France depleted

France will be without flanker Damien Chouly and centre Mathieu Bastareaud away to Ireland in the Six Nations after both players sustained injuries, the French rugby federation said yesterday. Chouly, who suffered an ankle injury during training, will be replaced in the squad for Sunday’s game by Raphael Lakafia, who is joining the group in Nice. Bastareaud suffered a knock to the head in a Top 14 match at the weekend and is not available to face Ireland. France started their campaign with a 19-16 loss to England at Twickenham before beating Scotland 22-16 at home.