O'Driscoll hits out at 'unforgivable' decision

Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll has labelled the decision to allow Mike Phillips' controversial try to stand as 'unforgivable' following his side's 19-13 defeat at the Millennium Stadium.

The crucial moment of a hard-fought RBS 6 Nations encounter came with Ireland leading 13-9 in the 50th minute when Wales hooker Matthew Rees took a quick lineout and the scrum-half raced away to score in the corner.

But TV replays showed that Rees had taken the lineout with a different ball to that kicked out of play by Ireland replacement Jonathan Sexton, something which is not allowed under IRB regulation 19.2.

Referee Jonathan Kaplan asked his assistant, Peter Allan of Scotland, whether the ball used was the same as that which left the field and, when he answered in the affirmative, the try was awarded.

Kaplan was not able to call on the video referee to adjudicate as the TMO is only to be used for decisions on the act of scoring.

Wales 19-13 Ireland

Wales claimed a controversial victory at the Millennium Stadium which kept their RBS 6 Nations title hopes alive and ended Ireland's bid for a fifth Triple Crown in eight seasons.

Scrum-half Mike Phillips celebrated his 50th cap by scoring an opportunist try to underpin Wales' first home win since last year's tournament.

But it came after Wales skipper Matthew Rees took a quick throw-in with a different ball from the one that was sliced into touch by Irish substitute Jonathan Sexton, which is against rugby's Law 19.2.

Referee Jonathan Kaplan consulted Scottish assistant official Peter Allan before awarding the score, but the Irish players were furious as television replays confirmed the try should never have been allowed.

Wales rode their luck as fly-half James Hook converted the try and kicked three penalties, while wing Leigh Halfpenny landed a long-range strike, with Ireland creating a Brian O'Driscoll try and Ronan O'Gara booting eight points which took him past 1,000 in Test rugby.

Italy 22-21 France

Italy claimed their first RBS 6 Nations victory over France at the 12th attempt with a 22-21 triumph in Rome this afternoon.

Racing-Metro full-back Andrea Masi scored the only try for the home side and Mirco Bergamasco kicked 17 points as Italy secured their first win in this year's tournament.

France scored tries through Vincent Clerc and Morgan Parra, with the latter kicking three penalties and a conversion.

The Azzurri, who had eight France-based players in their side, punished the French for a sloppy performance at the Stadio Flaminio.

It was the second defeat in succession for Marc Lievremont's side following their 17-9 loss to England at Twickenham, while Italy were finally rewarded for their efforts following defeats to Ireland, England and Wales.

Italy put points on the board after two minutes after being awarded a penalty when France skipper Thierry Dusautoir was caught offside.

Bergamasco converted from close range to bring the stadium to life, but the visitors produced a well-worked try in the 14th minute.

Kidney adds 12 to Ireland squad

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has added 12 players to his panel for the RBS 6 Nations clash with Wales next Saturday.

Rhys Ruddock, Fergus McFadden, Tony Buckley, Kevin McLaughlin, Mick O'Driscoll, Donnacha Ryan, Gavin Duffy, Andrew Trimble, Johne Murphy, Tomas O'Leary, Devin Toner and Mike McCarthy are added to the panel.

They join the 22 players that made up the squad that beat Scotland last weekend at Murrayfield.
Kidney will name his 22 for the match with Wales on lunchtime on Tuesday.

Ferris to miss rest of Six Nations

Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris has been ruled out for the rest of this year's RBS Six Nations campaign.

Ferris has been struggling with a persistent knee problem, which he aggravated while on Heineken Cup duty for his province against Aironi.

The 26-year-old is to see a consultant in London to examine the true extent of the problem but has been told he will play no part in the remainder of this season's Six Nations.

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney also has concerns over the availability of Tomas O'Leary.

O'Leary is continuing his rehab from his ongoing back problem and at this stage has not been ruled out of the games with Wales and England.

Ireland name team to face France.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has made just one change to the team that narrowly defeated Italy in the opening game of the RBS 6 Nations championship.

Jamie Heaslip returns at number eight, with Sean O'Brien moving to his more accustomed role of blindside flanker.

Munster's Denis Leamy drops to the bench, while Kidney resisted change to his backline, despite the return to fitness of Andrew Trimble.

Ireland face champions France at 3.00pm on Sunday, in what will be the first championship game at the Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road.

Ireland Women Unchanged For France.

The Ireland Women's team to play France in the first home game of the Women's RBS 6 Nations Championship has been named. Head coach Philip Doyle has named an unchanged side for Friday's match.

Speaking ahead of the game, Philip Doyle said: "We have a brand new squad this season and we capped a lot of new players last weekend. We have a very short turnaround time this week and we felt the need for continuity and to bed in the combinations."

"The French are a big challenge and it will be a stern test for some of the new girls, but we are looking forward to playing in Ashbourne as we have been getting great support there in recent seasons." 

Heaslip in line to face French

Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip is on course to make his comeback in Sunday's RBS 6 Nations clash with France.

Heaslip and winger Andrew Trimble came through training this afternoon without suffering any adverse reaction to their respective ankle and hand injuries.

However, flanker Stephen Ferris has been ruled out of the showdown at the Aviva Stadium after losing his battle with a knee injury.

Ireland will name their team tomorrow as originally scheduled having considered delaying the announcement until Friday to give the trio further time to recover.

Manager Paul McNaughton said: 'We felt earlier today we weren't in a position to name the team as there was too much doubt on the fitness of several players.

'But following training this afternoon, Andrew Trimble and Jamie Heaslip came through the session okay.

Traille moved to centre for France

France coach Marc Lièvremont has moved Damien Traille from full-back to inside centre and picked Clément Poitrenaud for Sunday's RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland.

Traille takes over the number twelve jersey from Maxime Mermoz, who injured his shoulder in the 34-21 win against Scotland last week. Clément Poitrenaud comes off the bench to start at full-back at Aviva Stadium. Recalled Toulouse back Yannick Jauzion takes up the vacant spot amongst the replacements.

There is one other change to the bench where veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet replaces Luc Ducalcon.

As much as possible, Lièvremont wanted to retain the side that saw off Scotland 34-21 on Saturday.

'We go with stability,' he said.

Centre Yannick Jauzion has been added to the squad on the bench, although he did miss training today with a shoulder complaint of his own.

Wales 19-26 England

England withstood a furious fightback from Wales to open their Six Nations campaign with a 26-19 victory and end their eight-year losing streak in Cardiff.

 Two converted tries from wing Chris Ashton and four penalties from fly-half Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson secured a nervy victory for Martin Johnson's men at the Millennium Stadium in a see-saw battle between the arch-rivals.

 Wales fought back from 23-9 down heading into the final quarter to go within four points of England at 23-19 with 10 minutes left before a late Wilkinson penalty saw the visitors home.

It was England's first win in Cardiff since 2003.

 Early Welsh pressure saw a nervy-looking England concede two penalties but neither Stephen Jones nor James Hook were able to take advantage.

Instead, England gradually settled into their routine and quickly began exerting pressure on the Welsh scrum. And with their first visit to the Welsh 22, England were able to put points on the board.Poor Welsh defence at the side of a ruck allowed Flood to burst into a gaping chasm and pop the simplest of passes to Ashton, who dived over under the posts with flourish for the opening score on 15 minutes.

France 34-21 Scotland

Tries from captain Alastair Kellock, Kelly Brown and Sean Lamont were not enough for Scotland to claim a first RBS 6 Nations win in Paris as defending champions France triumphed at the Stade de France.

Les Bleus, who had lost three of their previous five Tests since securing the Grand Slam last March, quickly recovered their confidence following their 59-16 mauling by Australia last November to state their ambitions of retaining their title.

France crossed for tries through Maxime Medard, a penalty try, Imanol Harinordoquy and Damien Traille, with Morgan Parra kicking two conversions, Dimitri Yachvili two conversions and a penalty and Francois Trinh-Duc a drop goal.

The visitors were always chasing the game and Kellock and Brown's close-range tries followed by Lamont's late score - all converted by Dan Parks - were ultimately in vain as Scotland suffered defeat on the opening Six Nations weekend for the 11th time in 12 tournaments.

Scotland's most recent win in Paris had come on the way to victory in the final Five Nations Championship in 1999 and since the inaugural Six Nations tournament in 2000, Scotland had won their opening game just once - their most recent defeat of France, at Murrayfield in 2006.

Again Scotland return home from the French capital empty handed, looking to reclaim the momentum in next weekend's Test with Wales.

Italy 11-13 Ireland

Ireland required a late drop goal from Ronan O'Gara to avoid a first defeat by Italy in the RBS 6 Nations.

The Azzurri crept 11-10 ahead in the 76th minute through a try from Luke McLean and one of the championship's greatest upsets looked likely.

But Ireland, who started as overwhelming 1/8 favourites, hit back two minutes later when O'Gara was on target from in front of the posts.

It was dismal start to the campaign for a side hoping to be in the title mix, but there was nothing on show at the Stadio Flaminio today to suggest they can win the Six Nations.

Brian O'Driscoll crossed in the 44th minute while Jonathan Sexton kicked five points, but it was otherwise a torrid afternoon for the 2009 champions.

They dazzled with some thrilling running but time and again failed to capitalise, making desperately hard work of subduing stubborn but limited opposition.

Worryingly for Ireland, they are group rivals at this year's World Cup and the teams are due to meet on October 2. Italy will only have been encouraged by today's events.

Ireland XV to face Italy in Rome.

Declan Kidney has selected Leinster duo Fergus McFadden and Luke Fitzgerald and Munster's Tomás O'Leary in his backline to face Italy in Ireland's RBS 6 Nations opener in Rome on Saturday.

Kidney lost five experienced players in the wing and full-back positions in the runup to the Six Nations. He has picked Fitzgerald in his favoured full-back position for the first time at international level.

McFadden, who was drafted in to the squad from the 'A' panel last week, will win his first cap on the right wing with Munster's Keith Earls picked on the other side.

Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll are the centre pairing, with O'Driscoll to captain the side.

O'Leary, who was initially not picked in the main squad is picked at scrum-half ahead of Eoin Reddan and Peter Stringer, with Jonathan Sexton set to start at out-half. Sexton's regular provincial partner Eoin Reddan is on the bench, along with Ronan O'Gara and Paddy Wallace.

France team to face Scotland.

Sebastien Chabal has been left out of the France team to face Scotland on Saturday in their Six Nations opener.

Imanol Harinordoquy was selected ahead of Racing Metro's number eight who was named among the substitutes for Saturday's game at the Stade de France.

The main absentee from the 23-man group is centre Yannick Jauzion.

Coach Marc Lievremont has selected Maxime Mermoz instead.

Damien Traille, used as a fly-half during November's tests, has been named fullback.

France team to face Scotland at the Stade de France, Saturday, 5 Februay, kick-off 5.00pm:

Damien Traille, Yoann Huget, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Maxime Medard, Francois Thrinh-Duc, Morgan Parra, Imanol Harinordoquy, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Lionel Nallet, Julien Pierre, Nicolas Mas, William Servat, Thomas Domingo.

Substitutes: Guilhem Guirado, Luc Ducalcon, Jerome Thion, Sebastien Chabal, Dimitri Yachvili, David Skrela, Clement Poitrenaud.

Wolfhounds trio called up to Ireland squad

Gavin Duffy, Tomas O'Leary and Kevin McLaughlin have been called up from the Ireland Wolfhounds to a 26-man Ireland squad to begin final preparations ahead of the opening game of the RBS 6 Nations Championship against Italy.

There are no fresh injury concerns for the Ireland team after last week's camp in Limerick and the Ireland Wolfhounds game against Scotland.

The only change to the squad is the inclusion of Duffy, O'Leary and McLaughlin.
The Ireland team to play Italy will be announced this Tuesday, while the Ireland Wolfhounds squad to face the England Saxons in Ravenhill on Friday night will also be announced on the same day.

Ferris ruled out of encounter with Italy

Stephen Ferris has been confirmed as unfit for selection for Ireland's opening game of the RBS 6 Nations Championship against Italy following a consultation with a knee specialist.

 Ferris picked up a cartilage injury to his right knee during the Ulster Heineken Cup game against Aironi and was unable to train with the Ireland squad last week during the Limerick camp.

 The knee did not respond to the rest period and Ferris was referred to the knee specialist, who confirmed yesterday evening that while the injury did not require surgery he would not be available for the Italy game.

Ferris will continue with his rehabilitation and while there remains a doubt regarding his availability for the France game, he has not been ruled out of a return to play in time for selection.

Bowe also doubtful for France tie

Tommy Bowe is a major doubt for Ireland's second RBS 6 Nations fixture against France, according to his club the Ospreys.
 Bowe was last night ruled out of the tournament opener against Italy at Stadio Flaminio on Saturday week with no date set for his return.
 

But any hope the 26-year-old Lions winger will be fit to face France a week later faded today following an update from the Ospreys' head physio Chris Towers.
 'We're continuing to liaise with the Irish medical team regarding Tommy's condition and the management of his injury,' said Towers.
 'We've taken the decision to continue to offload him, allowing the knee to settle further, and at this stage remain optimistic that the problem will resolve in the short term.

We are hopeful that in a couple of weeks, if he continues to improve as he is, he will be able to get back into some rugby specific training without any reaction or ill effect.'The signs are encouraging at this stage, but it is clear that it will be another couple of weeks before we can confirm whether or not this problem will impact on more than just the first couple of Six Nations fixtures.' Ireland's preparations for the Six Nations have been hit by an injury crisis that has robbed them of eight players capable of featuring in the matchday 22.
 Head coach Declan Kidney can ill-afford to lose such an effective player as Bowe for the first two games of the championship, especially with three of his potential replacements - Shane Horgan, Geordan Murphy and Andrew Trimble - also injured.

Ireland name RBS Women's 6 Nations squad

Ireland coach Philip Doyle has named his squad of 25 players for the forthcoming RBS Women's 6 Nations Championship.

Doyle has included a number of seasoned internationals alongside some new faces who have emerged this season.

Fiona Coghlan will captain the side for her second season.

Ireland open their campaign with a fixture away to Italy in Rovigo, on Sunday 6 February and will again make Ashbourne RFC in Meath their home for the tournament.
 Speaking of his selection Doyle said: 'The dedication of the players has been excellent, both in their individual attention and motivation and as a squad.'

'We recognise the potential of the squad while respecting the challenges ahead, the first of which is to start the Six Nations campaign against Italy away with a good performance.

'Being the first game of the championship means we have little knowledge of the opposition so our concentration is to be accurate as possible throughout the game with and without the ball.'

Ireland squad for the RBS Women's 6 Nations Championship:
Gillian Bourke, Niamh Briggs, Lynne Cantwell, Fiona Coghlan,
Amy Davis, Lauren Day, Ailis Egan, Siobhan Fleming, Laura Guest,
Ashling Hutchings, Niamh Kavanagh, Mairead Kelly, Stacey Kennedy, Emer McManamly, Claire Molloy, Larissa Muldoon, Joy Neville, Gill Nolan, Deirdre O'Brien, Heather O'Brien, Geraldine Rea, Marie Louise Reilly, Jackie Shiels, Nora Stapleton, Carol Staunton

Ireland Wolfhounds team named to face Scotland

The O2 Ireland Wolfhounds team to play Scotland 'A' in Netherdale this Friday, January 28th (KO: 7.30pm) has been named. 

The team will be coached by Eric Elwood and Anthony Foley with Chris Henry named as captain.

Gavin Duffy moves from the Senior squad to the Wolfhounds and will start at fullback while Leinster's Fergus McFadden has been called into the senior squad as cover with Ian Whitten replacing him for the trip to Scotland.

Ian Nagle will start for the Wolfhounds on Friday as both Donnacha Ryan and Dan Tuohy, named in the original squad, have been ruled out because of injury. He will be partnered in the second row by Devin Toner.

IRELAND WOLFHOUNDS: 15: Gavin Duffy (Galwegians - Connacht)
14: Johne Murphy (Young Munster - Munster)
13: Eoin O'Malley (Old Belvedere - Leinster)
12: Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch – Ulster)
11: Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution - Munster)
10: Ian Humphreys (Ballymena - Ulster)
9: Tomás O’Leary (Dolphin – Munster)
1: Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians - Connacht)
2: Damien Varley (Garryowen - Munster)
3: Tony Buckley (Shannon - Munster)
4: Ian Nagle (Cork Constitution – Munster)
5: Devin Toner (Lansdowne - Leinster)
6: Kevin McLaughlin (St. Mary's College - Leinster)
7: Willie Faloon (Ballynahinch - Ulster)
8: Chris Henry (Ballymena - Ulster) CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Nigel Brady (Dungannon - Ulster)
17: Jamie Hagan (Corinthians - Connacht)
18: Andrew Browne (Galwegians – Connacht)
19: Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne - Leinster)
20: Isaac Boss (Terenure College - Leinster)
21: Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster)
22: Ian Whitten (Ballynahinch – Ulster)

More Six Nations injury problems for Ireland

Jamie Heaslip, Shane Horgan, and John Hayes have been ruled out of Ireland's RBS 6 Nations Championship opener against Italy on Saturday week.

Hayes and Horgan are both expected to miss both the opening match in Rome on Sunday, 6 February and the game against France at Aviva Stadium the following weekend. Heaslip has only been ruled out of the opening match.

Both Hayes and Horgan were replaced at half-time during their province's Heineken Cup wins at the weekend.

Horgan is ruled out with a knee injury. His absence exacerbates a potential crisis at wing and full-back for Kidney and Ireland.

The Leinster winger has been in fine form of late of late and with Rob Kearney, Andrew Trimble and Geordan Murphy already ruled out, he was in contention for a starting place.

Tommy Bowe could also miss the Italy match, also with a knee problem, though it is hoped will be given the all clear to play. The Neath-Swansea Ospreys man is seeing a consultant in the UK today. Ireland manager Paul McNaughton later confirmed that he was doubtful to start.