A third Brive player, Steve Thompson, is among the substitutes and looks set to collect his 48^th England cap should he be called upon. The weekend game (kick off 5.15pm) is the first of England’s three summer matches, preceding home and away fixtures against Argentina on June 6^th and 13^th.

Top 14 Table / Top 14 Fixtures / Top 14 Transfers - The story so far...

Tom May, recently signed by Toulon, has also been named on the subs’ bench for Saturday and could make his England debut, while Stade Francais’ James Haskell will be hoping that he can get on to end a trying season on a high note.

Meanwhile, Jonny Wilkinson - May’s future club-colleague in France - was introduced to Toulon’s fans on Wednesday, after flying in to the Cote d’Azur yesterday, and promised to live every day to the full.

In an interview with The Times the 30-year-old said he had altered his perspective on life following his recent struggles with injury.

“I have learnt that life is not about trying to hold on to things or hide away, it is about experiencing every second,” he said.

Wilkinson turned 30 this week but said his focus these days was on looking forward not back. “You wake up and the choice to reinvent yourself is there, to take new decisions, leave the past behind and open up a new future and that’s what this is.

“I have been trying for some time to leave things behind me, injuries, a few elements of the World Cup that were placed on me at a young age and you perhaps want to break free from.

“Coming here is a good illustration of being able to wake up one day and follow a new direction. It is something I can’t wait to be involved in.”

And international rugby’s record points-scorer said he was relishing the opportunity to live and play in France.

“I love French rugby,” he said. “Some of the scariest moments of my rugby life have been against France. It is that mystery, the unexplained, where you cannot fathom how they go from a standing start to 100 miles an hour and all of a sudden you are under your own posts. England, New Zealand, Australia have all felt it. I have always wanted to know their secret. I hope now I am here I will,” he added.

Departing Leicester centre Ayoola Erinle has also shed light on his own summer move across the Channel - to Biarritz.

“Any kind of move, especially abroad is a difficult one,” said the former England sevens star. “It was a very difficult decision, but to be honest it was a decision I would have loved to have made at any point.

“I always thought I wanted to move to France, especially having played against Biarritz and loved it down there; maybe the move came a year or two earlier than I anticipated but that’s the way things go in sport and life, you just have to roll with it.

“It’s just pleasing that things have gone well and I haven’t been backed into a corner. I’ve had choices, and options, and going to a club like Biarritz is fantastic – I’m really fortunate and looking forward to it,” he added.

His future club have been given a massive boost for their 2009/10 Heineken Cup campaign after being named as one of the six top seeds for the competition.

The Basques only confirmed their qualification with a last-day victory against Montauban in Top 14, but this week they were named along with Stade Toulousain in the competition’s top tier of seeds. They join winners Leinster, runners-up Leicester Tigers, along with Munster and Bath.

The draw for the pool stages is due to made in the second week of June, with all but one of the competition’s 24 entrants now confirmed. The remaining spot up for grabs will be decided by a play-off between Newport Gwent Dragons and Italian side Calvisano on May 29.

Bourgoin captain Julien Frier has been cited for punching Northampton’s Euan Murray during last week’s European Challenge Cup final.

The French side lost an ill-tempered match 15-3, with substitute Thomas Genevois being sent-off late on for punching Courtney Lawes.

And now Frier has been cited by match commissioner Ray Wilton, although no date or venue has yet been set for the hearing.

Bourgoin had called for Lawes himself to be cited for an alleged late tackle on scrum-half Morgan Parra, which has resulted in the 20-year-old pulling out of France’s summer tour to New Zealand and Australia due to a serious shoulder injury. It had been feared Parra – who joins Clermont during the summer – would need an operation, but that has now been ruled out following consultation with specialists In Lyon. Instead, he has been told to rest for two months before resuming training.

Bourgoin did, however, receive some good news yesterday with Argentina’s Matia Viazzo signing a two-year extension to his current deal with the Isere club.

Finally, just to prove that the influx of British players to France isn’t just limited to Top 14, Plymouth Albion’s Colin Stewart has signed a two-year contract with ProD2 outfit Tarbes.

The former Scottish under-21 international follows in the footsteps of former Torquay footballer and ex-Cornish Pirates winger Martin Worthington.

“I have emailed Martin who has just played his first full season for Tarbes and he had nothing bit good things to say about the club,” said Stewart. “The opportunity of playing rugby in France is appealing to me and will provide me with an exciting new challenge,” added the lock.