Can anyone stop France's charge towards a Grand Slam?

Be afraid, be very afraid. French rugby is stirring and a giant awakes.

It was all very well for France's reinvigorated rugby team to hammer and humiliate the reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland, in Paris on Saturday. But to receive laudatory comments from that notoriously dissatisfied body of opinion known as the French media was another thing altogether.

Thus, we can imagine that French coach Marc Lièvremont (below) probably needed to sit down in a darkened room once he had digested the words of France's great newspapers following his team's 33-10 victory at Stade de France.

"Combat Kings" L'Equipe hailed them. The magisterial Le Monde opined that: "France replied in masterly fashion to the question of what level they are at."

And the rugby bible, Midi Olympique, added: "It was their aggression and breakdown work which were the most impressive aspects of the French performance."

As the Irish captain, Brian O'Driscoll, rightly pointed out: "It was an impressive display, not just from their forwards but an all-round performance."

Since 2004, when they last won a Grand Slam, France's national team has atrophied, stymied by the kind of straitjacket tactics that are currently bedevilling the England team. This has suited the national psyche and characteristics of the French about as well as a glove on a three-fingered man. They have looked ill at ease, out of sync.

But at Stade de France, we saw a different France. For a start, there was a cohesion and balance which had not been apparent before. Forward power is a mighty weapon if it is accompanied by pace, a requisite of the modern game, and a willingness by the pack to set up the backs. Crucially, France appear to have discovered for the first time in years a half-back combination of considerable potential.

Morgan Parra and François Trinh-Duc have brought a quality that has had an ageless appeal to French teams, namely, invention. They can vary their games, which is another crucial facet in modern rugby. This is another of the root causes of England's failings. More propitiously, Parra's goal-kicking was so effective against Ireland, even from long range.

Outside them, Mathieu Bastareaud, a centre who weighs an extraordinary 114kg, could be one of the biggest stars of the next World Cup.

But to counterbalance that, France have beaten the All Blacks and world champions South Africa in the course of the last eight months. Clearly, something is stirring in French rugby and the timing could hardly be better with a World Cup looming next year.

Nor has this transformation been achieved in a nonsensical, cavalier fashion. As the Australian Ewen McKenzie, a former coach of Paris-based club Stade Français and now in charge of the Queensland Reds, says: "Lièvremont has brought a lot of younger players to the fore but he had the skeleton there all the time. He has still got some hard heads – Nallet, Harinordoquy, Pape, Servat, Mas, Jauzion and Poitrenaud – through the key positions of the team.

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Six Nations 2010: France's Mathieu Bastareaud goes up against Brian O'Driscoll

At Murrayfield he confronted his demons and scored two tries, and now in Paris Mathieu Bastareaud will face the world's best centre – Brian O'Driscoll.

It will be a pivotal clash in probably the key game of the 2010 Six Nations. Bastareaud is beginning to make the headlines for the right reasons again, for which he and France are grateful.

That brace of tries against Scotland has got the French rugby public back onside – there were many who felt his recall was premature after the disgrace he brought on Les Bleus by his false accusations of an assault by a street gang in New Zealand. A command performance against the Irish would surely see all sins forgiven.

It should be a personal clash to savour at the Stade de France, the ground where 10 years ago a young O'Driscoll – 21, as Bastareaud is now – announced himself to the rugby world at large with a match-winning hat-trick of tries against for Ireland against the French.

O'Driscoll has reigned supreme for a decade since then, but you fancy Bastareaud is a worthy opponent and an individual capable of being the benchmark midfield player in the Six Nations well into this next decade. A changing of the guard possibly? O'Driscoll will resist, like all great

"Mark is a very young man and his actions in New Zealand were those of an immature young man not used to the responsibilities of representing his country abroad," France coach Marc Lièvremont said. "It was a difficult personal time for him and he paid a high price but now he has been reintegrated into the squad. He has been rehabilitated and we start again.

"Mathieu is a wiser man. He has apologised to everybody who needed apologising to many times over. He cannot apologise any more, the incident is over. He can only play good rugby and conduct himself in the appropriate fashion. His abilities have always been evident and now he is a hungry man with points to prove, which is always good in a player."

A cousin of the France and Arsenal centre-back, William Gallas, Bastareaud burst on to the scene at the 2007 Under-19 World Cup in Belfast and was always going to be fast-tracked into the senior team. A product of Créteil rugby club and humble SU Massy of the French third division, Bastareaud was eventually signed by Stade Français.

Built like a dump truck and weighing 17st 7lb with power to add, Bastareaud can claim to be the heaviest centre playing Test rugby. He has, however, surprising pace, which sometimes catches out opponents steeling themselves to tackle a straightforward battering ram, and he also possesses a better than average pair of hands, which gives him other options.

"We are going to polish up our report to Paddy O'Brien [head of the International Rugby Board's referee commission]. Refereeing is a factor of the game we can't control but we'll still try to solve the problem."

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Brive v Scarlets preview

The Scarlets hope to have fly-half Stephen Jones and hooker Matthew Rees available for their crucial final Heineken Cup Pool 6 game in Brive.

Wales duo Jones (shoulder) and Rees (groin) were on the sidelines as the region grabbed a lifeline in Sunday's 31-22 win over London Irish.

Flanker Rob McCusker scored twice against the Exiles said: "We've got to be confident after that.

"We can take a lot out of it. But we have a lot to work on."

The Scarlets have an outside chance of quarter-final qualification. A bonus-point win will see them leap-frog London Irish to claim second place on 18 points, providing the Exiles fail to beat group leaders Leinster.
Depending on results elsewhere, the Welsh region could equally find themselves battling for a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

The six group winners and two best runner-ups progress into the Heineken Cup last eight, while the next three qualify for European rugby's second-tier competition.

The Scarlets began this season's European campaign with a 24-12 win over the French side.

Brive, who include ex-Scarlets back-row Alix Popham in their ranks, have since failed to record a win in this season's competition.

The 1997 tournament winners have lost heavily twice to Leinster and London Irish and are lying ninth in the French Top 14 with eight wins from 18 starts.

The Scarlets' Magners League form is also a concern, also lying ninth, but with only Connacht below them, having won only three games in 10.

North Walian McCusker, 24, added: "We've never given up on this competition. We've said we could get something out of it.

"We wanted to carry on the performance from last week and we're going to do our best to carry on next week.

"Traditionally people don't think French teams travel well, but it's going to be a totally different game in France, in Brive and it's an intimidating place to go.

"They've got a great tradition from the Heineken Cup in previous year."


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Perpignan make offer to Ospreys for James Hook

The Ospreys' Wales and Lions back, 24, is understood to be keen on a move away from the Liberty Stadium despite having 15 months to run on his contract.

Hook, who has won 37 caps for Wales, has become disillusioned with his rugby life in Swansea after losing his place at fly-half to Dan Biggar, 20. He also fears his switch to centre will end his chances of wearing the No 10 shirt at next year's World Cup in New Zealand.

Cardiff and Worcester have also made inquiries about Hook, who played at full-back for Wales in the autumn Tests.

Sources in France suggest the Ospreys have turned down an initial approach from Perpignan and are likely to maintain their stance despite Hook's desire to leave.

The 22-year-old former rugby league player, who is the Guinness Premiership's leading try-scorer, with nine in 10 games, has been named in England's elite player squad for the Six Nations Championship.

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Wales fly-half Stephen Jones committed to Scarlets

British and Irish Lions fly-half Stephen Jones wants the rest of his playing career with Llanelli Scarlets.

The Wales star, 32, has been associated with his home club since his debut in 1996 and is in his second spell at the Scarlets after two years in France.

Jones has been linked with a move away as he is out of contract in the summer.

But Jones told BBC Sport: "I don't know how many playing days I've got left in me, but there's more than a good chance they'll be at Parc y Scarlets!"

Jones is a talismanic figure at the Scarlets as the experienced number 10, arguably the best fly-half in the northern hemisphere, is helping guide his young team through a transitional period.

The Scarlets' leading points-scorer and Wales' double Grand Slam winner has been linked with a big-money return to France, where he spent two seasons with Clermont Auvergne between 2004 and 2006.

In recent season the Scarlets, Welsh club rugby's traditional flag-bearers in Europe, have struggled.

And the west Walians currently sit second from bottom in this season's Magners League table and are unlikely to get beyond the Heineken Cup pool stage.

But Jones has huge emotional ties with the Scarlets, where he graduated through Llanelli's youth system, has committed his future to the Parc y Scarlets region.

"They way I look at things at the moment is 'OK, we're in transition'.

"We've got good youngsters who want to be successful with a good work ethic, they make the working week enjoyable."

"The club have been very good to me the way they've managed me, especially in the period where I came back from the Lions," added Jones, who started all three Tests in the 2-1 series loss in South Africa last summer.

"They realise I'm a bit older now, a few more miles on the clock, so the club are good to me in the way they construct my working week."

"I'll try and prepare and train smartly to obtain that. That would be my goal and that's what I'd like to get to.

"I'd have to assess things then, but obviously I'd be a lot older. I will see how the body is and more importantly the mind - if I'm enjoying it I might look to play on, it's all about enjoyment."

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