Irish out to snap Paris hoodoo

LONDON: His hand forced by necessity, France coach Philippe Saint-andre will turn to the halfback combination that carried the team to their last Six Nations Grand Slam against Ireland today.

With veteran scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili labouring with a back problem, Morgan Parra will line up alongside flyhalf Francois Trinh-duc at Stade de France in the showdown between the pre-tournament favourites.

But Ireland can call upon the experienced Keith Earls to fill in for injured centre Brian O’driscoll and are confident of improving upon their narrow opening loss against Wales.

While Rugby World Cup finalists France beat Italy 30-12 last weekend in Saint-andre’s debut, Ireland lost 23-21 following a late penalty awarded against Stephen Ferris for an alleged tip tackle.

The return of Earls, a specialist wing who pulled out of last week’s match because his newborn child was ill, means coach Declan Kidney has selected the same 22-man matchday squad he originally selected to face Wales.

“There’s a lot we have to improve on,” Ireland captain Paul O’connell said. “Some of the silly errors we made against Wales we must cut out.

“Against France away from home you need to start well. It’s frustrating that I haven’t beaten France in Paris, but we have a team that can do it.”

That’s a bold call considering much of the squad have been involved in a run of 11 defeats in 12 matches against France, who are unbeaten against the Irish at Stade de France since a 27-25 upset in 2000.

With 70,000 fans set to roar on Italy in their first Six Nations match at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, England coach Stuart Lancaster has stuck with the team that beat Scotland, as he attempts to avoid a potential upset.

Lancaster is trusting the talent in his young squad to again overcome a deficit in experience. With the likes of Owen Farrell, Brad Barritt, Phil Dowson and Mauritz Botha keeping their spots, England’s starting XV boasts just 251 caps.

“We are expecting our bench to come on and make an impact as they did last week,” Lancaster said. “Italy will be a very difficult challenge with nearly 700 caps in their starting line-up.”

Veteran Italy centre Gonzalo Canale believes his team have a great chance of beating the defending champions for the first time in 18 Tests.

“I believe we can do it and all the team really believes we can do it,” Canale said. – Sapa-ap