayonne); 19  Coumba Tombe Diallo  (Bobigny); 20  Pauline Bourdon  (Bayonne); 21  Carla Neissen  (Blagnac-Saint Orens); 22  Caroline Boujard  (Montpellier); 23  Amaya Gonzalez  (Bayonne)