France coach Marc Lievremont believes the result of his side's Six Nations clash against Wales at Stade de France this Saturday won't determine whether he remains in his post.

France's humiliating 22-21 defeat to Italy last week led to Lievremont lashing out at his players and vowing that some big names would never wear the France jersey again.

However the former international flanker also came in for some harsh criticism himself. Since Lievremont took over in 2008 France have won only 57 percent of their matches, and scored only 2.1 tries per match -- the team's worst average statistics in 30 years.

After making five changes to last week's side for the match against Wales, a defiant Lievremont believes a second defeat in a row won't signal the end of his tenure.

"No, I don't think so," he said Tuesday when asked whether defeat to Wales would lead to his departure.

"Even when things have not gone the way I wanted them to, I don't start worrying about my position. I have what I consider to be a good salary, but I'm won't hang on to this job purely for financial reasons.

"After seeing some press reports yesterday (Monday), I sincerely hope the shoe will be on the other foot one day and these same newspapers will be printing more flattering headlines.

"Two days after the match (in Italy), I was back to being determined, committed to moving forward, pointing out our weak points and showing where we went wrong.

"I don't see myself as being in a battle to defend my name, or worrying about the result of the match on Saturday."

Ahead of a match the French will be expected to win -- and instil some degree of hope six months before the World Cup kicks off in New Zealand -- the former international flanker has taken his tone down a notch.

"I regret some of the things I said on Sunday morning, when I said that some players had probably played their last match for France," Lievremont added.

"It was clumsy of me, although I still maintain that changes have to be made."

Lievremont brought in Damien Traille and David Marty at centre, Alexis Palisson on the left wing, Imanol Harinordoquy at number eight and Thomas Domingo, who takes his place in the front row.

Harinordoquy replaces Sebastian Chabal while Domingo steps in for Sylvain Marconnet.

Traille and Marty are direct replacements for Yannick Jauzion and Aurelien Rougerie, while Palisson replaces Yoann Huget, who goes to the replacements bench.

France: Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, David Marty, Damien Traille, Alexis Palisson, Francois Trinh-Duc, Morgan Parra; Thomas Domingo, William Servat, Nicolas Mas, Julien Pierre, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy. Res: Luc Ducalcon, Guilhem Guirado, Pascal Pape, Alexandre Lapandry, Julien Tomas, Fabrice Estebanez, Yoann Huget, Jerome Schuster.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP