Toulouse joint-coach Regis Sonnes said that the manner in which they came from behind to oust Clermont Auvergne 47-44 in a 10-try thriller at Le Stadium sets them up perfectly for a crack at Leinster next weekend.

Blair Kinghorn will make his first start for Scotland on Saturday after being named in Gregor Townsend's side for their pivotal NatWest 6 Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin.

Scotland assistant coach Mike Blair believes it was a straightforward decision to bring John Hardie back into the squad, despite serving a ban for alleged cocaine use.

He joins fit-again Richie Gray in the 40-man squad heading into the Ireland game.

Byron McGuigan has been ruled out of Scotland's match against France with a hamstring injury.

Is it any wonder the structure of the professional game in Ireland is the envy of so many of our international counterparts at present?

Wales are hopeful that wing George North will be in the selection mix for Saturday’s NatWest 6 Nations opener against Scotland.

Peter Jackson gives his progress report on the best and worst teams, players and moments of the Autumn Internationals.

MUNSTER - Team news

At the last official count two years ago, England had 2,057,797 rugby players, almost 50 percent more than the rest of Europe combined.

Ireland flew into Edinburgh last night with what head coach Joe Schmidt described as a “quiet confidence” that the players he will send into the RBS 6 Nations fray at Murrayfield tomorrow can ignore the hype surrounding Scotland and continue their winning ways.

Here’s the lowdown on four big games across Europe...

Such was the reaction of the Scottish crowd at the final whistle in Murrayfield on Sunday you would have thought they had won the Six Nations championship.

Wales recorded their ninth successive victory over Scotland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship to stay firmly among this season's title contenders.

Scotland are heading into the Six Nations Championship with the same optimism that usually strikes Caledonia in January but there are reasons to believe this bout will last longer than most examples of the past decade.

South Africa 34 Scotland 16: Stand-off Duncan Weir hopes his stunning second-half burst against South Africa on Saturday will help seal his place in coach Vern Cotter’s plans as Scotland look to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

England have selected Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph as their centre pairing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game against Ireland at Twickenham.

France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made eight changes for Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.

Scotland were left facing their fourth wooden spoon in 11 years after a late collapse handed Italy a RBS 6 Nations win at Murrayfield.

Glasgow’s Peter Horne has been given the nod to replace suspended stand-off Finn Russell for Scotland’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy tomorrow.

Mike Brown is still suffering concussion symptoms and faces a race against time to prove his fitness for England’s pivotal RBS 6 Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin.

RBS Six Nations: France v Scotland: The start of a new Six Nations campaign is usually destined to throw Frenchmen of every age, shape and political persuasion into a tizzy. As former captain Fabien Pelous once said: "It is like the start of a new romance. You see a girl across the room, your eyes meet and you both know that everything is possible."

Leinster remain on course to qualify from European Champions Cup Pool Two following a 50-8 bonus point thrashing of Castres at the RDS.

Few men epitomise their club as Steve Diamond does Sale Sharks.

RABO DIRECT PRO12:

Italy 20 Scotland 21

Ireland 28 Scotland 6

If Joe Schmidt was anxious in the build-up to his first ever Six Nations encounter as head coach, the close fought nature of the opening two fixtures on Saturday would have done little to ease his nerves in the hours before taking on Scotland.

Castres Olympique 22 Leinster 29

Forwards coach Jono Gibbes praised Leinster's resilience as they came from two converted tries down to beat Castres Olympique 29-22 at Stade Pierre-Antoine.

Castres 22 Leinster 29

HEINEKEN CUP POOL 6:

Ospreys 21 Castres 12

Tommy Seymour grabbed two tries on his home debut as Scotland saw off the challenge of improving Japan 42-17 following a flurry of second-half action.

By Simon Lewis, Sydney

British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has sprung one of the great surprises in the tourists’ history by dropping Brian O’Driscoll for Saturday’s series decider against Australia.

A fractured arm may have sidelined Paul O’Connell from the rest of the Test series with Australia, his place in the second row for Saturday’s second Test going to England’s Geoff Parling, but the British & Irish Lions are desperate to keep their former captain on tour, so important to them is his presence as a leader and mentor.

Jake White has seen his Australian Super Rugby rivals try to unsettle the British & Irish Lions on this tour and earn plaudits for doing so, yet the Brumbies coach knows the bottom line is that all of them have failed.

Sam Warburton has been given a ringing endorsement as he prepares to lead the British and Irish Lions against New South Wales Waratahs tomorrow.

This morning’s game against the Western Force in Perth will offer the British and Irish Lions management a far greater barometer of what to expect over the next few weeks than the testing but ultimately one-sided game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong last Saturday.