Bastareaud back with a brace

FRANCE coach Marc Lièvremont was reluctant to talk up comeback king Mathieu Bastareaud ahead of Ireland’s forthcoming trip to Paris, despite the Stade Francais man announcing his return to the international stage with a brace of tries yesterday.

Bastareaud – who made the vital interventions as France got their Six Nations campaign off to a perfect start – was playing his first Test since disgracing himself during his country’s summer tour of New Zealand.

The 21-year-old falsely claimed he had been assaulted following a night out in Wellington when in fact he had hit his head in a drunken fall.