O'Driscoll a doubt

Brian O’Driscoll’s withdrawal from the tsunami match today has cast doubt over his involvement in Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations clash with France.

O’Driscoll has been pulled out of the northern-hemisphere side he was scheduled to captain at Twickenham on Saturday with a bruised elbow.

The Ireland captain sustained an injury during Sunday’s victory over England and is being rested as a precautionary measure.

France – who travel to Dublin in nine days’ time – are the next obstacle between Eddie O’Sullivan’s men and only the second grand slam in Irish rugby history.

O’Driscoll is a crucial element of their Six Nations title challenge and has already missed one tournament outing – against Scotland – with a hamstring problem.

Ireland will find their midfield resources stretched should O’Driscoll fail to recover, after it was revealed on Tuesday that Shane Horgan will miss the France game with a thumb injury.

It is still not certain whether Gordon D’Arcy will feature against the grand slam champions at Lansdowne Road, although the Leinster centre has returned to training following his hamstring injury.