Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy is disappointed he will not be facing Yannick Jauzion on Saturday but insists whoever France select in midfield will pose a major threat.

IRISH captain Brian O’Driscoll isn’t weeping any tears at the absence of France’s Yannick Jauzion for Saturday’s Six Nations clash at the Stade de France.

FRANCE captain Fabien Pelous yesterday hit out at his teammates for their days of soul-searching in the wake of last weekend’s Six Nations defeat to Scotland.

AS if spurred on by the quality of recent Heineken Cup clashes, the opening weekend of this year’s Six Nations Championship provided high quality drama and even the long-awaited shock result.

France playmaker Frederic Michalak believes Bernard Laporte’s side must impose their famous attacking philosophy on Ireland if they are to get their RBS 6 Nations Championship campaign back on track.

FRANCE captain Fabien Pelous has vowed to address the problems which led to his side crashing to a shock defeat against Scotland in their RBS 6 Nations Championship opener.

France’s preparations for their forthcoming RBS 6 Nations campaign have received a major blow after centre Yannick Jauzion was ruled out of action for three weeks with a fractured toe.

FRANCE have recalled skipper Fabien Pelous for their Six Nations opener against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 5.

WITHIN minutes of the final whistle a massive black cloud descended on Lansdowne Road. It captured the mood perfectly.

Ireland faced an enormous test of their Grand Slam ambitions when France arrived in Dublin with the intention of nudging their own RBS 6 Nations title bid back on track.

France team manager Jo Maso knows Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations showdown with Ireland will not be the easygoing fixture it used to be in the days when Ireland were seen as one of the tournament’s makeweights.

PERPIGNAN’S 22-year-old David Marty has been drafted into the French replacements for tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with Ireland at Lansdowne Road. He comes in for uncapped Toulouse back Benoit Baby, who will start at centre in place of the injured Ludovic Valbon.

FRANCE centre Ludovic Valbon was last night ruled out of the Six Nations match against Ireland after suffering a thigh injury in training.

France have recorded convincing victories in each of their last two meetings with Ireland but Les Bleus coach Bernard Laporte is not holding out hope for a repeat showing when they face Eddie O’Sullivan’s Grand Slam-chasing outfit in Dublin this weekend.

France coach Bernard Laporte has made just two injury-enforced changes to his starting line-up to face Ireland in this weekend’s RBS 6 Nations showdown at Lansdowne Road.

France coach Bernard Laporte has made three changes to the squad that lost to Wales last weekend for their next RBS 6 Nations clash against unbeaten Ireland at Lansdowne Road on March 12.

France full-back Julien Laharrague is hoping he impressed enough on his international debut to be retained for Les Bleus’ next RBS 6 Nations clash against Ireland on March 12.

France captain Fabien Pelous has refused to be disheartened by their poor performance against Scotland on Saturday and remains optimistic about the prospects for Les Bleus to do well in the RBS 6 Nations.

France coach Bernard Laporte has urged his side to use the fear factor to beat England on Sunday in their RBS 6 Nations Championship clash.

France coach Bernard Laporte has been forced into a number of changes for next weekend’s RBS 6 Nations showdown with England at Twickenham.

A combination of injuries and a change in the thinking of coach Bernard Laporte has led to wholesale introductions to the French team to meet Scotland on Saturday in Paris.

Brive 31 Saracens 16 (after extra time)