RBS Six Nations: Williams to miss Paris swansong; Lièvremont apologizes (sort of)

Wales' record try-scorer Shane Williams has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with France in Paris - a match he said would be his last in the RBS Six Nations.

The 34-year-old picked up a knee injury in his team's 19-13 weekend win against Ireland and is now likely to be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

Williams had previously stated that he plans to retire from international rugby after the World Cup later this year, although he has recently softened his stance to the 'never say never' variety.

Furious Lièvremont discards six

"Unfortunately, I am getting older and there are boys pushing for my position. I don't want to say I'm never going to play for Wales again after this year because if need be I'll be there. But you have to be realistic and I'll be 35 next year. It's only so long you can be at the top of your game at this level," said the Wales and Ospreys star.

"It's a tough and ruthless game. We'll have to wait and see, but as far as I'm concerned this will be my last Six Nations," he added.

Williams has twice won the Grand Slam with Wales, while his tournament haul of 22 tries is just two short of the all time record. In all he has scored 55 tries for his beloved country, including six during Wales' 2008 Grand Slam.

The good news for Williams is that while he has sustained ligament damage he will not require surgery.

Scarlets' 18-year-old wing George North has now been added to the Wales squad in place of Williams.

Lièvremont's indecision hurting France

Under-fire France coach Marc Lièvremont, meanwhile, has admitted to being "clumsy" in his post-match comments after his team's humiliating 22-21 loss in Rome last weekend. The former France flanker jettisoned six players from his squad after that defeat, claiming they would never wear the national jersey again. Those players included seasoned internationals Sébastien Chabal, Yannick Jauzion, Sylvain Marconnet and Clément Poitrenaud.

But Lièvremont has now back-tracked somewhat, although perhaps more in an effort to regain his players' trust than in satisfying the angry French rugby public who would quite happily see him replaced after a turbulent three-and-a-half year stint in charge.

"I regret my comments on the international decline of some. It was clumsy of me," he told French reporters on Tuesday. Lièvremont made five changes to his starting XV for the team to take on Wales in Paris, adding that he had tried to "bring a little freshness" to his struggling squad. "I might have been tempted to punish more heavily, but we are a collective," he said.

That last sentence, however, doesn't quite ring true with his decision to kick out six players and then tell them they're unlikely to play for France again during his tenure. One of those, Aurélien Rougerie, was overlooked due to a forthcoming disciplinary hearing with the LNR, but the others now look as if they are all set to miss out on the 2011 World Cup.

One can perfectly understand his frustration after such a poor performance against Italy, but how has Lièvremont allowed such a malaise to develop after his charges swept to the Grand Slam just 12 months ago?

Confidence has clearly been eroded by hammerings at the hand of Argentina, South Africa and Australia - and Lièvremont must surely shoulder some of the blame for that. But, as Guy Noves pointed out yesterday, Lièvremont appears to be a man happy to push blame onto others - be it the system, the league, the clubs or the players.

Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Date: Saturday 19 March 2011
KO: 20.45