France v Ireland - Teams

Iain Henderson is a shock absentee from the Ireland starting XV for Sunday's World Cup game against France while Jared Payne is not risked after injury.

Henderson, outstanding in recent games, is replaced by Devin Toner at lock while Keith Earls stays at centre as Payne recovers from a bruised foot.

Rob Kearney returns at full-back in place of Simon Zebo with Cian Healy preferred to Jack McGrath at prop.

France make two changes with Louis Picamoles and Noa Nakaitaci recalled.

Number eight Picamoles replaces Bernard le Roux in the back row for the Pool D decider in one of two changes from the 41-18 win over Canada.

Coach Philippe Saint-Andre's other change sees Fijian-born win Nakaitaci taking over from Remy Grosso.

Both France and Ireland have won their opening three games in Pool D and the losers of Sunday's match are likely to face New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

Henderson's demotion to the replacements is a big call by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, with the New Zealander believing that six foot 11 inch Toner is needed to disrupt the effectiveness of the France line-out.

Yet Henderson's energetic work around the field has probably been the most impressive feature of Ireland's World Cup so far.

The Ulsterman was man of the match in last weekend's narrow win over Italy and is certain to come on during the Millennium Stadium contest.

Schmidt said the decision to recall Toner had been "a really tight call".

"Dev has been a big-match player for us and gives us a little bit more line-out capability," added the Ireland coach.

"We (also) do believe that at the back end of the game, Iain will add value."

Payne trained fully on Wednesday after missing the Italy game but swelling on his injured foot following that session sealed his fate.

France likely to target Sexton channel

With Earls remaining at centre, Tommy Bowe and Dave Kearney retain the wing spots as fit-again Rob Kearney returns at full-back in place of Simon Zebo.

Healy is named at loosehead prop after his Leinster team-mate McGrath started in the front row role against Italy.

Lions forward Healy started Ireland's second World Cup match against Romania after making his return to action following neck surgery as a replacement in the opening win over Canada.

In the France selection, Picamoles' return sees Damien Chouly switching to flanker with experienced skipper Thierry Dusautoir completing a strong back row.

France have talked this week of targeting Ireland pivot Johnny Sexton and skipper Dusautoir and number eight Picamoles will be central to that aim.

Toulon's powerful centre Mathieu Bastareaud is also likely to be part of France's tactics to disrupt fly-half Sexton.

Ireland: Rob Kearney; Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Mike Ross; Devin Toner, Paul O'Connell; Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heasip.

Replacements: Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Nathan White, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry, Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald.

France: Scott Spedding; Noa Nakaitaci, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Brice Dulin; Frederic Michalak, Sebastien Tillous-Borde; Eddy Ben Arous, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani; Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri; Thierry Dusautior (capt), Damien Chouly, Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Alexandre Flanquart, Bernard Le Roux, Morgan Parra, Remi Tales, Alexandre Dumoulin

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Coach Keeps Foley Grounded

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After two superb tries and a flawless display of place kicking to help fire Australia into the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup, Bernard Foley might have expected better than a reminder that his place in the side was by no means secure.

Such is Australia coach Michael Cheika's unquenchable desire for improvement in his players, however, that his review of Foley's performance in the 33-13 win over England came loaded with a hefty caveat or two.

As starter in both of Australia's most important Pool A matches to date, Foley might have assumed he was the number one first five-eighth, but, in public at least, Cheika was quick to bracket him with the other outside half in his squad, Quade Cooper.

"Yeah, what we're asking of both Bernard and Quade as our two No 10s is to take control of the game, especially in the tough moments," Cheika said.

"And both of them are really growing in that regard. Bernard was really influential, not just with the way he got the points, but also in the way he stood up to take responsibility.

"It wasn't always brilliant, but that stepping up to take responsibility and be prepared to guide the team around, he and Quade have really been working on that together while they're competing with each other for a spot and they're only improving each other by doing that."

Often regarded as a "confidence" player, Foley brought to bear the running skills he once displayed as a sevens captain for Australia in his two tries.

His kicking also showed a vast improvement on an underwhelming season from the tee with the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby.

Foley has showed in the past he is the man for the big occasion, however, and he landed a late long-range penalty to give Cheika's Waratahs their maiden Super Rugby title.

Later that same year at the Millennium Stadium, he calmly slotted a drop goal and a penalty in the last 10 minutes to give Australia their 10th successive win over Wales.

Cheika, however, has made it clear he is looking for a complete flyhalf to run his Wallabies backline as they go deeper into the tournament in search of a third World Cup title.

"You can never take that stuff for granted," he added.

"It's up to them to stand up and quarterback the team and tonight Bernard did that quite well."

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RWC - Australia v England Preview

In 1991 England famously deviated from a successful style that took them to the final of the World Cup at Twickenham.

Despite dominating teams with hard-hitting forwards and a tactical kicking game throughout the competition, England had been crushed 40-15 in Sydney four months earlier, and therefore decided to play an expansive game in the final. It backfired and they fell to a disappointing 12-6 defeat.

Captain on the day was Will Carling, and when Carling spoke to Sky Sportsahead of the World Cup, he warned his countrymen against falling into the same trap of playing away from their strengths.

"The danger for England is that they don't get caught, or stuck, between two stalls," said Carling. "It's got to be one or the other.

"As usual with England they've got a great front five - in fact they've probably got two great front fives if we're honest - who will be as good if not slightly better than anything else in the competition.

"So there's the big conundrum. Do they need a little more variety in their game in order to win, or could they rely purely on a Farrell plus a forward pack? That's the big question."

With the backline Lancaster has picked, there is variation in the capabilities of Jonathan Joseph, but the selection of Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt calls for a pragmatic game; one which England will have to employ if they are to beat the Wallabies.

Despite the fact that England have an electric back three, Farrell will likely opt to play for territory to keep Australia at bay.

For months Lancaster has endured questions over the selection of Chris Robshaw at openside. As captain of the team, Lancaster defended the selection of the Harlequins flanker, but his selection comes with reduced impact at the breakdown.

Robshaw is more of a blindside than openside, and has been exposed at the ruck by specialist fetchers.

It's no secret that England will be targeted in that area by the Wallabies, who have selected two specialist fetchers in David Pocock and Michael Hooper, but former Australia coach Eddie Jones was particularly scathing in his analysis of Robshaw's contribution in the No 7 jersey.

"The breakdown will be a key area of the game on Saturday and Australia can dominate there because England simply don't have the specialist skills to compete with them," Eddie Jones wrote in the Daily Mail.

"David Pocock is an out-and-out 'fetcher'. At the moment, there is no one in the world better than him over the ball. Stuart Lancaster doesn't have that sort of fetcher in his team.

"To me, Robshaw is an outstanding club player, but at international level he just doesn't have that point of difference," he added.

"He carries okay, he tackles okay, but he's not outstandingly good in any area. I think that is his limiting factor. He's a good workmanlike player, but he does not have the specialist skills and the instinct as an openside that Pocock has."

Romain Poite is considered one of the best referees when it comes to the scrum and Stuart Lancaster hopes he will not be swayed by the comments from former coaches and referees about Joe Marler's binding.

England won four scrum penalties against Wales last weekend but Jonathan Kaplan and Bob Dwyer have questioned the legality of England's scrummaging, with the former tweeting: "I'd like to see if the England pack is square on the loosehead side... just the once."

Poite is a referee who rewards the dominant scrum, the British and Irish Lions' series-clinching win over Australia a prime example when he sent Ben Alexander to the bin after just 24 minutes for a series of scrum offences.

England bullied Australia at the set piece during their victory at Twickenham last November, but the Wallabies scrum looked much improved during their successful Rugby Championship campaign following the hiring of former Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma as coach.

However, England are more aggressive than the southern hemisphere nations in this area and if they can draw penalties from the Wallabies, it provides Owen Farrell with the chance to kick for poles or play for territory.

"I know they think we're weak in the forwards, it's pretty obvious - they are saying it out loud," said Michael Cheika.

"And they've stuffed it to us the last couple of times at Twickenham. There's nothing we can say in this room that will make any difference. The only place it will be different is on the field on Saturday.

"I believe in my players 201 per cent. That stuff is not even resonating in my mind."

Visiting props to Twickenham have not had an easy ride under Poite's stewardship in the past though.

Gethin Jenkins fell foul of the French official during the 2014 Six Nations and was sin-binned early in the second half. He told the coaching staff to replace him as he had been 'singled out' and Wales wrote to both Poite and the IRB to ask for clarification.

Sky Sports pundit Stuart Barnes says believes the scrum will be the major point on which the result of the game is decided.

"I think if England can out-scrummage them, they can play the territory and play where they want to play," he said.

"If Australia withstand the scrum, they will win. If they don't, I can see England nicking it. It is going to be thrilling either way."

This game may be England's biggest since the 2007 World Cup final, but this is Stuart Lancaster's biggest game ever as coach.

The England boss' future in charge will be under serious threat if his side become the first ever host nation to fail to make it out of the group stages.

Asked if his time with England rested on the result of Saturday's game,Lancaster was in agreement.

"I think that's fair to say," said Lancaster. "It's a must-win game because if we lose we don't get out of the group.

"So there's no point hiding where the accountability lies. As a head coach you don't take the players beyond Saturday, you take them to Saturday.

"You put them in the right place to play a strong game on Saturday. There's no denying it, the stakes are huge for us, but the boys will be ready.

"I'm not going beyond this game, there's a lot of things to play out over the next two weeks.

"You can't spend your time thinking about what's happened in the past or what might happen in the future.

"If you distract yourself with the what-ifs then you aren't doing your job.

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Wallabies Lose Skelton and Palu

Australia have suffered a double injury blow at the World Cup, with the No 8 Wycliff Palu and lock Will Skelton ruled out of the tournament days before their crunch match against England.

Skelton came off the field clutching his arm early in the second half in the Wallabies’ 11-try win over Uruguay on Sunday, while Palu had suffered a “problematic” hamstring injury, coach Michael Cheika said after that match.

The lock Sam Carter will replace Skelton in the Wallabies squad, but Palu will not be replaced by another flanker, with Cheika instead opting for another hooker in James Hanson.

Hanson, who will reinforce captain Stephen Moore and fellow hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, was to fly out from Australia on Monday.

The Australia coach Michael Cheika told Australian Rugby: “Very few players have the opportunity to play for the Wallabies, let alone at a Rugby World Cup, so from that perspective I’m really gutted for them. From a team perspective, they both play important roles in the side and it is disappointing that we need to replace players in our squad.”

Australia have won both their pool matches against Fiji and Uruguay comfortably and face their first major test on Saturday against an England side stinging from their last-gasp loss against Wales.

Palu’s injury could mean the end of the 33-year-old’s international career, with the No8 set to play in Europe after the World Cup and become ineligible for a recall.

Palu started against Uruguay but may have struggled to make the matchday 23 against England.

Cheika played two specialist openside flankers in David Pocock and Michael Hooper in his back row with success against Fiji, with Pocock taking the No8 shirt. Ben McCalman can also play as a specialist No8 if required.

Skelton, who started against Uruguay and was a replacement against Fiji, may be harder to replace, however, with his ball-carrying ability and imposing physique offering the Wallabies another weapon in attack.

However, of the two replacements Cheika said: “Both James and Sam have been part of the team at various stages this season and I am confident they will be able to step up and grasp the opportunity they have been given.”

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Schmidt - RWC Starts Now in Earnest

Ireland's World Cup campaign "starts in earnest now" after Sunday's convincing bonus-point victory over Romania, according to coach Joe Schmidt.

The 44-10 win sees Ireland go top of Pool D and they can seal a quarter-final spot if they beat Italy at the Olympic Stadium next Sunday.

"Next week is the pivotal week. It's pressure for us and pressure for Italy," said Schmidt.

"That is why people come to a World Cup - they want to see how teams respond."

After facing Italy, Ireland complete their pool fixtures with a match against France on October 11.

"For us it starts in earnest now, because we know we can qualify if we win next weekend," added Schmidt.

"The game against France just decides who we play in the quarter-final if we can win next week.

"Italy, after a win and a loss, need to win to qualify. It becomes a last-16 game for us."

Ireland must wait to find out if Rob Kearney will be fit after he was injured in scoring the fifth try shortly after coming on as a substitute.

"Rob was involved in a high-speed play after coming on the pitch and just after scoring the try he's jarred himself," Schmidt added.

"We hope it is not too much but the next 24 to 48 hours will tell if he has done anything telling for next week."

Losing Kearney would be a setback for Ireland, but several players impressed in a dominant performance against Romania.

Schmidt made 12 changes with Italy and France in mind, but his altered line-up showed few signs of weakness, scoring six tries, including four in the second half.

Tommy Bowe and Keith Earls crossed the line twice each, before Kearney and Chris Henry added two more late on, and Simon Zebo also staked a claim with an impressive display at full-back.

"There were a number of players who performed really well and will create a big of selection headache for Italy," Schmidt said.

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Injured De Villiers Retires from Boks

Jean de Villiers has retired from international rugby after suffering a broken jaw in the Rugby World Cup win over Samoa.

The 34-year-old, who is the second most capped Springbok captain of all time, was forced off during Saturday's 46-6 Pool B victory and decided to retire after he was ruled out of the tournament with the injury.

He skippered the Boks 37 times, with last weekend's shock defeat against Japan proving the lowest point of his spell, but De Villiers remains confident that his side can still mount a challenge for the trophy in his absence.

Speaking on South Africa's official website, De Villiers said: "When I got injured yesterday and I left the field, I knew that I had played my last Test for South Africa.

"Injuries are part of rugby and I've had my fair share, so by now I know how to cope with them. It's very sad, but life goes on - I need to take it all in and move forward.

"The last time I got injured in a World Cup match and had to go home, was in 2007, also against Samoa, and that finished well for the Boks, so hopefully it will happen again.

"Having played for South Africa for 13 years, I've been fortunate to experience so many great things and I got to know so many good friends, but you never think it would end like this.

"It has happened now and I'll be eternally grateful for the time I've had in the Springbok jersey. I would like to wish the team all the very best and as a former Springbok, I'm now their No 1 supporter.

"They still have a massive game this weekend, and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but rather to focus on the task at hand against Scotland."

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer paid tribute to his former skipper, who will fly back to 

South Africa on Monday for further treatment and possible surgery.

"Jean is a true ambassador for South Africa and a person everyone in our country can be immensely proud of," said Meyer.

"The way in which he never gave up fighting to overcome his last serious knee injury reminded me again how much if a warrior he is and how highly he regarded the Springbok jersey.

"He will go down as one of the greatest Springboks ever and in my eyes he is probably one of the best captains in the history of world rugby, who always put the team first and gave his time for any player, young or old without ever changing who he is."

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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.

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