Maestri, who made his debut for Les Bleus during the 2012 RBS 6 Nations, was due to start in the second row alongside skipper Pascal Papé but will now be replaced by debutant Jocelino Suta from Toulon.

Suta’s place on the bench will be taken by the uncapped Sébastien Vahaamahina, a 21-year-old who plies his trade with Perpignan.

Philippe Saint-André, the French coach, admitted it was a blow to lose one of his starters just a day before the clash at the Stade de France.

He said: “It’s a real blow because Yoann is a key element for us, with seven caps he has brought his power in the scrum and experience in the lineout.

“That’s how it is though, we have to make do. It’s a shame we didn’t have have 25 or 26 players to prepare with all week to be ready for this sort of last-minute injury.

“Jocelino Suta will get his chance and I’m really pleased for him, he deserves it. It makes sense for Sébastien Vahaamahina to replace him after the three-day training camp we had while Yoann Maestri will stay with us to recover and hopefully be fit for the game against Argentina.”

Team to play Australia
15. Brice Dulin
14. Wesley Fofana
13. Florian Fritz
12. Maxime Mermoz
11. Vincent Clerc
10. Frédéric Michalak
9. Maxime Machenaud
1. Yannick Forestier
2. Dimitri Szarzewski
3. Nicolas Mas
4. Pascal Papé
5. Jocelino Suta
6. Yannick Nyanga
7. Fulgence Ouedraogo
8. Louis Picamoles
Replacements
16. Benjamin Kayser
17. Thomas Domingo
18. Vincent Debaty
19. Sébastien Vahaamahina
20. Damien Chouly
21. Morgan Parra
22. François Trinh-Duc
23. Yoann Huget