Italy v Scotland - Preview

Scotland have suffered a late blow before Saturday's Six Nations match against Italy with number eight Dave Denton forced out of the starting XV.

The Bath back-rower, 26, sustained a mild groin strain in Friday's captain's run and will be replaced by Glasgow's Ryan Wilson.

Wilson, recalled to the match-day 23 in Rome, is promoted from the bench.

Josh Strauss, who played 75 minutes for Glasgow against Dragons on Thursday, is summoned to join the replacements.

Scotland are aiming to avoid a 10th successive Six Nations defeat in Rome, scene of their last victory two years ago.

Italy have brought in Kelly Haimona to replace the injured Carlo Canna.

Full-back David Odiete returns from an ankle injury to replace Luke McLean, as lock Joshua Furno comes in for George Biagi, who broke a rib against England.

Meanwhile, veteran hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini returns to the front row, for his first international game since suffering a hamstring injury at the World Cup.

Scotland

Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Mark Bennett, Duncan Taylor, Tim Visser, Finn Russell, Grieg Laidlaw; Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford, Willem Nel, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray; John Barclay, John Hardie, Ryan Wilson

Replacements: Stuart McInally, Rory Sutherland, Moray Low, Tim Swinson, Josh Strauss, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Peter Horne, Sean Lamont.

Italy

David Odiete, Leonardo Sarto, Michele Campagnaro, Gonzalo Garcia, Mattia Bellini, Kelly Haimona, Edoardo Gori; Andrea Lovotti, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Lorenzo Citttadini, Marco Fuser, Joshua Furno, Francesco Minto, Alessandro Zanni, Sergio Parisse.

Replacements: Davide Giazzon, Matteo Zanusso, Martin Castrogiovanni, Valerio Bernabo, Andries Van Schalkwyk, Guglielmo Palazzani, Edoardo Padovani, Andrea Pratichetti

Related articles

• Six Nations 2016: France record dramatic 23-21 win over Italy at the Stade de France
• Mike Brown: I was screaming at the TV as I saw England suffer
• France survive Italy scare in Six Nations opener
• Six Nations: Italy captain Sergio Parisse shoulders blame for late defeat to France
• Glasgow High Street mural, by Smug
• Mystery man spotted parachuting into Glasgow city centre

Noves Names 6 Changes for France

Guy Novès has made six changes for Saturday’s Six Nations meeting with Ireland after his team’s nervy opening win against Italy.

Novès brings in the wing Teddy Thomas and centre Maxime Mermoz to replace Hugo Bonneval, who is named on the bench, and Gaël Fickou, who has been absent this week for personal reasons.

In the forwards, the props Eddy Ben Arous and Rabah Slimani drop to the bench as Novès prefers Jefferson Poirot and Uini Atonio either side of the captain Guilhem Guirado, with the lock Paul Jedresiak and injured flanker Louis Picamoles making way as Alexandre Flanquart and Yacouba Camara come in.

The sevens specialist Virimi Vakatawa keeps his place on the wing after making a try-scoring full international debut against Italy last Saturday, when France scraped a 23-21 win.

Novès said: “We’ve worked on our defensive organisation to try to counter the Irish. It will be a difficult match, we hope it will be tricky for Ireland too.

“We’ve prepared for this match by getting it into our heads that we have to show more power.”

France team to play Ireland, Stade de France, 2.25pm Sat 13 Feb

M Médard (Toulouse); T Thomas (Racing), M Mermoz (Toulon), J Danty (Stade Français), V Vakatawa (French Rugby Federation); J Plisson (Stade Français), S Bézy (Toulouse); J Poirot (Bordeaux), G Guirado (Toulon, capt), U Atonio (La Rochelle), A Flanquart (Stade Français), Y Maestri (Toulouse), W Lauret (Racing), Y Camara (Toulouse), D Chouly (Clermont Auvergne).

Replacements C Chat (Racing), R Slimani (Stade Français), EB Arous (Racing), P Jedresiak (Clermont Auvergne), L Goujon (Bordeaux), M Machenaud (Racing), J-M Doussain (Toulouse), H Bonneval (Stade Français).

Related articles

• Six Nations 2016: France record dramatic 23-21 win over Italy at the Stade de France
• France survive Italy scare in Six Nations opener
• No sign of a French revolution as Guy Noves's side scrape past Italy
• France's Picamoles sidelined with hamstring injury
• Six Nations: Italy captain Sergio Parisse shoulders blame for late defeat to France

Boudjellal Suggests 6 Nations Bath

Mourad Boudjellal, the president of Toulon, has suggested the postponed European Rugby Champions Cup game against Bath could take place during the Six Nations.

All Champions Cup and Challenge Cup matches that were due to be played in France over the weekend were postponed following the Paris attacks.

The knockout stages of the Champions Cup are not set to take place until early April while the Six Nations kicks off on Feb 6.

Boudjellal has concede that any rearrangement will prove complicated, highlighting the difficulty in potentially releasing international players to play for their clubs.

"Playing on Wednesday isn't possible," he told French sports daily L'Equipe.

"I can only see one solution... It would mean that the (national team) coaches would have to accept not being able to call up international players of Bath or Toulon in order for us to be able to play the match during a matchday of the Six Nations."

In an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, Bruce Craig, the chairman of Bath, believes the match will never be played.

Craig, who is on the European Professional Club Rugby board, believes that finding a slot for Bath's game will prove impossible because of the congestion to the English calendar caused by the Rugby World Cup and England's tour to Australia next summer.

"It is very clear to me that the Toulon match can't happen," said Craig, who is based in Aix-en-Provence. "The midweek option is not an option to my mind as that would be to the detriment of player welfare as well as the integrity of two competitions, an important Champions Cup game being squeezed in with all the attendant travel issues between two Premiership weekends.

Some Bath fans made the trip to Toulon before it was abandoned

"There is no way we should be letting that happen. You can't play three high-profile games in a week. In the wider context of what has happened in Paris, this is not a serious matter, of course it isn't. And I do understand why the decision was taken. But from a rugby point of view, and from the point of view of the competition, this is an issue of significant consequence. There is no place to fit it in. It is a bit of a disaster in that regard."

Should the match be rescheduled for the Six Nations period, it is highly unlikely the coaches of England or France would agree to release players, especially whomever becomes Stuart Lancaster's replacement.

Toulon, for all their wealth and success, have very few France internationals of note, save for Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz and Sébastien Tillous-Borde, and their absence would not harm Les Bleus too badly. Bath, on the other hand, possess Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, George Ford, Semesa Rokoduguni, Dave Attwood and David Wilson.

Related articles

• France players take in the sights of London ahead of upcoming clash with Romania
• Fofana starts as France ring changes for Romania game
• Rugby World Cup players face fresh scrutiny over doping
• France v Romania: Rugby World Cup 2015 - live!
• France bank on Fofana for flair against Romania
• Rugby World Cup 2015 photo gallery: France

RWC Preview - Ireland v Romania

Ireland will be expected to run out comfortable winners at Wembley against Romania in their second Pool D game.

With tougher tests against Italy and France in the coming weeks, coach Joe Schmidt has rested several key men, including fly-half Johnny Sexton.

Ireland are fielding the oldest starting XV in World Cup history.

Romania flanker Valentin Ursache must sit out the game after being suspended for one match for a dangerous tackle.

Ursache was cited by independent citing commissioner James Absaloms of Kenya after the 38-11 loss to France on Wednesday at the Olympic Stadium.

Schmidt has made 12 changes from the side that defeated Canada 50-7 and he hopes to gain further momentum against the world's 17th ranked side.

"There's a realisation from the players that it's an opportunity, but also a massive responsibility, to ensure that we get the result, and that's going to take a bit of work," said Schmidt.

The Ireland coach will be particularly keen to assess the continued return to peak fitness of Cian Healy, who will start at prop in the Pool D clash.

Ireland's remaining World Cup Pool D games

Sunday, 4 Oct, 16:45 BST: Ireland v Italy, Olympic Stadium

Sunday, 11 Oct, 16:45 BST: Ireland v France, Millennium Stadium

The British and Irish Lion missed all of Ireland's warm-up games with a neck injury and returned to action for the first time since April as a replacement against Canada.

"Cian is always an asset, whether he's in the starting team or off the bench," Schmidt said.

"I think he came off the bench mostly through the Six Nations, but the one start he did get, against Scotland, he got two turnovers in the first 20 minutes on the ground."

The teams last met 10 years ago at Lansdowne Road, with Ireland emerging 43-12 victors.

Romania full-back Catalin Fercu started that game and Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray said he was one to keep an eye on.

"He's well capable of countering, with their wingers as well. Both their nines are quite dangerous as well. If they get into broken play they really back themselves, especially after a line break or something like that," Murray said.

Fercu is still one try from becoming Romania's record try-scorer, having been stuck on 28 for 17 Tests stretching back more than two years.

Teams

Ireland: Simon Zebo; Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne, Darren Cave, Keith Earls; Ian Madigan, Eoin Reddan; Cian Healy, Richardt Strauss, Nathan White; Donnacha Ryan, Devin Toner; Jordi Murphy, Chris Henry, Jamie Heaslip (capt).

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath, Tadhg Furlong, Paul O'Connell, Sean O'Brien, Conor Murray, Paddy Jackson, Rob Kearney.

Romania: Catalin Fercu; Adrian Apostol, Paula Kinikinilau, Csaba Gal, Ionut Botezatu; Michael Wiringi, Valentin Calafeteanu; Andrei Ursache, Andrei Radoi, Paulica Ion; Valentin Poparlan, Ovidiu Tonita; Valentin Ursache, Mihai Macovei (capt), Daniel Carpo

Replacements: Mihaita Lazar, Otar Turashvili, Alexandru Tarus, Johannes van Heerden, Stelian Burcea, Florin Surugiu, Florin Ionita, Florin Vlaicu.

Related articles

• Romania team to play France
• Romania opt for experience against France
• France take on Romania at Olympic Stadium
• France v Romania: Rugby World Cup 2015 - live!
• Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt goes for power in opener against Canada
• France bank on Fofana for flair against Romania