New Zealand coach Graham Henry has made six changes to his starting line-up for the second Test against France in Wellington on Saturday.

IRELAND A coach Michael Bradley has warned England A they must be ruthless if they are to have any hope of toppling the New Zealand Maori in Saturday’s Churchill Cup final.

France have named an experimental squad for the two-Test tour of New Zealand.

Gloucester 19 Leinster 13

Gloucester 19 Leinster 13

GLOUCESTER face a fight for their Heineken Cup lives in the south of France tonight, with captain Marco Bortolami admitting: “We have only one chance.”

LEINSTER’S galacticos may have a reputation as the most exciting back division in Europe but tomorrow they face a young Gloucester unit that is a serious pretender to their throne.

England will field five international rookies in today's non-cap fixture against the Barbarians at Twickenham.

The Barbarians have named a strong line-up from their star-studded squad for the opening match of their Lloyds TSB tour against England at Twickenham on Sunday.

Leeds face a mission improbable against Zurich Premiership wild card opponents Saracens tomorrow in what should be their last game of an impressive season.

Saracens 57 Leeds 21

THE next six days promise to be the most demanding in the life of Ireland’s rugby coach Eddie O’Sullivan.

Harlequins boss Mark Evans sends his team into a crunch Zurich Premiership clash against fellow strugglers London Irish tomorrow, admitting: “Every game and every result is important”.

France coach Bernard Laporte has named his 22-man squad to take on Italy at Rome's Stadio Flaminio in the RBS Six Nations next Sunday, with versatile halfback Frédéric Michalak and Bourgoin prop Olivier Milloud both earning call-ups.

THE Irish management team are by no means gloating at the loss of brilliant French scrum-half and captain Fabien Galthie ahead of their RBS 6 Nations clash on March 8.

France 38 Scotland 3

France prop Sylvain Marconnet hopes to unsettle coach Bernard Laporte’s prop hierarchy and show he also has the potential to become a first-team regular ahead of the World Cup as the defending RSB 6 Nations champions take on Scotland on Sunday.

Fly-half Gerald Merceron has lost his place in France‘s side for this weekend‘s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland in Paris.

PROP Pieter De Villiers has not been ruled out of international rugby union indefinitely after testing positive for ecstasy and cocaine, French coach Bernard Laporte insisted yesterday.

Scotland coach Ian McGeechan has included two uncapped players in his squad to face Ireland in their opening Six Nations game at Murrayfield on February 16th.

WARREN GATLAND is hoping the clash between the Rest of Ireland and Munster at Thomond Park tomorrow week will be a no-holds-barred contest to boost chances of a big Irish representation on the Lions tour to Australia.

French coach Bernard Laporte has picked three new faces in a 22-man squad for their April 7 Six Nations clash with England at Twickenham.

England will be without Phil Vickery for their Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham next week.

IT may not have ended with the predicted result, but the match in Paris was definitely the most exciting of the Six Nations tournament to date with lots of points, plenty of drama and a thrilling finish.

WALES’ Six Nations Championship clash against France in Paris tomorrow week looks likely to go ahead as planned.

Pepito Elhorga looks set for his France international debut when they take on Wales at the Stade de France on March 17.

It is a shame that the closest and hardest match to predict for this round of the Six Nations tournament has fallen victim to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

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

Raphael Ibanez, Abdelatif Benazzi and Christophe Dominici have all been named in the French squad for the opening Six Nations match against Scotland in Paris on February 4.