Toulon have provided an update on the condition of Welsh fly-half Dan Biggar, who suffered a painful-looking injury during last weekend's Top 14 clash against Perpignan.
Toulon loose forward Charles Ollivon leads a 42-man France team chosen on Monday by coach Fabien Galthie for two Tests against Japan next month.
World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe has recovered from a broken thumb to take his place in the Toulon team for Friday’s European Challenge Cup final versus Lyon in Marseille.
England talisman Maro Itoje is set to renew his rivalry with Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth as they have been respectively named at No4 by their clubs Saracens and Toulon for this Saturday night’s Challenge Cup semi-final in France.
France have been hit by significant disruption ahead of the Guinness Six Nations, after being forced to withdraw ten players from their 42-man squad, which is preparing for the tournament in Aubagne this week.
France lost a tight series Down Under but there were enough longer-term positives to please coach Fabien Galthié
Ambushed by Saracens at home in September, Leinster have named the team they hope can make Champions Cup amends versus Toulon.
France needed to score four tries and beat Scotland by 21 points to deny Wales the title but the visitors stunned their hosts with a 27-23 victory.
Not since 2010 have France been crowned Six Nations champions and Fabien Galthie has named the team he hopes will bridge that gap.
Luke Pearce is the rising star of international refereeing and as I have previously written, in my opinion, the heir apparent to Wayne Barnes as England’s leading official.
