Racing Metro flank Bernard le Roux and Clermont prop Daniel Kotze join Antonie Claassen in a squad that includes eight new caps. Fijian-born Clermont winger Noa Nakaitaci is among the newcomers.

Saint-Andre has rested flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc, but included Toulon’s Frederic Michalak.

France play world champions New Zealand on June 8, 15 and 22 in Auckland, Hamilton and New Plymouth respectively.

French super club Toulon’s foreign dominance is showcased with the inclusion of just four French-eligible players in the backline and not one forward in the squad of 38.

Toulon play Clermont in the Heineken Cup final and are favourites to play Clermont in the Top 14 final.

Clermont have seven players in the squad.

FRANCE SQUAD

Forwards : Eddy Ben Arous (Racing-Metro), Vincent Debaty (Clermont), Thomas Domingo (Clermont), Guilhem Guirado (Perpignan), Benjamin Kayser (Clermont), Dimitri Szarzewski (Racing-Metro), Luc Ducalcon (Clermont), Daniel Kotze (Clermont), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Alexandre Flanquart (Stade Francais), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Christophe Samson (Castres), Sebastien Vahaamahina (Perpignan), Yannick Nyanga (Toulouse), Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, captain), Bernard Le Roux (Racing-Metro), Antonie Claassen (Castres), Louis Picamoles (Toulouse).

Backs: Maxime Machenaud (Racing-Metro), Morgan Parra (Clermont), Frederic Michalak (Toulon), Camille Lopez (Bordeaux-Begles), Remi Tales (Castres), Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Gael Fickou (Toulouse), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Florian Fritz (Toulouse), Maxime Mermoz (Toulon), Maxime Medard (Toulouse), Noa Nakaitaci (Clermont), Alexis Palisson (Toulon), Adrien Plante (Perpignan), Brice Dulin (Castres), Yoann Huget (Toulouse)

Leigh Halfpenny’s unerring boot built a commanding lead and then the Welsh pack took control and the loose forwards, as a unit and individuals, destroyed England at the breakdown.

Flanker Justin Tipuric was named man of the match and Sam Warburton showed his 2011 World Cup form.

The collisions were ferocious and Wales were colossal.

Wales, two months ago, lost the tournament opener to Ireland and trailed 30-3 after 35 minutes in that game. The final 30 minutes on Saturday completed a remarkable comeback and the disaster of Ireland will be forgotten in light of the delight of today.

The intensity was befitting a World Cup final, as was the quality of the match.

Alex Cuthbert scored two tries but to a man Wales were inspirational.

Orquera kicked 14 points in the 22-15 win.

Giovanbattista Venditti scored the only try and Gonazlo Garcia kicked a penalty.

Paddy Jackson kicked five penalties for Ireland whose tournament started with an emphatic victory against Wales in Cardiff and ended with disaster in Rome.

Italy beat France and Ireland in this year’s competition.

Halfpenny kicked 23 points in a match dominated by penalties, while Greig Laidlaw kicked 6 penalties to keep his team in touch with the Welsh. Richard Hibbard scored the only try of the match.

Wales have to beat England in Cardiff next week to retain the title. England, the only unbeaten side in this season’s competition, play Italy on Sunday.

France snatch draw in Dublin

France scored a late try to draw 13-all against Ireland and finally get off the mark in what has been a terrible Six Nations campaign for the French.

Ireland led 13 – 3 at half time, Jamie Heaslip scoring a try and Paddy Jackson converting and scoring a further two penalties before the break. Louis Picamoles scored 5 minutes from the end and required a conversion from Fred Michalak to draw level.

France face Scotland in the final match next weekend and have to win if they are not to finish with the Six Nations wooden spoon.

By Richard Ferguson

Greig Laidlaw kicked four second half penalties as Scotland overturned an eight point deficit to triumph 12-8.

Ireland scored the only try of a dire match.

England won 23-13 at Twickenham and are now favourites to win the title.

Owen Farrell scored 12 points and replacement flyhalf Toby Flood kicked two penalties against a French team that were competitive for the first hour but faded in the last quarter.

France, unbeaten in the November Autumn internationals, were the tournament favourites but have lost to Italy in Rome, against Wales in Paris and now England in London.

Halfpenny kicked four penalties and two conversions in the Welsh 26-9 Six Nations win against Italy.

Wales led 9-6 at halftime.

It was Wales’s second win in four starts in this year’s competition.

Claassen is the ninth foreign-born player to be included in a French international line-up, the last being another South African centre, Brian Liebenberg, in 2003. He currently plays for French club Castre and has been on the fringes of selection for the last few seasons.

He has spent the core of his professional playing career in France and although he has such strong South African links, by way of Wynand having captained the Boks and having been actively involved with the Boks in the guise of national selector, the selection is reward for the investment into his playing talents in France.

Several foreign-based players arrive in France at an early stage of their careers and they should be considered locals in what the game in France has given them by way of development.

Rory Kockott, for example, is different in that his formative professional years were in South Africa at the Sharks and he has made his intention clear that part of playing club rugby in France is with the hope of playing international rugby. Claassen’s French connection goes beyond rugby with his life centred around living in France.

South Africa have representation to every Six Nations squad, although some like Richardt Strauss (Ireland) are currently injured.

Farrell kicked two in each half, but also missed two at the end of each half.

Ireland’s points came from the boot of Ronan O’Gara, who replaced the injured Jonathan Sexton in the 31st minute. The hosts also lost star wing Simon Zebo early in the game.

England won despite having to play with 14 men for 10 minutes in the second half when James Haskell was sent to the bin for a professional foul.

Farrell kicked two penalties while he was off and Ireland never looked like scoring the try they needed to win.

The Italians shocked the French in Rome last week but again couldn’t produce back to back performances in the Six Nations.

Two penalties from scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw gave Scotland a 6-0 lead after 25 minutes, and when Dutch-born winger Tim Visser stepped in and jinked past two defenders to score on the half-hour mark they were in firm control.

Scotland scored again four minutes after the break when kilted Kiwi Sean Maitland drew in the defenders and created space in midfield for Matt Scott.

Then came two interception tries, from fullback Stuart Hogg and winger Sean Lamont, that knocked the stuffing out of Italy and gave the capacity crowd more to cheer about.

The visitors did, however, manage to score a consolation try through loose forward Alessandro Zanni.

France, unbeaten during the November internationals, were the pre-tournament favourites and Italy’s 23-18 win will have been a double boost to England and Ireland who got winning starts on Saturday.

France led 15-13 at half-time but could only manage one try in the second 40 minutes as the Italian defence held tight and the home crowd support did the rest.

Ireland won 30-22.

Wales were well and truly thumped in Cardiff, trailing 30-3 early in the second half and there was no way back from the first half torture that saw Ireland change ends with a match-winning 23-3 lead.

Wales, so close to World Cup glory in New Zealand in 2011, have been in free fall ever since.

More to follow …

Farrell, very good against the All Blacks last November, improved on that display with a commanding performance as England saw off a feisty opening 30 minutes from Scotland before taking control to win 38-18.

England led 19-11 after 40 minutes.

The hosts scored four tries to two but the win was more comprehensive than the scoreboard suggests and Farrell was a class above any other back on display. He played with authority and kicked with equal confidence to score 18 points.

Scotland scored the first try of the match but it was a matter of when – and not if – England would take charge and build on the fine win against the All Blacks.

It was imperative England started the Six Nations well after the magical afternoon against the Scots and while this match lacked the enterprise and sparkle of that wonderful occasion it was still an outstanding win against a dogged opponent who was always brave but never good enough to threaten a victory.

The Six Nations is as good a tournament as the Rugby Championship – and the quality of rugby is no less.

England’s whipping of the All Blacks, France’s thrashing of Australia and Ireland’s hammering of the Pumas has added to the intrigue of this season’s Six Nations.

The exception here is the Springboks. They won all three matches overseas in November, but they beat Ireland 16-12, beat Scotland 21-11 and beat England 16-15. Two of the three wins could have been defeats.

The Southern Hemisphere teams have nothing to be arrogant about. Neither do the supporters.

I have always believed the Heineken Cup to be a superior tournament to Super Rugby because of the tournament structure and because so many teams have the capacity to win it. In Super Rugby too often you can pick four of the six play-of finalists before a ball is kicked.

The added interest in the Six Nations is the fact that England will host the 2015 World Cup and New Zealand’s lame surrender will have given five or six other teams in world rugby added confidence that there is always one implosion a season in every All Black team.

England, even if for just 80 minutes, showed players capable of playing a brand of rugby previously believed to be possible only in New Zealand, France showed the mongrel and the flair to take apart Australia, something they have not done for a while and Ireland and Wales will always offer a contest when hosting anyone.

The tradition of the Six Nations has a special appeal and the Rugby Championship is a pup when compared to the 100-plus years of what is now the Six Nations.

Scotland are a side that has beaten the Springboks and Wallabies recently and Italy have come close on a couple of occasions to upsetting Australia and there is not much difference between Argentina, Italy and Scotland.

I challenge those in the South to take off their blinkers and acknowledge the quality of rugby played in the northern hemisphere and also the quality of player available to the respective countries. These are players as good as what stars down south.

England and France will start favourites; France for their consistency over the last 12 months and England on the evidence of their last two performances against the Boks and for that magical match against the All Blacks when they won in dramatic and record-breaking fashion.

Every squad will also have a South African flavour, be it in the coach box or in the playing squad.

Wales have been the greatest disappointment since the World Cup and have lost their last seven internationals. I am picking them to come good in the Six Nations and win it with France and England the next best.

Ireland will never be easy in Dublin and Scotland will have their moments at home. Italy won’t provide much by way of wins but they will physically pound a few of the opposition.

It promises to be a tournament with more appeal that the recent Rugby Championship and it certainly won’t be as one-sided as the All Blacks six-win romp.

No team will finish unbeaten.

This weekend England will beat Scotland, Wales will edge Ireland and France will comfortably beat Italy in Rome.

My tournament pick is Wales.

Weekend’s matches (home teams first)
Saturday
England v Scotland
Wales v Ireland
Sunday
Italy v France

There are two changes to the team that thumped the All Blacks in November with Twelvetrees coming in for Manu Tuilagi at inside centre and Joe Marler replacing Alex Corbisiero at loosehead prop.

‘We are happy to stick with the team that did so well against New Zealand, especially in light of the fact that they have all been in good form for their clubs since then,’ said England coach Stuart Lancaster. There were some very tight calls, with some experienced players coming back into contention, and I am sure the bench will have a significant impact on the game.’

England – 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Subs: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Toby Flood, 23 David Strettle.

Maitland won the Junior World Championship with New Zealand’s U20 side and played for New Zealand Maori. The 24-year-old joined Glasgow last October and qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandparents.

‘Sean Maitland is very proud to be pulling on the Scotland jersey for the first time,’ said interim coach Scott Johnson. ‘His family will be rapt because they raised him in New Zealand always reminding him of his Scottish heritage, getting up in the early hours of the morning to watch both the Five and Six Nations games on the TV.

‘He’s shown he can play footy with the best of them and the impact he’s made since arriving at Glasgow in the autumn has underlined what we’d seen of him playing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.’

Johnson has made six changes and one positional switch to the team that lost to Tonga in November, with Sean Lamont moving from wing to centre, Ruaridh Jackson returning at flyhalf with Greig Laidlaw starting at scrumhalf. Loosehead prop Ryan Grant is back from injury, Jim Hamilton returns to the second row and No 8 Johnnie Beattie plays for the first time since August 2011.

Scotland have not won at Twickenham since 1983.

Scotland – 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Subs: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.

Fullback Rob Kearney, outside centre Brian O’Driscoll, openside flank Sean O’Brien and hooker Rory Best all return to the starting line-up after missing the end-of-year Tests through injury. However, first team regulars Paul O’Connell, Stephen Ferris and Tommy Bowe are still out of action.

Ireland will be captained by No 8 Jamie Heaslip, whose recent appointment was made with the 2015 World Cup in mind.

Ireland – 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Subs: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Donncha O’Callaghan, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O’Gara, 23 Keith Earls.

There had been some questions around his ability to lead the side after England’s tour to South Africa last year, but after leading England to second place in last season’s Six Nations, and captaining the side to a surprise 38-21 win over world champions New Zealand at Twickenham in December, the appointment was to be expected.

‘Chris stepped into the role 12 months ago, when we were building a new team, and he has grown as a leader on and off the field,’ said England coach Stuart Lancaster. ‘He showed those leadership qualities during the end of year internationals, and especially against the All Blacks when the whole squad got behind him. We have a number of leaders and I know they will all take this team forward with Chris as we look to kick on from that result.

‘There are other leaders in the squad that Stuart could have turned to so I am really honoured,’ said Robshaw, who led Harlequins to the English Premiership title last season.

England start their Six Nations campaign at home against old rivals Scotland on 2 February.

Heaslip led the team in O’Driscoll’s injury-enforced absence last November. The British & Irish Lions No 8 will continue to skipper Ireland as coach Declan Kidney has decided to start building towards the 2015 World Cup.

‘To get the opportunity again, considering what an inspirational leader Brian is and the other players who could have been chosen to captain the team, is even more humbling,’ said Heaslip. ‘I know Brian as a team-mate and as a friend and I will be relying on his and the other players support as we head into the Championship.’

Kidney has instructed O’Driscoll to focus on his own game at outside centre. While it is unlikely that the 33-year-old star will feature in 2015, he will still have a role to play in the next two years.

‘The captaincy has been a big part of my career and life over the last number of years, and while I was naturally very disappointed not to be leading the team in the Six Nations, when I talked it through with Declan I accepted the reasons behind the decision,’ O’Driscoll said.

‘I’ve always known that the Rugby World Cup in 2015 was most likely a bridge too far for me, so at some point a player, who will most likely be there for the tournament, needs to build that captaincy experience. Jamie will do a fantastic job and along with the other senior players in the leadership group, I will be giving him all of the support that he needs.’

A 39-man training squad was announced on Thursday. The Irish begin their Six Nations campaign on 2 February against current champions Wales.

Ireland training squad:

Forwards – Michael Bent (Leinster), Rory Best (Ulster), Tom Court (Ulster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Chris Henry (Ulster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Mike McCarthy (Connacht), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Lewis Stevenson (Ulster), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), Devin Toner (Leinster)

Backs – Isaac Boss (Leinster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Paul Marshall (Ulster), Conor Murray (Munster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Dave McSharry (Connacht), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), Ronan O’Gara (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Ulster)