It may be that France are unpredictable in most things, but there were few surprises yesterday when coach Philippe Saint-Andre made 12 changes to his side for tomorrow’s Pool D tie against Canada at Milton Keynes.

Stuart Lancaster is convinced England can win the World Cup despite presiding over a fourth successive runners-up finish in the RBS 6 Nations.

Italy 0 France 29

If the French camp is anything to go by, then hope really does eternal spring, says Barney Spender.

As expected, Joe Schmidt has reinstated Jonathan Sexton as Ireland's out-half for their Six Nations clash with France at the Aviva on Saturday.

France 15 Scotland 8: They put a brave face on it but it was evident from the shrugs and pouts that a hard-fought tryless 15-8 victory over a feisty Scotland in Paris was not quite enough for the French. 

Leigh Halfpenny says Wales will carry their Twickenham "hurt" of last season into tomorrow night’s RBS 6 Nations opener against England.

Ashley Johnson believes the current Wasps side are ready to move out of the shadow of Lawrence Dallaglio — starting against Leinster at ‘fortress’ Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL:

RBS SIX NATIONS:

France 20 Ireland 22

If Brian O’Driscoll is expecting a teary-eyed farewell from the 80-odd thousand at the Stade de France today, then he may well get his wish.

If it isn’t ‘GUBU’, it’s not far off. The vitriol pouring down on Philippe Saint-Andre and his French players this week is unbelievable, occasionally bizarre.

No wonder the Marquis de Sade was a Frenchman.

Mike Ross has urged his Ireland team-mates to make the most of a rare opportunity to gain international success by beating France in their Six Nations decider in Paris on Saturday.

Scotland 17 France 19

Scotland suffered last-gasp heartache as France snatched a 19-17 RBS 6 Nations win after Jean-Marc Doussain kicked the winning penalty at Murrayfield with just 90 seconds left.

RBS 6 NATIONS:

France 30 Italy 10

France 26 England 24

France 26 England 24

Courtney Lawes is ready to strike fear into the French ‘bully boys’ when he is unleashed from the England back row for the first time.

France 6 Wales 16

Italy 23 France 18

French approach

France 33 Australia 6

Frederic Michalak has been named in France’s squad for their two-match tour of Argentina next month.

Winger Yoann Huget has withdrawn from the France squad for the World Cup because of a breach of anti-doping rules, according to reports.

Sebastien Chabal has been omitted from France’s provisional 32-man squad for the World Cup in September.

France coach Marc Lievremont today admitted his regret at an outburst following Saturday's defeat by Italy in which he suggested several players may not represent Les Bleus again.

France coach Marc Lievremont has made five changes for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations finale against Wales in Paris.

ANDREW SHERIDAN will miss the climax of England’s Grand Slam quest after it was confirmed the calf injury he suffered against France will keep him sidelined for at least a month.

ARGENTINA will arrive in Dublin on the back of an error-strewn 15-9 defeat to France in Montpellier.

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