Ireland interim coach Les Kiss has handed debuts to Robbie Henshaw and Stuart Olding for the match against the United States Eagles – with three new faces ready to win their first caps off the bench.

Joe Schmidt and Leo Cullen have expressed outrage at the failure to cite Paul O’Connell for the incident which resulted in the hospitalisation of Dave Kearney.

Stade Francais’ Jerome Fillol looks set to become the first professional player to be cited for spitting at an opponent.

France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has not made any changes to his matchday squad for the RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on February 26.

Ask the question as to what Ronan O’Gara and Mike Ross have in common and the instinctive answer would probably be not a lot, apart from the fact that they are both members of Declan Kidney’s Ireland squad.

THREE Leinster players have been short-listed for the ERC European Player of the Year award.

THERE are plenty of lazy comparisons to draw between Brive and Munster — both former European champions keen to restore former glories, and both call small, rugby-mad provincial centres home — but what’s less obvious is that the French side found inspiration in Limerick not so long ago.

Mathieu Bastareaud has been left out of France’s squad for their upcoming internationals against Fiji, Argentina and Australia.

LEINSTER coach Michael Cheika has agreed to become Stade Francais’ new director of rugby at the end of the season.

JULIEN DUPUY, pictured, is to appeal his six-month suspension for eye-gouging during Stade Francais’ Heineken Cup Round Three defeat to Ulster.

Stade Francais scrum-half Julien Dupuy was today handed a six-month ban for eye gouging Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris.

France head coach Marc Lievremont is not ready to make any rash changes in light of his team’s disappointing start to the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Llanelli Scarlets 31 Stade Francais 17

MARC LIEVREMONT didn’t take long to usher in a new dawn in French rugby yesterday by naming six uncapped players in a much-changed squad for the Six Nations Championship opener against Scotland.

FRENCH rugby chief Bernard Lapasset has confirmed there are two stand-out candidates in the running to replace Bernard Laporte as head coach of the national team.

French Barbarians 14 Argentina 28

Geoffrey Messina has been drafted into France’s truncated RBS 6 Nations championship squad as coach Bernard Laporte tries to come to terms with an injury list that is seriously hampering his preparations for the competition.

CASTRES blew Pool One of the Heineken Cup open with a 36-28 win over Perpignan. The fact that the losers didn’t earn a bonus point means Wasps are in with a shout after beating Benetton Treviso 55-0 yesterday.

LEEDS coach Daryl Powell has expressed his delight after Tykes were awarded maximum points from last weekend’s postponed Heineken Cup clash against Calvisano.

France captain Fabien Pelous has been cited for allegedly elbowing Australia hooker Brendan Cannon during his side’s 26-16 win.

France winger Christophe Dominici will miss two Heineken Cup matches and possibly his country’s first autumn Test after spraining his right knee at the weekend.

STADE FRANCAIS winger Christophe Dominici has admitted his side are feeling the pressure ahead of the Heineken Cup final in Edinburgh on Sunday.

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte admitted yesterday that he was puzzled by the clearing of Italy prop Salvatore Perugini of a dangerous tackle on Christophe Dominici during last weekend’s Six Nations match.

FRONT row brothers, Simon and Rory Best have been called into the Ulster panel for Friday’s Celtic League match against Edinburgh at Ravenhill.

Bath tonight began picking through the pieces of a botched Italian job which has effectively left their Heineken Cup hopes in tatters.

Argentinian legend Federico Mendez hopes to prove the theory that as with wine, front-row forwards improve with age when he leaves his vineyard to tackle Wales at Tucuman on Saturday.

Barry Coughlan

French coach Bernard Laporte has responded to England’s decision to pick Martin Johnson by selecting yellow card offenders Olivier Brouzet and Remy Martin for the Stade Francais clash.

France coach Bernard Laporte has been left to rue captain Fabien Galthie’s injury but is confident Olivier Magne will live up to expectations when his side entertain Italy in their Six Nations opener on Saturday.

ENGLAND captain Martin Johnson has warned his team to expect a major Six Nations Championship challenge from Scotland in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash.