Six Nations: Sella pleads for French unity

A club versus country row similar to the one threatening to tear apart the game in England is inflicting itself on French rugby too.

The French are going through a tough period following defeats at the hands of Ireland and Wales in the Six Nations, with legendary Gallic star Philippe Sella hoping the conflict can be resolved too.

Sella said: "Perhaps for the French team the change is that for the past three months the players have gone back to their clubs to play with their team-mates and their club.

"And afterwards maybe they come back to the French team with a different mentality and different level of confidence with each team-mate, so they always have to work hard at the basics."

Sella won 111 international caps for France and notched 125 Test points along the way during an international career that spanned 13 years.

Commenting on the club-v-country conflict, Sella said: "The clubs and the country try to get one answer about rugby and the international rugby players and I think it's very difficult."

He continued: "If we want to see one thing, for me, or for the executive or for the players, we want to see rugby going up, going up, always, always.

"We must be careful about the competitions, about the rhythm of the year. We have to have questions about the different championships for the players, as well as for the sponsors and the supporters.

"We haven't yet found the answer - it is urgent.

"Because we can have a few players with injuries because they have not got enough recovery time, and we can see a few games that are lower quality.

"We need to get one season with more cohesion."