Sébastien Chabal, Yannick Jauzion and Clément Poitrenaud have all been jettisoned from France's 2011 World Cup squad.

The experienced trio - who boost 176 caps between them - have all paid for indifferent club and international form this season.

Head coach Marc Lièvremont said insisted Chabal had been dropped for sporting reasons alone, denying the Federation Francais de Rugby (FFR) had put pressure on him not to select the Racing-Métro star following his recent criticism of referees. Chabal, capped 62 times, can play either at lock or number eight and has effectively been replaced by two players in Lièvremont's squad - Louis Picamoles and Raphael Lakafia.

Former skipper Lionel Nallet scored two tries as France beat Wales 28-9 to end a traumatic week on a relative high.

Their comprehensive victory also featured a try from Stade Toulousain winger Vincent Clerc and 13 points from the boot of Morgan Parra as they did enough to finish second in this season's RBS Six Nations tournament.

Giant lock Nallet admitted afterwards that the scars of last weekend's 22-21 loss in Italy were still at the front of his haunted mind, but said victory against Wales was at least a step in the right direction.

"We won today but we haven't forgotten that only six players paid for our collective failure," said the Racing lock.

"Anyone of us could have been one of those six that had to leave," added the 34-year-old.

France captain Thierry Dusautoir has attempted to unify his squad with a rallying call for national pride to be restored following their Italian humiliation.

The 29-year-old admitted to personal and collective failings in Rome, but urged his team to emerge stronger after a week of intense media criticism.

France take on Wales in Paris on Saturday night and Dusautoir said the match presents a perfect opportunity for his players to respond after last weekend's 22-21 defeat.

"There is a desire to rediscover some form of respect in our game and for our adversary, to get really involved in the game," he said. "You often learn from one's errors and we have been given another lesson in that. We are going through a difficult period. I think we will emerge from it stronger," added the Stade Toulousain flanker.

Under-fire France coach Marc Lièvremont has, as expected, rung the changes for his side's Six Nations clash with Wales in Paris on Saturday.

Lièvremont had already signalled his intentions by jettisoning six players after last weekend's humiliating defeat by Italy, and attacking his squad for cowardice in the face of the Azzurri's physical approach.

Out went Sébastien Chabal, Yannick Jauzion, Clément Poitrenaud, Jérôme Thion and Sylvain Marconnet - with Lièvremont claiming their international careers could be over - while Clermont centre Aurélien Rougerie was overlooked due to a forthcoming LNR disciplinary hearing.

Furious Lièvremont discards six

As a result Lièvremont has named a new-look centre pairing of Damien Traille and the recalled David Marty, while Brive's Alexis Palisson comes in for Yoann Huget on the wing as the Bayonne man drops to the bench.

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The international futures of Sébastien Chabal, Yannick Jauzion, Clément Poitrenaud, Jérôme Thion and Sylvain Marconnet have all been cast in doubt after the quintet were dropped in the aftermath of France's shock 22-21 defeat by Italy on Saturday.

Under-pressure head coach Marc Lièvremont laid the blame for the result squarely on his players' shoulders, adding that several have played their last game in French colours - at least while he remains at the helm.

"They are lacking in in courage. They are good guys but cursed with what is obviously cowardice," lamented Lièvremont.

"They betrayed us, they have betrayed me and they have betrayed the French national team shirt. In terms of tactics deployed it defied belief. I did not recognize anything in their performance that we had worked on.

The 2011 Rugby World Cup is now just six months away, but far from finalizing his line-up it appears that France head coach Marc Lièvremont is becoming increasingly mired down by indecision.

Twelve months ago 'les Bleus' were sweeping all before them amid of a tide of optimism as they headed towards the Grand Slam, but this time around the coach's constant chopping and changing is betraying a general mood of uncertainty.

Lièvremont may be sure of his front five - although he even tweaked that for Saturday's clash with Italy - but his dithering over the key positions of number eight, scrum-half and full-back belies an underlying confusion.

Stade Toulousain's Maxime Médard returns as full-back against the Azzurri after proving his fitness last weekend, but the in-form flyer has been used more on the wing that at No 15 by his club this season, with Guy Noves preferring Clément Poitrenaud at the rear.

France head coach Marc Lièvremont has turned to experience for his team's Championship showdown with England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Dimitri Yachvili, Yannick Jauzion, Vincent Clerc and Sébastien Chabal have all been recalled in a revamped starting XV, which also sees Maxime Médard move from wing to full-back with Clement Poitrenaud dropping to the bench.

The recalled quarter have more than 200 caps between them, with Lièvremont clearly believing that Twickenham won't be for the faint-hearted.

Biarritz scrum-half Yachvili comes in for Clermont Auvergne youngster Morgan Parra, with Jauzion replacing Damien Traille and Clerc filling the wing vacancy created by Médard's move to full-back.

France recorded their eighth successive victory in the Six Nations when they beat Ireland on Sunday, but there were contrasting emotions afterwards from skipper (Thierry Dusautoir) and coach (Marc Lièvremont).

Dusautoir praised his team's solidarity as they hung on to beat Ireland 25-22 despite being outscored by three tries to one, whereas Lièvremont systematically picked apart the French performance.

"We are really happy," Dusautoir told the BBC. "It was really important to win. We did it, but it was really tough. I don't think it was the game of the year but it was very important to win.

"We stayed in the game and scored a lot of penalties, but we scored just one try and the Irish scored three, that's why it stayed tight to the end of the game. I'm really proud of my team, it's never easy to play in Ireland," added the inspirational France captain.

Ireland 22 (15)
France 25 (12)

France beat Ireland 25-22 at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday as they took a massive step towards becoming the first side to defend their title after winning the Grand Slam in the Six Nations era.

Sunday's victory made it nine wins from their last 10 games against Ireland, and now sets up a mouth-watering clash with England in two weeks time as this year's championship decider.

The Irish started in traditionally frantic fashion and it took the marauding green masses just three minutes to grab the game's opening try when Fergus McFadden touched down after mounting pressure. Jonathan Sexton duly kicked the conversion to put the hosts 7-0 up, but France soon found their feet and got themselves on the scoreboard when Morgan Parra slotted a straightforward 12th-minute penalty.

Ireland and France go head-to-head in Dublin on Sunday with both sides showing just one change from their opening victories last weekend.

France have overcome the loss of injured centre Maxime Mermoz by moving Damien Traille from full-back and bringing in Stade Toulousain's silky runner Clément Poitrenaud.

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney has brought back fit-again Jamie Heaslip at No 8, with Sean O'Brien moving over to blindside flanker and Denis Leamy dropping to the bench.

"I wasn't satisfied with the way we played against Italy. We can play a lot better," said Kidney. "But the players performed in such a way that meant they deserved another go," he added.

Dropped France centre Mathieu Bastareaud appears to have blown his hopes of an international recall - or at least while Marc Lièvremont remains in charge of the national team.

The hulking centre was an integral part of France's 2010 Grand Slam but has been conspicuous by his absence in his country's squad this time around.

The 22-year-old looked set for a dazzling future after scoring three tries in his seven caps to date, even managing to overcome a headline grabbing incident when he falsely told New Zealand police he had been mugged while on tour with 'Les Bleus'. The ensuing media storm culminated in claims that Bastareaud had contemplated suicide after his return to France, but Lièvremont showed a paternal touch and brought the talented youngster back into the fold for the 2010 Six Nations after forgiving his "naivety".

Head coach Marc Lièvremont has made just one personnel change to France's starting XV for Sunday's clash with Ireland in Dublin, with Clément Poitrenaud coming in for the injured centre Maxime Mermoz.

Mermoz dislocated his shoulder in France's 34-21 home win against Scotland, forcing Lièvremont to re-jig his centre partnership once more. Although he recalled veteran international Yannick Jauzion to his match-day squad the head coach has resisted putting his straight back in his starting XV, instead opting to move Traille from full-back to inside centre, with Poitrenaud coming in at No 15.

France have recalled Yannick Jauzion in place of injured centre Maxime Mermoz for their weekend trip to Ireland.

Mermoz was forced off with a shoulder problem during France's 34-21 home win against Scotland on Saturday, and tests have now revealed "severe ligament damage".

The 24-year-old is now expected to undergo surgery early this week and is facing a three-month lay-off that will effectively end his season.

It is a cruel blow for the Perpignan centre after he had dislodged Jauzion to earn his first start in more than a year 'Les Bleus'.

Now, however, his World Cup participation has been called into question, with France set to name their 30-man squad in May for the September competition.

One man's loss is another's gain though, with Jauzion named as the only change to France's 22-man squad to take on Ireland. The veteran international, 32, now looks set to add to his 70 international caps just days after appearing to be cast aside by Lièvremont.

Stade Francais duo James Haskell and Tom Palmer have both been named in England's starting XV for Friday night's Cardiff clash with Wales.

But there was no place for Toulon fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, with England manager Martin Johnson preferring Leicester's Toby Flood for the RBS Six Nations opener.

Haskell usually plays blind-side flanker but has been recalled to the starting line-up in place of injured skipper Lewis Moody at open-side.

Palmer, who this week admitted he was contemplating a contract extension at Stade Francais, continues his run of starts in the second row and will lead the England lineout.

Johnson has named veteran centre Mike Tindall as captain against Wales, with Northampton flanker Tom Wood also earning an international debut due to Hendre Fourie's injury.

The roof will be closed in Cardiff tonight, but such is the expectancy and excitement surrounding the Wales v France clash it might prove impossible to keep a lid on both the game and the Millennium Stadium.

It's always risky to predict a classic encounter, with sport notoriously fickle in its treatment of certainties, but there is little doubt that the intensity of this match will rival anything seen in this season's RBS Six Nations.

France arrive buoyed by back-to-back wins over Scotland (9-18) and Ireland (33-10), and in search of another victory to maintain hopes of a first Grand Slam since 2004. They have been the form team of the tournament so far, and have an awesome pack ready to power its way to forward dominance whoever the opposition. Earlier this season they gave World Champions South Africa a lesson in true power play, and Wales will know they must front up in Cardiff to have any chance of victory.

Injuries to Vincent Clerc and Fulgence Ouedraogo have forced Marc Lièvremont to make two changes to the French starting XV which takes on Wales in Cardiff on Friday night. 

Bayonne's fit-again winger Benjamin Fall - who scored at the weekend - and Clermont Auvergne's Julien Bonnaire have been named as their replacements, former Under-21's captain Alexandre Lapandry among the subs. Brive winger Alexis Palisson has recovered from the bruised thigh he sustained against Ireland and is set to start, with Julien Malzieu once more on the bench.

Scotland 9 France 18 / France 33 Ireland 10

Veteran Stade Francais prop Sylvain Marconnet was also ruled out of the match due to injury, paving the way for Stade Toulousain's Jean-Baptiste Poux to join the replacements.