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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Wales rugby coach tells England to give Johnson time

Wales coach Warren Gatland has said England must learn from their experience with World Cup winning supremo Clive Woodward and give Martin Johnson time to develop as their manager.

England has lost eight of their 14 Tests since Johnson was appointed to the post of team manager without any previous coaching experience in 2008.

Wales will look to add to those tally of defeats next month when they begin their Six Nations campaign at Twickenham in search of a third straight win over England - something they last achieved more than 20 years ago.

"I hope England give him some time," Gatland said of Johnson after announcing Wales's squad for the Six Nations on Monday.

"It has been tough for Martin. Everyone knows what a great player he has been.

Gatland sees similarities between England and Wales's situations in that both countries are struggling to get club teams into the last eight of this season's European Cup.

"There are two countries going into the Six Nations at the moment a little bit concerned about where their teams are," the New Zealander said.

"That is not just a concern for England, it has to be a concern for Wales as well," former Ireland coach Gatland added.

Wales will head into the Six Nations without their two senior scrum-halves as the British and Irish Lions duo of Dwayne Peel (groin) and Mike Phillips (ankle) are both injured.

Peel sustained his injury playing for English club Sale during their European Cup pool defeat by Cardiff Blues last weekend and now it seems the Scarlets' 23-year-old Martin Roberts will be lining up in the key scrum-half position for his first Six Nations start at Twickenham on February 6, 2010.

"We are not 100 percent sure how long Dwayne is going to be out for," said Gatland. "We are just going to assess him over the next few weeks and, when he is back fully fit, we will make a decision on him."

Wales and England suffered disappointing November international home series with both nations well beaten by New Zealand and Australia.

Looking ahead to their Six Nations opener, Gatland said: "This is a huge game for both sides. A victory for either team will give a huge amount of confidence and give you a chance to win the Six Nations Championship."

Gatland urged Wales to follow the example of Ireland, who won a Six Nations grand slam last year and ended an unbeaten 2009 with a win over world champions South Africa.

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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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French Clubs Angle to Hoist the Heineken Cup

In France, the Heineken Cup—rugby union's answer to football's Champions League—is the tournament that dare not speak its name. Restrictions on alcohol advertising mean it is known as either the Coupe de Europe or the H Cup, the sponsor's initial happily evoking rugby posts.

Whatever they call it, French fans will be firmly focused on the Cup this weekend as it reaches round five of its six-match pool stage. Three French clubs—Toulouse, Biarritz and Stade Français— lead their groups with a fourth, Clermont Auvergne, handily placed.

Though France supplied the Heineken's first two winners—Toulouse and Brive—it couldn't maintain that dominance. Toulouse has won twice more to become the only three-time winner, but no other French club has triumphed since Brive's win in 1997. Since then, four English clubs —both Leicester and Wasps twice— and all three participating Irish provinces have lifted the trophy.

For five consecutive seasons prior to the 2003-2004 campaign, France had three quarter-finalists to England's two. In the following two seasons, they had three each. In each year since, England has placed three quarter-finalists, while France had two for two years, and then reached a new low last season. For the first time its teams lost more matches than they won. Only Toulouse made the last eight, and was promptly eliminated by Cardiff.

To explain France's current revival, it is necessary to ask why the country has performed so comparatively poorly of late, with only two losing finalists during the past four seasons.

He believes more French clubs think his way: "The difference now is that more clubs think they can win in Europe and are regarding it as a priority."

In addition, those clubs are increasingly equipped to chase two targets. Armed with a new television deal and booming attendances, French clubs have been flexing their financial muscles. Damian Hopley, chief executive of England's Professional Rugby Players Association (PRA) says, "The top French clubs have squads of international depth and quality. They could compete in the Six Nations championship."

It also brings full circle the situation described by French captain Philippe Saint André in 1997, when the introduction of professionalism in English rugby threatened to damage French fortunes.

"We are being left behind, and before long players will start looking to their pocketbooks rather than their quality of life," he said.

It was also around then that English clubs began to make an impact in Europe.

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Could 13 be lucky for Hook as Wales consider switch

JAMES Hook's positional odyssey could see him figure for Wales at No. 13 in the Six Nations Championship — his fourth different role in a red jersey.

Welsh rugby's most versatile player is also being considered for full-back duties after his stand-out displays during the autumn internationals.

Hook's route to his favoured fly-half spot has seemingly been sealed off by the twin obstacles of Stephen Jones and Dan Biggar, while Wales plan to look at Lions man-of-the-series Jamie Roberts as a No. 12 after the failed experiment of using him as an outside centre against Australia in November.

Lee Byrne's return to fitness is likely to mean the full-back gig is out of reach for Hook as well, though he played so well there for Wales before Christmas that they haven't completely ruled out the possibility of the 24-year-old staying put.

National attack coach Rob Howley said: "Nothing definite has been decided on James, who, as we all know, has the talent to play in a number of positions.

"At this point we are considering him as a player in our squad, maybe as a 15 or a 13. It depends on the next two weeks and the fitness of players and form as well.

"I don't think James would have a problem playing at 13. You could play the two centres left and right — it needn't be an issue."

Howley continued: "Outside centre is potentially a position that we might have to think long and hard about over the coming weeks.

"Tom Shanklin has been a reliable option for us there, but he picked up a bump over Christmas.

"James hasn't played much for the Ospreys of late.

"They were going to pick him at 10 for the Ulster game last Friday, but the weather intervened.

"He did well for them at 12 in the autumn and stood out for us at full-back in the pre-Christmas Tests.

"What we know about him is that he is a particularly talented player."

Wales are also conscious that Hook offers a creative dimension they can ill-afford to do without, having managed only four tries throughout their entire autumn campaign, with three of those being opportunist efforts.

There is a school of thought that Hook's attacking gifts were wasted at full-back, but the national management were particularly impressed with his kicking game.

The ex-Neath man hasn't started for the Ospreys since returning to them at the end of November, meaning he is short of match fitness and so isn't a guaranteed starter in the Heineken Cup against Clermont Auvergne at Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday.

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Julien Dupuy's gouging ban shortened by one week

An independent appeal committee made the ruling and Dupuy will now miss France's Six Nations campaign.

Dupuy was found to have gouged Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris during Stade's 23-13 Heineken Cup loss on 12 December.

Stade prop David Attoub is set to hear the outcome of his hearing in respect of a similar offence on Friday after evidence was heard on Wednesday.

Stade president Max Guazzini said: "It is a very heavy sanction. (Ferris) said there was no gouging. The fact Dupuy is French probably played a role."

The ruling means that Dupuy, who has won six caps for France, will not play again this season as he will be eligible to play again on 27 May.

Photographic evidence suggested that Attoub also made contact with Ferris' eye area in the match.

When handing out the punishment to Dupuy, officials labelled the offence as "at the top end in the level of seriousness for an offence of this type".

Ferris gave evidence at Wednesday's hearings after being requested to do so by European Rugby Cup officials.

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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