If you watched Ireland’s U20s take on Wales in Dublin last Friday evening then chances are that the sheer size of the Leinster loosehead prop Andrew Porter stood out every bit as much as the abandon with which Nigel Carolan’s offloading side played.

Clive Woodward wants to replace Philippe Saint-Andre as head coach of France, according to reports in the French press.

Rising star Teddy Thomas has been dropped for tomorrow’s Test against Argentina by France manager Philippe Saint-Andre for missing a training session by arriving two hours late.

The French rugby union’s HQ in Marcoussis is a quiet enough sort of spot at the best of times, but it must be positively eerie today as so many of its current residents come to terms with the events of Wednesday evening.

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The small market town of Marcoussis used to supply Paris with tomatoes and strawberries. Today, it will deliver to the French capital an Irish women’s rugby team intent on making history.

There’s a sign in the Irish dressing room that reads ‘The winning qualities of this team will be reflected by the standards we set’.

Four years ago at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Surrey, Kildare’s Jenny Murphy watched Philip Doyle’s team from the stands.

He has admitted to being tempted into the Ireland role, in part, by the carrot of a less hectic pace of life, so it was ironic yesterday to hear Joe Schmidt talk about being whisked through the suburban traffic of Paris on a motorbike at 140kph.

For a team that has lost all three matches in this year’s Six Nations, the French have been remarkably positive as they prepare for what is undoubtedly going to be another bruising encounter against Ireland in Dublin this afternoon.

France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has not made any changes to his matchday squad for the RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on February 26.

FRANCE centre Aurelien Rougerie believes referee Dave Pearson was right to postpone Saturday night’s Six Nations clash with Ireland.

PHILIPPE SAINT-ANDRE will take over from Marc Lièvremont as the French rugby coach after the world cup.

RUARIDH JACKSON, the implausibly fresh-faced out-half set to make his first Scotland start against Ireland on Sunday, has praised the game-management abilities of Ronan O’Gara as he prepares to come face-to-face with the Munster number ten.

FRANCE coach Marc Lievremont has named an unchanged 23-man squad for Saturday’s RBS Six Nations clash against Grand Slam champions Ireland.

France coach Marc Lievremont has named an unchanged 23-man squad for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash against Grand Slam champions Ireland.

SEBASTIEN CHABAL admits France’s preparations for today’s RBS 6 Nations match against trans-Alpine rivals Italy have been far from serene.

France will go with an unchanged squad for their last match in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, against Italy in Rome on Saturday.

France head coach Marc Lievremont is monitoring the fitness of two players ahead of the gathering of his 23-man squad for a week of preparation for the RBS 6 Nations opener against Ireland on Saturday.

FRANCE go into their opening RBS Six Nations match against Ireland on Saturday week with little experience at half-back after Jean-Baptiste Elissalde was surprisingly omitted from their trimmed-down 23-man squad.

FREDERIC Michalak’s omission from the 30-strong France training squad for the Six Nations is neither a surprise nor a shock as the French rugby establishment opt once again to shun his mercurial talents for more predictable playmakers.

France head coach Marc Lievremont has named just one recognised fly-half in his provisional 30-man squad for a three-day training camp ahead of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

David Marty has been called up by France as a replacement for injured centre Florian Fritz ahead of Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations Championship match against Scotland.

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte named his side yesterday to face Ireland in tomorrow’s crunch Rugby World Cup clash in the Stade de France, and there were a number of surprises.

WELL, at least the beer on offer in the Stade de France is no longer under scrutiny.

Pieter De Villiers will make his return to the France team on Sunday just a fortnight after fearing his World Cup dreams could be ruined for the second successive occasion.

FRANCE head coach Bernard Laporte believes the spirit fostered in his title-winning squad over the past seven weeks vindicates his decision to assemble a 40-man party for the recent RBS 6 Nations Championship.

RAPHAEL IBANEZ went through the whole range of emotions in the final heart-stopping minutes of France’s dramatic 46-19 success over Scotland, which clinched yet another RBS 6 Nations Championship title.

Raphael Ibanez went through the whole range of emotions in the final heart-stopping minutes of France’s dramatic 46-19 success over Scotland that clinched yet another RBS 6 Nations Championship title.

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 lock Pascal Pape says hard work and patience earned him a recall from national coach Bernard Laporte.

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

The Irish under-21s will have their first competitive outings this season when they take on two French regional selections in Paris.

Lions coach Clive Woodward will spend a week with the French team at their training camp in Marcoussis prior to Les Bleus’ Test match against New Zealand on November 27.

IVORY Coast President Laurent Gbagbo insisted the opposition rejoin the country’s unity government after violent clashes claimed at least 25 lives and brought the peace process to the brink of collapse.

Injury and illness look to be France’s most dangerous early opponents as they embark on a World Cup campaign they hope will culminate in at least a third final appearance in five attempts.

France utility back Xavier Garbajosa could miss the World Cup because of a thigh injury.

France three-quarter Xavier Garbajosa could miss the World Cup this autumn if he fails to recover fast enough from surgery on his right knee.

SOUTH AFRICAN-born centre Brian Liebenberg expressed his astonishment last night at being called up to rugby’s French World Cup squad.

The 2003 IRB U21 World Cup kicks off in London today, with South Africa keen to retain their title as champions.

Back-row forward Sebastien Chabal and scrum-half Mathieu Barrau have pulled out of France’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy on Sunday with ankle injuries sustained in domestic competition at the weekend.

FRANCE will try to make up for the absence of injured Fabien Galthie with a Lansdowne Road double act — Fabien Pelous taking over as captain and Dimitri Yachvili as playmaker for Saturday’s Six Nations game against Ireland.