All the team news ahead and starting XVs for this weekend’s final round of Six Nations fixtures.
Italy v France
Stadio Flaminio, Saturday, 1.15pm
Italy have never beaten France in the tournament and know they will need to make the right moves if they wish to stun Les Bleus. The Azzurri’s main problem has been their failure to make their most of their opportunities going forward.
The Italians have only managed to score one try in their opening four games and
know they have a lot of work to do in order to turn things around. Nevertheless, Mallett was so impressed with his team’s improved performance against Wales that he has made no changes to the XV for the clash against France.
France head coach Marc Lievremont reacted to the humiliating 34-10 defeat to England at Twickenham by making four personnel changes and two positional alterations. Damien Traille, Florian Fritz, Julien Bonnaire and Fabien Barcella all return to the team, with Julien Malzieu, Mathieu Bastareaud, Jerome Thion and Lionel Faure dropping out as Lievremont once again rings the changes, this time understandably.
Italy: A Marcato (Treviso); G Rubini (Parma), G Canale (Clermont Auvergne), Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), M Pratichetti (Calvisano); L McLean (Calvisano), P Griffen (Calvisano); S Perugini (Toulouse), L Ghiraldini (Calvisano), C Nieto (Gloucester), S Dellape (Toulon), M Bortolami (Gloucester), A Zanni (Calvisano), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), S Parisse (Stade Francais, capt). Replacements: F Sbaraglini (Treviso), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), C Del Fava (Ulster), J Sole (Viadana), P Canavosio (Viadana), L Orquera (Brive), R Quartaroli (Parma).
France: D Traille (Biarritz); M Medard (Toulouse), F Fritz (Toulouse), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), C Heymans (Toulouse); F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), M Parra (Bourgoin); F Barcella (Biarritz), D Szarzewski (Stade Francais), S Marconnet (Stade Francais), L Nallet (Castres, capt), S Chabal (Sale Sharks), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), J Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz). Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), T Domingo (Clermont Auvergne), J Thion (Biarritz), L Picamoles (Montpellier), F Michalak (Toulouse), M Bastareaud (Stade Francais), J Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne).
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland).
England v Scotland
Twickenham, Saturday, 3.30pm
England manager Martin Johnson named an unchanged team despite injury concerns over fly-half Toby Flood and flanker Joe Worsley. Flood damaged his shoulder just before half-time in England’s 34-10 victory over France on Sunday and Worsley required six stitches to a nasty gash to his hand.
Scotland captain Mike Blair is named in the side. The Edinburgh scrum-half has been suffering from a back injury suffered in the weekend’s 22-15 defeat to Ireland at Murrayfield. But he has recovered sufficiently for head coach Frank Hadden to pick him in a team which shows just one change.
Northampton flanker Scott Gray makes his first Test start since his debut four-and-a-half years ago.
England: D Armitage (London Irish); U Monye (Harlequins), M Tindall (Gloucester), R Flutey (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); T Flood (Leicester), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), S Shaw (Wasps), T Croft (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), J White (Leicester), J Haskell (Wasps), N Kennedy (London Irish), D Care (Harlequins), A Goode (Brive), M Tait (Sale Sharks).
Scotland: C Paterson (Edinburgh); S Danielli (Ulster), M Evans (Glasgow), G Morrison (Glasgow), T Evans (Glasgow); P Godman (Edinburgh), M Blair (Edinburgh, capt); A Dickinson (Gloucester), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton), J White (Sale Sharks), J Hamilton (Edinburgh), A Strokosch (Gloucester), S Gray (Northampton), S Taylor (Stade Francais). Replacements: D Hall (Glasgow), M Low (Glasgow), N Hines (Perpignan), K Brown (Glasgow), C Cusiter (Perpignan), N De Luca (Edinburgh), H Southwell (Edinburgh).
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa).
Wales v Ireland
Millennium Stadium, Saturday, 5.30pm
Warren Gatland’s team shows eight changes from the line-up that fumbled its way to a 20-15 win against Six Nations wooden-spoon favourites Italy last weekend. Centre Tom Shanklin, fly-half Stephen Jones, the frontrow of Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones, lock Ian Gough, flanker Martyn Williams and captain Ryan Jones — all 2008 Grand Slam heroes — return on Saturday, as Wales target a first successful championship title defence for 30 years.
Declan Kidney, meanwhile, recalled number eight Jamie Heaslip, hooker Jerry Flannery and scrum-half Tomas O’Leary for the climax to the Six Nations. Even if Ireland miss out on the Grand Slam, they will win the championship unless they lose by 13 points or more.
Wales: L Byrne (Ospreys); M Jones (Scarlets), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), G Henson (Ospreys), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), M Phillips (Ospreys); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Scarlets), A Jones (Ospreys), I Gough (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), R Jones (Ospreys, capt), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), A Powell (Cardiff Blues). Replacements: H Bennett (Ospreys), J Yapp (Cardiff Blues) L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), D Jones (Scarlets), W Fury (London Irish), J Hook (Ospreys), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues).
Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), L Fitzgerald (Leinster); R O'Gara (Munster), T O'Leary (Munster); M Horan (Munster), J Flannery (Munster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: R Best (Ulster), T Court (Ulster), M O'Driscoll (Munster), D Leamy (Munster), P Stringer (Munster), P Wallace (Ulster), G Murphy (Leicester).
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England).
