Kearney, Jackman and Heaslip get first Six Nations starts

SEVEN days later than might have been advisable, Eddie O’Sullivan has given first starts in the RBS Six Nations Championship to Leinster’s Rob Kearney, Bernard Jackman and Jamie Heaslip.

Unfortunately for the trio, they get their chance, not in the relative comfort of a game against Italy at Croke Park, but in the red hot cauldron of Stade de France in Paris.

The other changes in the side were forced on the coach with Andrew Trimble moving from the wing to centre in place of the injured Gordon D’Arcy.