Injured pair pull out of French squad

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.

Agen’s Barrau will be replaced by Stade Toulousain’s Jean-Baptiste Elissade, who last appeared for the national side in 2000.

Chabal’s successor will not be known until tomorrow as Bernard Laporte and his men are gathering for training at Marcoussis.