Northampton 9 Racing 92 9: Northampton’s England contingent failed to make an impression as Eddie Jones resumed his busy pre-Christmas scouting tour of the Aviva Premiership clubs last night.

It was their coach four years ago. This time it is the media.

France 38 Romania 11: If Ireland had allowed any complacency to creep into their minds ahead of Sunday’s clash with Romania then this will have surely eradicated it.

A tournament that has already captivated, thanks largely to Japan’s heroics, will hope to plug into the ultimate feelgood sporting event in modern English history when France and Romania meet in the Olympic Stadium’s first pool match this evening.

France 30 Italy 10

France 26 England 24

France head coach Philippe Saint-Andre insists the post-2011 World Cup rebuilding phase is over as he targets a critical RBS 6 Nations victory over England today.

The French champions are under reconstruction, but write them off at your peril

A lioness leapt at the throat of a zoo worker on a rural conservation farm and killed him, apparently because security gates were left open, a zoo said.

GLOUCESTER floored Heineken Cup heavyweights Toulouse at Kingsholm after a brilliant performance inspired by their try-hungry backs.

NEW France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has included two uncapped players in his provisional 30-man squad for the RBS 6 Nations.

New France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has included two uncapped players in his provisional 30-man squad for the RBS 6 Nations.

HARLEQUINS’ record 14-match unbeaten run came to a halt at The Stoop last night after they were overpowered by four-time Heineken Cup champions Toulouse.

THERE is a bit of a way to go yet for Connacht, who suffered stage-fright in the face of high-quality opposition at Saturday night’s historic Heineken Cup clash at the Sportsground.

Connacht 10 Toulouse 36

GLOUCESTER head coach Bryan Redpath was delighted with the performance of under-fire centre Mike Tindall as he ended a difficult week with a resolute performance in a tense 21-17 defeat at Toulouse .

AFTER so pulsating a spectacle as this Heineken Cup semi-final, it is difficult to imagine how the final in Cardiff in just under three weeks will come anywhere close to matching it.

SEAN O’BRIEN will have to wait until tea-time today before discovering whether he will miss the Heineken Cup final as well as the business end of Leinster’s Magners League campaign.

Leinster 32 Toulouse 23

HEINEKEN Cup champions Toulouse booked a semi-final date with 2009 winners Leinster in Dublin after a thrilling 27-20 extra-time victory over Biarritz at Estadio Anoeta yesterday.

Biarritz 20 Toulouse 27

BYRON KELLEHER admits Toulouse are still smarting from their 2008 Heineken Cup defeat to Munster as they chase a fourth European title.

BUTCH JAMES insists Bath will learn from their last-gasp Heineken Cup defeat away to Toulouse yesterday.

Munster returned to the Millennium Stadium targeting a repeat of their greatest European day and a second Heineken Cup title in three seasons.

LONDON IRISH coach Toby Booth felt his side squandered a golden opportunity to reach their first Heineken Cup final with Saturday’s 21-15 defeat by Toulouse.

CARDIFF BLUES coach Dai Young believes Toulouse can go all the way to a fourth Heineken Cup title after his side were taken apart 41-17 at Le Stadium.

LEICESTER captain Martin Corry admits his side’s Heineken Cup hopes are “out of their hands” after sinking to a 22-11 defeat in Toulouse.

France 10 Argentina 34

France 64 Georgia 7

FRANCE flanker Julien Bonnaire has admitted that his team will become temporary Irish fans tomorrow as World Cup Pool D reaches a nervous finale.

LAWRENCE DALLAGLIO emerged from the ruins left by England’s latest calamitous away day collapse — a 22-9 loss to France — and conceded: “This has given us a bit of a reality check.”

THE agonising waiting game for England’s World Cup hopefuls could be over sooner than expected.

France have sprung a number of surprises in their 30-man squad for the World Cup, which begins in September.

Elvis Vermeulen will get another chance to stake his claim for a starting spot against England on March 11 when he turns out for the French Barbarians against Argentina this weekend.

Furious Ulster coach Mark McCall laid the blame for today's Heineken Cup loss to Toulouse squarely at the feet of English referee Tony Spreadbury.

Toulouse 35 Leinster 41

France 31 England 6

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte’s quixotic attitude to selection saw him make three changes to the team that beat Ireland 43-31 for Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Italy at the Stade de France.

Ireland and France emerged for their RBS Six Nations Championship clash in Paris hoping to salvage their battered reputations.

Scotland 20 France 16

Toulouse 35 Edinburgh 13

WITH every international team of note performing on European soil over the past few weeks, Ireland has been afforded the opportunity of assessing its current standing on the world stage.