Leicester win thriller against Irish
Leicester Tigers finished 41-32 winners over London Irish in a classic encounter.
Leicester claimed the bonus point with a last second try from Tom Croft to take then back to third in the Aviva Premiership.
London Irish started well making the visitors work hard in defence and it took just minutes for Leicester’s defence to creak, conceeding two penalties for Tom Homer to kick at goal, his first distance effort drifted wide but his second disected the posts to give Irish an early lead.
The homeside were making all the running and were close to claiming the opening try when great handlimg set Shingler free down the wing but a brillant recovery tackle from Thomas Waldrom saved the day for the Tigers.
Irish were looking superior in all areas of the game and after 15 minutes had over 70 percent of the possesion. Their shapest weapon early on was the maul from lineouts, expertly executed by skipper Nick Kennedy, and it was the driving set piece which created the platform for Dan Bowen to slot the drop goal to prove his worth to his expected future employers.
Leicester responded as they have done a thousand times, punishing the Irish with their mighty scrum after being awarded a set of five metre scrums when the Tigers were held up over the line. For once the scrum was unable to convert the effort but Ben Youngs reacted quickly when the ball spilled out the back, drawing in the first defender before finding Flood who dummied his way over the line. Bizarrely Flood’s conversion was charged down meaning Irish maintained a one point lead, 6-5.
But they didn’t have to wait long for the lead, crossing the line through Julian Salvi in the 27th minute after brilliant clearing out work from Geoff Parling opened a huge channel in front of the Australian flanker. This time Flood converted.
In the battle of the England internationals Alex Corbisero got the better of Dan Cole in the 33rd minute allowing Homer to add another three points.
And Irish snatched the lead just before the break, Salvi flew out the line at the lineout to pressure the opposition scrum half but Darrrn Allinson evaded the tackler and burst down field finding Evans in support to march in for the try. Homer converted the score to make it 16-12 in the firecely competitive encounter.
However Leicester will think themselves lucky to have finished the half with 15 men on the field after Youngs lost his head and threw a number of punches at number eight Jamie Gibson who was holding him down. Unbelievably the referee, informed by his assistant, deemed the offence only worthy of a penalty.
The second half almost started in explosive fashion with Sailosi Tagicakibau claining the kick off and lauching down field, stopped just by a desperate tap tackle at full reach.
However having quelled the attack Leicester went on the offense and earned a penalty kick for Flood to convert to make the score 15-16.
With half an hour still to play Irish had changed their entire front row under the huge pressure of Leicester’s fully international front row who earned Flood another shot at goal which he took to claim the lead.
But Homer scored a wonder try from the restart, his forwards reclaimed the kick and the full back step and accelerated through the smallest gap to speed in under the posts, before adding the extras.
Flood pulled it back to 21-23 after he was put down in enemy territory by a barn storming run from Waldrom.
Leicester then took the lead when thrir two centres sparked to life, Billy Twelvetrees spotted a prop in front of him, dummied him with a hitch kick to sail through the Irish defensive line, finding Manu Tuilagi in support. Flood added the extras. The bad news was Youngs had to be carried from the pitch with his knee apparently in trouble.
When Leicester needed to put a strangle hold on the game their fearsome pack stepped up and demolished the opposition on their own feed in the scrum, leadind eventually to the Tigers winning a penalty for Flood, who was looking magnifcent with his place kicking, to put his side eight points clear.
However Homer replied with two long range kicks of his own to make the closing stages a nervy affair.
With the game in the balancd London Irish were in the ascendacy and reclaimed the lead on 75 minutes when a spirit chase saw the homeside flood the ruck and win a 56 metre penalty for Homer to slot.
But the tale had another couple of twists before it was finished. A huge scrum from the Tigers pack game Flood a chance to ruin thr party which he took with aplomb.
Trailing after a heroic effort Irish pushed for a winning score with the clock run dead and in their frantic efforts Tom Croft, on as a replacement, latched onto a loose ball and strolled in to claim a bonus point try.
Man of the Match:
Saints stay on track for play offs with win over Wasps
By John Evely at Franklin’s Gardens
Northampton Saints beat London Wasps 32-15 to remain in a play-off position thanks to two tries from Man of the Match Ben Foden.
Earlier in the day a last minute try saw Exeter Chiefs win 28-27 away to Gloucester temporarily demoting Northampton into fifth but the home win keeps the Saints hopes of a semi-final alive.
Nicky Robinson’s kicking gave London Wasps the lead early on but a brace from Ben Foden and a try from James Downey put the game almost beyond reach of the visitors at half time who never really looked like they had the inventiveness or athleticism to cause any real damage.
The bonus point was secured by replacement scrum half Martin Roberts in the final moments of the game.
Robinson ended with all 15 of his side’s points.
The only consolation for the visitors will be the admirable job their tight five did in the scrum, consistently getting the better of their counterparts who are widely regarded as one of the better scrumagging sides in Europe.
Wasps started the game very competitively, fighting hard at the break down with good affect before almost taking the lead in just the third minute when Ellioy Daly released Hugo Southwell into space, unlocked the Saints but the pass was quite correctly judged to have just strayed forward.
In the golden glow of the setting sun in what could easily have been mistaken for a summer evening, both sides were trying to play an expansive brand of rugby, running the ball from deep and throwing the pill around basketball style.
Saints were also trying to put pace into the game with quick tap penalties and quickly worked line out moves to tire the heavy Wasps’ pack.
Despite the reputation of Northampton’s front row it was Wasps who made the first significant impact in the set piece, winning a penalty for Nicky Robinson to knock over in the 11th minute.
The home side should have had to wait just seconds for a response but Ryan Lamb, who had looked off his game during kicking practice in the warm up, missed a relatively easy attempt at the sticks when Wasps were caught offside from the restart.
The Wasps scrum was the architect of the London side’s second shot at points but Robinson’s 50 metre effort feel short – creating a bizarre incident where the chasing Dominic Waldouck got sold the dummy and seemingly knocked himself out and pulled his hamstring in the same instant.
Saints, who had started in stuttering fashion, top the lead in the 17th minute when Northampton took advantage of Waldouck missing in midfield, Foden kicked behind before gathering to score the game’s opening try. Lamb converted the score.
Wasps responded with props Tim Payne and Ben Broster again providing Robinson with a shot at goal which he nailed to give the visitors a 9-6 lead.
But Downey crossed the line in the 28th minute all too easy for Northampton, taking the ball from the line out, Dickson picked out the centre cutting a nice angle, putting him through a sizable whole in the middle of the Wasps’ defensive line. Lamb’s conversion effort was wide of the mark.
After one of the most frenetic, frantic and frankly foolish phases of play you will ever see on a Premiership rugby pitch Northampton earned a penalty for Lamb to knock over.
With five minute to go before the half time break Foden touched down for his second try of the game, after the Saints capitalised on a knock on from Richard Birkett, with Ashton playing a starring role the confident home side passed the ball nicely to evade the scrambling Wasps defence, creating just enough room for the England full back to finish in the corner.
Hugo Southwell, one of the few bright lights in the Wasps backline, took the London outfit practically the length of the field after finally running back a long kick rather than predictably kicking long for territory. The field position meant that when George Pisi was penalised for a high tackle Robinson was in range to knock over the first points of the second half.
Pisi almost made immediate amends, charging down Robinson deep in his own half but Southwell was just able to clean up the situation.
The Saints scrum regained some swagger after the break, forcing their disrespectful visitors backwards before winning a penalty on more than one occasion.
In the 51st minute Northampton hooker Andy Long and Wasps prop Ben Broster were both shown yellow cards for fighting – the bad news for the visitors is they were almost 50 metres down field after a nice break from scrum half Nic Berry, when the referee blew them back. Saints were unable to compound the Wasps’ woes with an extra three points after Lamb missed again.
Lamb added his second penalty of the night in the 54th minute which Robinson matched five minutes later, before Lamb stuck again.
Wasps did well to keep the score down because Northampton were relentlessly pushing for the bonus point try for the majority of the second half, kicking for the corners and forcing the London side to defend hard.
The job was made no easier when Robinson was shown yellow with five minutes remaining after kicking the ball away to prevent a quick penalty being taken. His action prevented what felt like the inevitable fourth for only 30 seconds as replacement scrum half Martin Roberts darted off the back of the scrum to score under the posts. Stephen Myler also fresh from the bench converted the try to make the final score 32-15.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 George Pisi, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson (capt); 1 Soane Tonga’uiha, 2 Andy Long, 3 Brian Mujati, 4 James Craig, 5 Christian Day, 6 Phil Dowson, 7 Tom Wood, 8 Roger Wilson.
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Tom May.
London Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell (c), 14 Jack Wallace, 13 Elliot Daly , 12 Dom Waldouck , 11 Richard Haughton, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Nic Berry, 1 Tim Payne, 2 Tom Lindsay, 3 Ben Broster, 4 James Cannon, 5 Richard Birkett, 6 Joe Launchbury, 7 Jonathan Poff, 8 Sam Jones.
Replacements: 16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Zak Taulafo, 18 Simon McIntyre, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 John Hart, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Tom Prydie, 23 Paul Emerick.
Referee: Mr Tim Wigglesworth
Wales snatch an unlikely victory from England at Twickenham
Strettle judged to have failed to ground the ball in the last minute of the game
England thought they had done enough to steal a draw at the death as David Strettle dived in at the corner in the last minute of play, but after a long wait the video referee judged that he had fail to ground the ball, held up by George North.
That brilliant piece of defending and a great 75th minute try gave Wales a 19-12 victory at Twickenham to win the Triple Crown and keep their hopes of a Grand Slam alive.
Up until the final moments all the points had come from the boots of the two kickers, Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny but a climatic final ten minutes saw the game turned on its head.
After starting on the back foot George North burst through the middle of the England defence with a beautiful move off the back of the first line out of the game, only a finger tip tackle on the heels of the flying teenage winger stopped him from what looked like a certain try.
The big winger took just 30 seconds to test, and beat, the defence for a second time, this time breaking down the wing before stepping the first man in his path however he was eventually pushed into touch.
But England saw-out the early danger and some devilish tackling earned them a penalty well within kicking range but, in a sign of intent they kicked for the corner. Signs are good, but when you lose the resulting line out points are better.
Strettle will think himself unlucky as he was just inches away from intercepting the ball with open pastures in front of him, but the Saracens’ winger could not quite keep hold of the high looping pass.
The game was charecterised by big tackling from both sides, it seems England had opted to fight the Welsh size with numbers in the tackles, hitting the red shirted visitors hard on the double team. However England had to withstand a prolong period of pressure from their visitors.
England and Dixon, who seemed far too involved and off-side, conspired to turn Wales over in a scrum inside their own 22, but the Lions props of Jones and Jenkins seemed to take offence at such insult and immediately put the power on to win the reverse set piece, earning a penalty for Leigh Halfpenny to aim at goal, unfortunately the full back sliced his effort across the face of the sticks.
The only complaint which could be thrown at England was that they lost patience with their attempts at breaking the famously stingy Welsh defensive line far too soon, opting to use their advantage for a missed Farrell drop goal, rather than push for a try. With neither coming to fruition they took the three points through Farrell’s boot in the 23 minute.
But the lead was short lives as just two minutes later Wales hit back with their own penalty through Halfpenny. The penalty was harshly awarded by referee Steve Walsh for England going off their feet at the ruck. However In truth while the call appeared a tough one it was just punishment for slow predictable play from the home nation.
As the half progressed England looked the more positive side and on 29 minutes looked certain to score, but a brilliant low wrap tackle from Sam Warburton felled the increasingly influential Manu Tuilagi when he looked favourite to cross the line, meaning England had to be content with just a penalty from Farrell’s boot.
But the fly-half, in his first start at stand off sparked the team into life moments later, bringing Twickenham to a soaring crescendo of noise, after he had gather his own opportunely timed chip kick, launching England down field.
Wales kept in touch through a 35th minute Halfpenny penalty.
Far from the faltering side that turned out for the first two rounds of the championship this England team played with great adventure, not always wise, and not always successful, but refreshing all the same. Their reward came moments before the break when Farrell kicked them into a 9-6 half time lead.
Wales came out looking the better side after the break but things feel apart on 45 minutes when yet again England were the beneficiaries of a charge down, on this occasion by the second row monster Mouritz Botha on Priestland, who was quickly shown a yellow card for stopping England take advantage of this good fortune. Farrell kicked the points while his opposite number walked off the pitch to take a ten minute rest.
Without their fly-half it was Wales who looked clueless at times, unable to run any of their eye catching back moves which can cut apart the best defence, they fell back on hitting it up with their heavy weights but England were ready and turned them over.
However Wales, even a man down, were playing deep in England’s half meaning when the over eager defenders strayed off-side at the ruck the visitors were in position to reduced the deficit to 12-9 through Halfpenny.
Courtney Laws entered the fray and made an immediate impact, showing his athleticism to eat up the yards and chase down Phillips who had caught a high up and under, crunching the physical scrum-half to put his side on the front foot and earn a penalty but Farrell was unable to make it count.
Wales should really have taken the lead in the 68th minute, creating an overlap out wide but replacement centre Lloyd Williams saw his name in the headlines and put his head down for the line despite having more men outside and it proved to be a poor decision, getting caught and eventually turned over.
But a series of bad penalties from England, who were having to work hard in defence, allowed Wales back into the game. The first was out of even distance kicker Halfpenny’s range but was stabbed into the corner to give field position, and the second from Croft for hands in the ruck allowed the Scarlet to even score at 12-12.
With just five minutes to play Wales replacement Scott Williams striped, chipped and gathered to score the game’s defining try and send England into a sense of shock. Halfpenny added the extras to makes an England recovery an even tougher ask.
England pressed hard in the final stages for a redeeming try to snatch at best an unlikely draw and they thought they had it a chance of it when Strettle went over the line in the corner after a long miss-pass from replacement Toby Flood almost caught the Welsh defence out but the scrambling Welshmen hit the flanker hard a metre before the line and did enough to stop him touching the ball down.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Owen Farrell, 9Lee Dickson; 1 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Mouritz Botha, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Ben Morgan.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mike Brown
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips; 1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Toby Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.
Preview – England v Wales
Owen Farrell graduates to fly-half for his first England game at Twickenham
In his first great test as England manager Staurt Lancaster has taken a gamble on young, albeit broad, shoulders, installing Manu Tuilagi, back from injury into his midfield alongside Owen Farrell at fly-half.
The decison to drop Hodgson and shuffle the backline is brave one but the right one, and already sets him apart from his predosesser Martin Johnson whose mangerial career was plagued by being reactionary.
Lancaster has proven that no man is safe, dropping two try Charlie Hodgson completely from the squad in favour of more expansive and in form players.
He has also given first starts for Leicester lock Geoff Parling, Northampton scrum-half Lee Dickson and the Scarlets Ben Morgan at number eight who all brought improvements to the side when they came off the bench in the first game of the championship.
Many feared that Lancaster who try to go defensive and shut up shop against a Welsh team who are playing expansive dangerous rugby going forward but his selection choices suggest England will try to spark their own attacking memory back to life.
Having both proved themselves fit again at club level Toby Flood and Courtney Lawes have earned a place on the bench providing real substance and impact should England need it late in the game.
But England will have their work cut out for them as Wales welcome back argubly their bwst and most influencial player, captain Sam Warburton, who has recovered sufficently from a dead leg to lead the side.
Former captain Alun Wyn Jones also returns in the second-row in place of the bannned Bradly Davis, however the quality of replacemenrt shows the strength of Welsh rugby at the moment, he will also provide great line out options, an area they will need help in with the inexperienced Ken Owens slotting at hooker.
James Hook will miss the game after not fully recovering from the chicken poxs, which creates a place for Stephen Jones in the squad.
Wales are rare favourites for the Twickenham game but a big performance from England could be the making for a future world cup winning side.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Owen Farrell, 9Lee Dickson; 1 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Mouritz Botha, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Ben Morgan.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mike Brown
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips; 1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Toby Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.
Tuilagi back for England
Manu Tuilagi back for England
Manu Tuilagi has been named in the centre for England’s first home game of the Six Nations.
He is joined in the starting team by scrum half Lee Dickson, number eight Ben Morgan, and second row Geoff Parling. It will be the first start for all three men who have made an impact coming off the bench in the first two games of the championship.
England team to face Wales: 15 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), 14 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints), 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), 12 Brad Barritt (Saracens), 11 David Strettle (Saracens); 10 Owen Farrell (Saracens), 9 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints). 1 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), 2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), 3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), 4 Mouritz Botha (Saracens), 5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), 6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), 7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), 8 Ben Morgan (Scarlets)
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber (London Wasps), 17 Matt Stevens (Saracens), 18 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), 19 Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints), 20 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers), 21 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), 22 Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Transfer rumours – Cipriani to Sale?
Cipriani could be back as a Shark in the Aviva Premiership
Former England fly-half Danny Cipriani is reported to be in discussions with Sale Sharks to rejoin the Aviva Premiership after the Super 15 season which starts next weekend.
Cipriani, 24, has won seven caps for England and still harbours international ambitions which fuels the constant rumours of his return to the Premiership.
According to The Times the former London Wasps player has spoken with Sale CEO Steve Diamond and is also being hotly pursued by London Irish who are preparing for the loss of Dan Bowden to Leicester Tigers.
Surprisingly the same article suggests Leicester considered bringing in the fly-half next season but instead opted for Bowden and resigning exciting prospect George Ford who was offered big money to leave the club.
Transfer news – London Irish winger Thompstone to join Leicester
Thompstone in action against Leicester will be wearing the Tigers stripes next season
By John Evely
Leicester Tigers have continued their recruitment drive ahead of next season with the signing of London Irish winger Adam Thompstone to provide cover on the wing with the expected departure of Alesana Tuilagi and Horacio Agulla.
The explosively quick 24-year-old six-foot,16 stones England U20’s winger joined the Irish Academy in 2007 and has gone on to score 18 tries in 52 first team performances for the Reading based club.
He likely would have gone on to more impressive numbers but was kept out of the game for 15 months after dislocating and breaking his ankle in 2010/11. He has returned to his best form this season with six tries in 15 starts.
He will be joined by current team mate Dan Bowden who will join Leicester to cover inside centre and fly half as Rugby Universe reported earlier last week.
Tigers have already signed Worcester Warriors Miles Benjamin for the 2012-13 season and have Mathew Tait on the treatment table but the East Midland’s club are understood to still want to land another winger before finishing their backs recruitment.
Manu Tuilagi and Flood back for Tigers
Tuilagi back for Leicester to offer some impact
Leicester are able to name their two biggest guns in Manu Tuilagi and Toby Flood for their Aviva Premiership visit to Exeter.
Tuilagi returns after missing seven weeks with a hamstring injury sustained against Worcester on December 27.
Flood starts for the first time since limping off in the same game. He made a 27 minute winning return against Newcastle last weekend before linking up with England midweek but he was released to prove his match fitness with the Tigers before getting an international recall.
Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “It’s good to have Toby and Manu back to fitness. This is an important phase of the season for us. We’ve been in good form and we obviously need to maintain that.
“Exeter are a tough, physical side and hard to beat, and we see ourselves as a tough side who are also hard to beat so it should be a really good game.”
The return of Tuilagi and Flood allows Cockerill to name a back line which is entirely international barring Sam Harrison at scrum half. A remarkable feat for a club with four players involved with England in the Six Nations on the same day.
Leicester have also recalled George Ford from England U20 duty to provide cover at fly half although the up-and-coming star will have to make do with a place on the bench.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy (c), 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison; 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 George Chuter, 3 Julian White, 4 Ed Slater, 5 George Skivington, 6 Steve Mafi, 7 Julian Salvi, 8 Thomas Waldrom.
Replacements:16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Logoviii Mulipola, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Ben Woods, 21 James Grindal, 22 George Ford, 23 Matt Smith
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Nic Sestaret, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Haydn Thomas; 1 Brett Sturgess, 2 Neil Clark, 3 Hoani Tui, 4 Tom Hayes (c), 5 Aly Muldowney, 6 Tom Johnson, 7 James Scaysbrook, 8 Richard Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 James Phillips, 20 Ben White, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Bryan Rennie
Preview – France v Ireland
By John Evely
Having revenged their defeat to Italy last season with a 30-12 victory France have made five changes to their starting team to take on Ireland at the Stade de France.
France manager Phillip Saint Andre is intent on making Les Blues assault on the championship a squad effort, using four forwards, Yoann Maestri’s, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Dimitri Szarzewski and Imanol Harinordoquy, who were on the bench against Italy.
The one forced change the former Sale and Toulon boss has had to make is to bring in Morgan Parra, who again featured as a replacement last weekend, for the injured Dmitri Yachvili. Stade Français scrum-half Julien Dupuy comes into the match day squad to provide cover.
Ireland come into the game in a tough position having lost 21-23 to Wales on Sunday with Rhys Priestland landing the unfortunate game winning penalty with the final act of the game.
The only comfort for Declan Kidney will be that Stephen Ferris, who was harshly shown yellow for a tip tackle, has been cleared by the citing commission midweek leaving him free to make up one of the most dangerous back-rows in the tournament.
The physical Ulsterman will be needed by Ireland as the back-row is likely to be the key battle which decides the game, with France fielding IRB World Player of the Year Thierry Dusautoir, the impressive Imanol Harinordoquy and Louis Picamoles.
Keith Earls comes back in for Ireland for Fegus McFadden who drops to the bench. The utility Munster back missed the opening game of the championship due to complications with the birth of his daughter. He will attempt to fill the void left in the Irish ranks by the absence of captain Brian O’Driscoll who will miss the entire Six Nations after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.
France: 15 Maxime Médard (Toulouse), 14 Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), 13 Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont), 12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont), 11 Julien Malzieu (Clermont), 10 François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), 9 Morgan Parra (Clermont); 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse), 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Français), 3 Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), 4. Pascal Papé (Stade Français), 5 Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), 6 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), 7 Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), 8 Louis Picamoles (Toulouse).
Replacements: 16 William Servat (Toulouse), 17 Vincent Debaty (Clermont), 18 Lionel Nallet (Racing-Metro), 19. Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), 20 Julien Dupuy (Stade Francais) , 21 Lionel Beauxis (Toulouse), 22 Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan)
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney (Leinster), 14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), 13 Keith Earls (Munster), 12 Gordon D’Arcy Leinster), 11 Andrew Trimble (Ulster), 10 Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), 9 Conor Murray (Munster); 1 Cian Healy (Leinster), 2 Rory Best (Ulster), 3 Mike Ross (Leinster), 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster), 5.Paul O’Connell (Munster), 6 Stephen Ferris (Ulster), 7 Sean O’Brien (Leinster), 8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster).
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin (Leinster), 17 Tom Court (Ulster), 18 Donnacha Ryan (Munster), 19 Peter O’Mahony (Munster), 20 Eoin Reddan (Leinster), 21 Ronan O’Gara (Munster), 22 Fergus McFadden (Leinster)
Transfer news – Worcester double prop signing
Matt Mullan looks to be on his way out of Six Ways
Worcester Warriors have significantly strengthened their front row next year by signing Exeter’s John Andress and extending the contract of young star Matt Mullan despite high levels of interest from many top clubs.
Mullan, 24, had been linked with a host of Aviva Premiership clubs including: Saracens, Leicester, Harlequins and Wasps however he has decided to commit to the Warriors to the delight of head coach Richard Hill.
Hill said: “It is a major signing for Warriors that Matt has agreed to remain with us.
“This signature shows that we can keep the very best players that have come through our set-up and I truly believe this is a very significant moment for the club.
“Matt has been consistently outstanding in every single game. He has huge respect within the squad and is 100 per cent professional in everything he does.”
Mullan who has made 84 appearances for Worcester added: “I am very pleased to have my future sorted and can now look forward to the rest of this season and beyond at Warriors.
“We have made a very strong start to 2012 and I am excited by the plans and the coming year under the leadership of Richard Hill.”
Mullan will be joined by Exeter and Ireland A prop Andress, who has will move to Sixways from Sandy Park on a two-year deal in the summer
The 28-year-old, who is 6ft 2in tall and weighs 18 stone 8lbs, has impressed for the Chiefs after rejoining the Devon club in the summer.
Worcester forwards coach Phil Davies said: “We are delighted he will be joining the Warriors next season.
“He has a lot of experience behind him and this is an opportunity for him to come into the club and really put that experience into action.
“John is an outstanding scrummager and good ball handler around the field, a true all-round and knowledgeable forward. He is abrasive as a player and desperately keen to do well and push to be successful both with Worcester and also on the international stage.
“He is a good character who I know will bring a lot to our group and I’m sure the supporters will love him when he arrives.
“It has taken us a lot of time to select the right player for Warriors in this position,” added Davies. “Good tighthead props are not easy to find. Therefore we have really high hopes for John and we are sure he will add to the talented pool of forwards we have at Sixways.”
