With just four days separating France's first two fixtures, coach Philippe Saint-Andre has taken a chance by bringing in 13 new players to ensure the team is fresh. Only winger Noa Nakaitaci and number eight Louis Picamoles, who was man of the match against the Azzurri, remain in the starting line-up.
Centre Wesley Fofana returns after missing the opening match with a thigh injury, and his pace and flair will be all the more vital to France's attack after winger Yoann Huget sustained a knee injury against Italy and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
For Romania, tighthead prop Paulica Ion and flyhalf Danut Dumbrava are both playing in their fourth World Cups, a record for their country, and Ovidiu Tonita will join them if he comes off the bench.
Conditions are dry and fine for the first of five matches to be played at London's Olympic Stadium, a venue that French backrow forward Yannick Nyanga suggested could provide a source of inspiration.
"It is good for us to discover the stadium. We imagine ourselves in the place of the athletes. Usain Bolt does great things every time he steps out," he said of the world and Olympic sprint champion.
Three-times finalists and currently ranked seventh in the world, Les Bleus start as strong favourites against a team 10 places lower. But Romania, with several squad members playing in France, will have good intelligence on their opponents, and have also been encouraged by Japan's stunning weekend victory against South Africa.
"I think it's definitely scared the bigger teams to not take us or any of the smaller nations too easy," their Welsh coach Lynn Howells said this week.
For France, Morgan Parra, flyhalf in the side that lost to New Zealand in the 2011 final, is back in his more usual position of scrumhalf.
Hooker Dimitri Szarzewski replaces the resting Thierry Dusautoir as captain of the youngest French World Cup side for eight years. "I have two kids and I look at the team like a father," the 32-year-old said on the eve of the match.
Teams:
France: 1-Vincent Debaty, 2-Dimitri Szarzewski (captain),
3-Uini Atonio, 4-Bernard Le Roux, 5-Alexandre Flanquart,
6-Yannick Nyanga, 7-Fulgence Ouedraogo, 8-Louis Picamoles,
9-Morgan Parra, 10-Remi Tales, 11-Noa Nakaitaci, 12-Wesley
Fofana, 13-Gael Fickou, 14-Sofiane Guitoune, 15-Brice Dulin.
Replacements: 16-Benjamin Kayser, 17-Eddy Ben Arous,
18-Nicolas Mas, 19-Yoann Maestri, 20-Damien Chouly, 21-Rory
Kockott, 22-Frederic Michalak, 23-Mathieu Bastareaud
Romania: 1-Mihaita Lazar, 2-Otar Turashvili, 3-Paulica Ion,
4-Valentin Poparlan, 5-Johannes van Heerden, 6-Valentin Ursache,
7-Viorel Lucaci, 8-Mihai Macovei (captain); 9-Florin Surugiu,
10-Danut Dumbrava, 11-Adrian Apostol, 12-Florin Vlaicu,
13-Paula Kinikinilau, 14- Madalin Lemnaru, 15-Catalin Fercu
Replacements: 16-Andrei Radoi, 17-Andrei Ursache, 18-Horatiu
Pungea, 19-Ovidiu Tonita, 20-Stelian Burcea, 21-Valentin
Calafeteanu, 22-Ionut Botezatu, 23-Csaba Gal
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan)
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