2008 Six Nations Championship squads

England

Squad announced on 9 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Caps updated 10 January 2008 from RFU. On 19 January 2008, Peter Richards was injured playing in a match for London Irish and ruled out of the Six Nations.^[1] Due to more injuries in the squad London Irish scrum-half Paul Hodgson, Bath flanker Michael Lipman and Gloucester number eight Luke Narraway were all called up to the squad.^[2] On 2 February 2008, in England's opening match, Mike Tindall and Tom Rees were injured and ruled out of the rest of the tournament, while David Strettle is out for four to eight weeks.^[3] Because of this Newcastle scrum-half Lee Dickson, London Irish fly-half Shane Geraghty and Sale flanker Magnus Lund were added to the squad.^[4] Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery were forced to withdraw from England's game against Italy, Bristol's Jason Hobson was called up to the bench as a reserve.

Head Coach: Brian Ashton

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province George Chuter Hooker 9 July 1976 19 Leicester Lee Mears Hooker 5 March 1979 18 Bath Mark Regan Hooker 28 January 1972 43 Bristol Jason Hobson Prop 10 February 1983 0 Bristol Tim Payne Prop 29 April 1979 5 Wasps Andrew Sheridan Prop 1 November 1979 20 Sale Matt Stevens Prop 1 October 1982 20 Bath Phil Vickery (c) Prop 14 March 1976 60 Wasps Steve Borthwick Lock 12 October 1979 32 Bath Louis Deacon Lock 7 October 1980 6 Leicester Ben Kay Lock 14 December 1975 53 Leicester Simon Shaw Lock 1 September 1973 43 Wasps Tom Croft Flanker 7 November 1985 0 Leicester James Haskell Flanker 2 April 1985 2 Wasps Michael Lipman Flanker 16 January 1980 0 Bath Magnus Lund Flanker 25 June 1983 10 Sale Lewis Moody Flanker 12 June 1978 52 Leicester Tom Rees Flanker 11 September 1984 8 Wasps Joe Worsley Flanker 14 June 1977 65 Wasps Nick Easter Number 8 15 August 1978 12 Harlequins Luke Narraway Number 8 7 September 1983 0 Gloucester Danny Care Scrum-half 2 January 1987 0 Harlequins Lee Dickson Scrum-half 29 March 1985 0 Newcastle Andy Gomarsall Scrum-half 24 July 1974 33 Harlequins Paul Hodgson Scrum-half 25 April 1982 0 London Irish Peter Richards Scrum-half 10 March 1978 12 London Irish Richard Wigglesworth Scrum-half 9 June 1983 0 Sale Danny Cipriani Fly-half 2 November 1987 0 Wasps Shane Geraghty Fly-half 12 August 1986 2 London Irish Charlie Hodgson Fly-half 12 November 1980 29 Sale Jonny Wilkinson Fly-half 25 May 1979 65 Newcastle Toby Flood Centre 8 August 1985 12 Newcastle Jamie Noon Centre 9 May 1979 27 Newcastle Mathew Tait Centre 6 February 1986 19 Newcastle Mike Tindall Centre 18 October 1978 54 Gloucester Paul Sackey Wing 8 November 1979 10 Wasps James Simpson-Daniel Wing 30 May 1982 10 Gloucester David Strettle Wing 23 July 1983 3 Harlequins Lesley Vainikolo Wing 4 May 1979 5 Gloucester Iain Balshaw Fullback 14 April 1979 30 Gloucester Mark Cueto Fullback 26 December 1979 24 Sale

France

Initial squad announced on 22 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Changes since then are:

• Before the competition began, Florian Fritz was injured in training on 30 January 2008 and will miss the whole of the Six Nations. David Marty was called up to replace him. Prop Nicolas Mas was also called up to the squad to replace Jean-Baptiste Poux.^[5]
• After France's first match, Anthony Floch was called up to the squad because of an injury to Julien Malzieu and Louis Picamoles was also called up in place of Elvis Vermeulen, who was dropped from the squad completely due to a rib injury.^[6]
• After France's second match, locks Romain Millo-Chluski and Pascal Pape and fullback Clément Poitrenaud were called up to the squad, in place of Loïc Jacquet, Arnaud Méla and Anthony Floch on 13 February; Floch was re-called after Poitrenaud broke his ankle,^[7] and Jean-Baptiste Poux replaced the injured Julien Brugnaut. On 19 February, Millo-Chluski withdrew because of injury and Jérôme Thion was called up as a replacement. Dimitri Yachvili was also called up to the squad when Jean-Baptiste Élissalde was ruled out with a calf injury.^[8]
• After France's loss to England in Round 3, coach Marc Lièvremont dropped seven players from his squad—Cédric Heymans, Morgan Parra, Thierry Dusautoir, Lionel Faure, David Marty, David Skrela and William Servat. Five uncapped players were called up for the Italy match: Fabien Barcella, Yann David, Guilhem Guirado, Julien Tomas and Ibrahim Diarra. Julien Malzieu returned to the squad after recovering from his injury, and veteran Yannick Jauzion was recalled. Julien Bonnaire was initially dropped in favour of Imanol Harinordoquy, but returned to the squad after Harinordoquy was ruled out with a muscle tear in an ankle suffered on 23 February. Arnaud Méla was recalled after Pascal Pape suffered a knee injury on 1 March.^[9]
• For the championship decider against Wales, Lièvremont chose to recall several veterans. David, Diarra, Guirado, Picamoles, Aurélien Rougerie, and Tomas were dropped. Both Élissalde and Vermeulen returned to the squad after recovering from their injuries. Also returning to the squad were Dusautoir, Heymans, Servat, and Skrela.^[10]

Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Guilhem Guirado Hooker 17 June 1986 1 Perpignan William Servat Hooker 9 December 1978 16 Toulouse Dimitri Szarzewski Hooker 26 January 1983 22 Stade Français Fabien Barcella Prop 27 October 1983 3 Auch Julien Brugnaut Prop 17 November 1981 0 Dax Lionel Faure Prop 26 November 1977 0 Sale Nicolas Mas Prop 25 May 1980 15 Perpignan Jean-Baptiste Poux Prop 26 September 1979 21 Toulouse Loic Jacquet Lock 31 March 1985 2 Clermont Arnaud Méla Lock 19 January 1980 0 Brive Romain Millo-Chluski Lock 20 April 1983 4 Toulouse Lionel Nallet (c) Lock 14 September 1976 32 Castres Pascal Papé Lock 5 December 1980 16 Stade Français Jérôme Thion Lock 2 December 1977 40 Biarritz Julien Bonnaire Flanker 20 September 1978 37 Clermont Ibrahim Diarra Flanker 25 May 1983 1 Montauban Thierry Dusautoir Flanker 18 November 1981 11 Toulouse Fulgence Ouedraogo Flanker 21 July 1986 1 Montpellier Imanol Harinordoquy Number 8 20 February 1980 51 Biarritz Louis Picamoles Number 8 5 February 1986 3 Montpellier Elvis Vermeulen Number 8 5 April 1979 8 Clermont Jean-Baptiste Élissalde Scrum-half 23 November 1979 30 Toulouse Morgan Parra Scrum-half 15 November 1988 0 Bourgoin Julien Tomas Scrum-half 21 April 1985 2 Montpellier Dimitri Yachvili Scrum-half 19 September 1980 38 Biarritz David Skrela Fly-half 2 March 1979 11 Stade Français François Trinh-Duc Fly-half 11 November 1986 0 Montpellier Yann David Centre 15 April 1988 1 Bourgoin Florian Fritz Centre 17 January 1984 25 Toulouse Yannick Jauzion Centre 28 July 1978 55 Toulouse David Marty Centre 30 October 1982 19 Perpignan Damien Traille Centre 12 June 1979 58 Biarritz Vincent Clerc Wing 7 May 1981 28 Toulouse Julien Malzieu Wing 4 May 1983 0 Clermont Aurélien Rougerie Wing 26 September 1980 51 Clermont Anthony Floch Fullback 12 February 1983 3 Clermont Cédric Heymans Fullback 20 July 1978 37 Toulouse Clément Poitrenaud Fullback 20 May 1982 32 Toulouse

Ireland

Squad announced 15 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Cap totals updated 16 January 2008 from IRFU. On 24 January 2008, Jerry Flannery was handed an eight-week suspension for stamping on Julien Bonnaire in a match for Munster, therefore ruling him out of taking any part in the Six Nations.^[11] He later appealed against this decision and had his ban reduced to one month, making him available for Ireland's final three games. Gordon D'Arcy broke his right arm in the first half of Ireland's Six Nations opener against Italy on 2 February, ending his Six Nations campaign.^[12] On 19 February, Paul O'Connell was named on the bench for Ireland's game against Scotland after making a successful return from a back injury.

Head Coach: Eddie O'Sullivan

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Rory Best Hooker 15 August 1982 17 Ulster Jerry Flannery Hooker 17 October 1978 21 Munster Bernard Jackman Hooker 5 May 1976 4 Leinster Tony Buckley Prop 8 October 1980 2 Munster John Hayes Prop 2 November 1973 79 Munster Cian Healy Prop 7 October 1987 0 Leinster Marcus Horan Prop 7 September 1977 51 Munster Leo Cullen Lock 9 January 1978 19 Leinster Donncha O'Callaghan Lock 23 March 1979 40 Munster Paul O'Connell Lock 20 October 1979 52 Munster Mick O'Driscoll Lock 8 October 1978 11 Munster Malcolm O'Kelly Lock 19 July 1974 90 Leinster Neil Best Flanker 3 April 1979 18 Ulster Simon Easterby Flanker 21 July 1975 62 Scarlets Johnny O'Connor Flanker 9 February 1980 12 Connacht Alan Quinlan Flanker 13 July 1974 25 Munster David Wallace Flanker 8 July 1976 41 Munster Jamie Heaslip Number 8 3 December 1983 3 Leinster Denis Leamy Number 8 27 November 1981 27 Munster Eoin Reddan Scrum-half 20 November 1980 5 Wasps Peter Stringer Scrum-half 13 December 1977 79 Munster Ronan O'Gara Fly-half 7 March 1977 77 Munster Jonathan Sexton Fly-half 11 July 1985 0 Leinster Paddy Wallace Fly-half 27 August 1979 9 Ulster Gordon D'Arcy Centre 10 February 1980 36 Leinster Gavin Duffy Centre 18 September 1981 9 Connacht Brian O'Driscoll (c) Centre 21 January 1979 79 Leinster Andrew Trimble Centre 20 October 1984 19 Ulster Tommy Bowe Wing 22 February 1984 10 Ulster Luke Fitzgerald Wing 13 September 1987 2 Leinster Shane Horgan Wing 18 July 1978 58 Leinster Rob Kearney Wing 26 March 1986 1 Leinster Girvan Dempsey Fullback 2 October 1975 78 Leinster Geordan Murphy Fullback 19 April 1978 53 Leicester

Italy

Squad announced 9 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Nick Mallett decided to drop Denis Dallan, Enrico Patrizio, Ludovico Nitoglia, Ramiro Pez, Robert Barbieri and Antonio Pavanello from the original squad, while former captain Marco Bortolami is out for the first half of the tournament with an eye injury.^[13] Carlos Nieto missed the game against Ireland because of the death of his father, meaning Lorenzo Cittadini took his place on the bench. He then returned for their match against England.^[14] On the announcement of Italy's squad for their game against Wales, Matteo Pratichetti, Kaine Robertson and Pablo Canavosio were ruled out with minor injuries, Enrico Patrizio and Ludovico Nitoglia were recalled due to this. Meanwhile David Bortolussi was injured in training and ruled out for the rest of the tournament, Paolo Buso took his place in the squad. Also with the return of Marco Bortolami to full fitness, Tommaso Reato lost his place in the squad. But then Ludovico Nitoglia once again lost his place in squad, this time to Alessio Galante^[15]

On 27 February, Mauro Bergamasco was handed a 13-week ban for gouging Wales' Lee Byrne during the teams' match.^[16]

Head Coach: Nick Mallett

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Carlo Festuccia Hooker 20 June 1980 39 Métro Racing Leonardo Ghiraldini Hooker 26 December 1984 5 Calvisano Fabio Ongaro Hooker 23 September 1977 18 Saracens Martin Castrogiovanni Prop 21 October 1981 45 Leicester Lorenzo Cittadini Prop 17 December 1982 0 Calvisano Andrea Lo Cicero Prop 7 May 1976 67 Métro Racing Carlos Nieto Prop 25 June 1976 21 Gloucester Salvatore Perugini Prop 6 March 1978 44 Toulouse Marco Bortolami Lock 12 June 1980 67 Gloucester Carlo Del Fava Lock 1 July 1981 21 Ulster Santiago Dellapè Lock 9 May 1978 44 Biarritz Antonio Pavanello Lock 13 October 1982 0 Treviso Tommaso Reato Lock 12 May 1984 0 Rugby Rovigo Robert Barbieri Flanker 5 June 1984 0 Treviso Mauro Bergamasco Flanker 1 May 1979 58 Stade Français Josh Sole Flanker 15 February 1980 21 Viadana Alessandro Zanni Flanker 31 January 1984 16 Calvisano Jaco Erasmus Number 8 31 July 1979 2 Viadana Sergio Parisse (c) Number 8 13 September 1983 42 Stade Français Simon Picone Scrum-half 26 September 1982 10 Treviso Pietro Travagli Scrum-half 28 April 1981 2 Rugby Parma Paolo Buso Fly-half 28 July 1986 1 Calvisano Andrea Masi Fly-half 30 March 1981 31 Biarritz Ramiro Pez Fly-half 6 December 1978 40 Venezia Mestre Mirco Bergamasco Centre 23 February 1983 44 Stade Français Gonzalo Canale Centre 11 November 1982 33 Clermont Pablo Canavosio Centre 26 December 1981 16 Castres Denis Dallan Centre 4 March 1978 40 Stade Français Enrico Patrizio Centre 15 January 1985 1 Petrarca Rugby Alessio Galante Wing 24 October 1983 0 Gran Parma Ezio Galon Wing 22 July 1977 11 Rugby Parma Ludovico Nitoglia Wing 27 October 1983 10 Calvisano Matteo Pratichetti Wing 27 July 1985 7 Calvisano Kaine Robertson Wing 29 October 1980 23 Viadana Alberto Sgarbi Wing 26 November 1986 0 Treviso David Bortolussi Fullback 21 July 1981 10 Montpellier Andrea Marcato Fullback 13 April 1983 2 Treviso

Scotland

Squad announced 8 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Caps updated 17 January 2008 from SRU. After originally being dropped from the squad, hooker Dougie Hall, props Bruce Douglas and Craig Smith and lock Scott Murray were all called up to the squad due to injuries in the main squad.^[17]

Head Coach: Frank Hadden

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Ross Ford Hooker 23 April 1984 16 Glasgow Dougie Hall Hooker 24 September 1980 19 Glasgow Scott Lawson Hooker 28 September 1981 15 Sale Fergus Thomson Hooker 18 September 1983 3 Glasgow Alasdair Dickinson Prop 11 September 1983 1 Gloucester Bruce Douglas Prop 10 February 1980 43 Scarlets Allan Jacobsen Prop 22 September 1978 22 Edinburgh Gavin Kerr Prop 3 April 1977 47 Glasgow Moray Low Prop 28 November 1984 0 Glasgow Euan Murray Prop 7 August 1980 15 Northampton Craig Smith Prop 30 August 1978 23 Edinburgh James Hamilton Lock 17 November 1982 13 Leicester Nathan Hines Lock 29 November 1976 48 Perpignan Alastair Kellock Lock 14 June 1981 7 Glasgow Scott MacLeod Lock 3 March 1979 14 Scarlets Scott Murray Lock 15 January 1976 87 Montauban John Barclay Flanker 24 September 1986 1 Glasgow Kelly Brown Flanker 8 June 1982 19 Glasgow Allister Hogg Flanker 20 July 1983 39 Edinburgh Ross Rennie Flanker 29 March 1986 0 Edinburgh Alasdair Strokosch Flanker 21 February 1983 1 Gloucester Jason White (c) Flanker 17 April 1978 63 Sale Johnnie Beattie Number 8 21 November 1985 3 Glasgow David Callam Number 8 15 February 1983 10 Edinburgh Simon Taylor Number 8 17 August 1979 58 Stade Français Mike Blair Scrum-half 20 April 1981 43 Edinburgh Chris Cusiter Scrum-half 13 June 1982 36 Perpignan Rory Lawson Scrum-half 12 March 1981 9 Gloucester Phil Godman Fly-half 20 May 1982 8 Edinburgh Calum MacRae Fly-half 26 January 1980 0 Edinburgh Dan Parks Fly-half 26 May 1978 37 Glasgow Ben Cairns Centre 29 October 1985 0 Edinburgh Nick De Luca Centre 1 February 1984 0 Edinburgh Rob Dewey Centre 19 October 1983 13 Ulster Andrew Henderson Centre 3 February 1980 49 Glasgow Graeme Morrison Centre 17 October 1982 6 Glasgow Simon Danielli Wing 8 September 1979 13 Ulster Thom Evans Wing 2 April 1985 0 Glasgow Chris Paterson Wing 30 March 1978 81 Gloucester Nikki Walker Wing 5 March 1982 10 Ospreys Simon Webster Wing 8 March 1981 29 Edinburgh Rory Lamont Fullback 10 March 1982 14 Sale Hugo Southwell Fullback 14 May 1980 36 Edinburgh

Wales

Squad announced 14 January 2008, accessed from BBC. Caps updated 14 January 2008 from WRU. In Wales' opening game of the Six Nations, Alun Wyn Jones was left with an injury to his ankle. For their next game, Warren Gatland called up Cardiff lock Deiniol Jones to cover for him.^[18]

Head Coach: Warren Gatland

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Huw Bennett Hooker 11 June 1983 14 Ospreys Matthew Rees Hooker 9 December 1980 16 Scarlets Gareth Williams Hooker 19 December 1978 5 Blues Gethin Jenkins Prop 17 November 1980 53 Blues Adam Jones Prop 8 March 1981 55 Ospreys Duncan Jones Prop 18 September 1978 45 Ospreys Rhys M. Thomas Prop 31 July 1982 3 Dragons Ian Evans Lock 4 October 1984 8 Ospreys Ian Gough Lock 10 November 1976 45 Ospreys Alun Wyn Jones Lock 19 September 1985 18 Ospreys Deiniol Jones Lock 18 November 1977 4 Blues Robin Sowden-Taylor Flanker 9 June 1982 5 Blues Jonathan Thomas Flanker 27 December 1982 39 Ospreys Martyn Williams Flanker 1 September 1975 76 Blues Gareth Delve Number 8 30 September 1982 4 Gloucester Ryan Jones (c) Number 8 13 March 1981 16 Ospreys Alix Popham Number 8 17 October 1979 32 Scarlets Gareth Cooper Scrum-half 7 May 1979 35 Gloucester Dwayne Peel Scrum-half 31 August 1981 59 Scarlets Mike Phillips Scrum-half 29 August 1982 28 Ospreys James Hook Fly-half 27 June 1985 20 Ospreys Stephen Jones Fly-half 8 December 1977 62 Scarlets Gavin Henson Centre 1 February 1982 23 Ospreys Sonny Parker Centre 27 August 1977 27 Ospreys Tom Shanklin Centre 24 November 1979 47 Blues Tom James Wing 11 April 1987 2 Blues Mark Jones Wing 7 November 1979 35 Scarlets Shane Williams Wing 26 February 1977 51 Ospreys Lee Byrne Fullback 1 June 1980 14 Ospreys Jamie Roberts Fullback 8 November 1986 0 Blues

Notes and references

1. "Richards ruled out of Six Nations". BBC Sport. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
2. "Worsley to miss Six Nations start". BBC Sport. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
3. "England suffer double injury blow". BBC Sport. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
4. "Injury-hit England call up trio". BBC Sport. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
5. "Marty replaces Fritz for France". BBC Sport. 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
6. "Clerc returns amid France changes". BBC Sport. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
7. "Floch replaces injured Poitrenaud". BBC Sport. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
8. "France forced into change at lock". BBC Sport. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
9. "France lose Pape for Italy match". BBC Sport. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
10. "France swap half-backs for Wales". BBC Sport. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
11. "Flannery ruled out of Six Nations". BBC Sport. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
12. "Injured D'Arcy out of Six Nations". BBC Sport. 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
13. "Bortolami injury worries allayed". BBC Sport. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
14. "Galon starts in only Italy change". BBC Sport. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
15. "Bortolussi injury blow for Italy". BBC Sport. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
16. "Bergamasco banned for Byrne gouge". BBC Sport. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
17. "Depleted Scotland call up Murray". BBC Sport. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
18. "Wales suffer lock Jones setback". BBC Sport. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.

RBS Six Nations Squad Index