Courtney Lawes has been ruled out of England's Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham on Saturday because of a shoulder injury.

After recovering from a calf problem sustained while playing for Northampton, vice-captain Lawes returned off the bench for Steve Borthwick's side as they beat Wales 20-10 at the Principality Stadium in late February.

However, Lawes has now suffered more injury disappointment as an issue with his shoulder forces the lock to withdraw from the squad for the France game.

Marcus Smith has been included in the 27-man squad after the fly-half was left out of Borthwick's group for a three-day training camp in Brighton.

Smith's inclusion means George Ford is released to Sale Sharks to play against London Irish on Sunday, while Max Malins is named in the squad after recovering from an ankle injury that meant he missed the Brighton training camp.

The other players released were forwards Tom Dunn, Joe Heyes, Bevan Rodd and Sam Simmonds, as well as backs Tommy Freeman, Cadan Murley and Ben Youngs.

Full England squad:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Owen Farrell, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson.

Grant Glichrist will miss the rest of the Six Nations after the Scotland lock was given a three-week ban for his red card against France.

Gilchrist was given his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on Anthony Jelonch during a 32-21 victory for the defending champions at the Stade de France last month.

The 32-year-old could have faced a six-week suspension, but an independent judicial committee ruled that he must miss out three matches.

Gilchrist will sit out a clash with leaders Ireland at Murrayfield on Sunday and Scotland's final game of the tournament at home to Italy six days later.

The forward will be cleared to play for Edinburgh against Connacht on March 25 once he has completed a tackle course.

Scotland are second in the table, five points behind Ireland after Les Bleus consigned them to a first defeat of the tournament.

Alex Cuthbert will miss Wales' two remaining Six Nations games due to a foot injury.

The wing came off the bench during defeats to Ireland and Scotland.

Cuthbert was ruled out of the 20-10 loss to England at the Principality Stadium last time out after doing damage to his foot.

The 32-year-old Ospreys flyer will play no part in a trip to face Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday or Wales' final match of the tournament against France at Parc des Princes on March 18.

Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams started on the wings in the defeat to England in Cardiff, the former scoring the only try for Warren Gatland's side.

Wales are bottom of the table without a point from three matches, facing a battle to avoid the Wooden Spoon.

Marcus Smith has been recalled to England's 36-man squad ahead of next weekend's Six Nations clash with France.

The fly-half was not part of England's training camp in Brighton after being omitted from the squad by Steve Borthwick.

Smith instead played for Harlequins in Saturday's 40-5 victory over Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham, where he set up two tries in an impressive display.

After getting some valuable minutes under his belt at club level, Smith is firmly in Red Rose head coach Borthwick's plans for Saturday's visit of France.

Joe Heyes also returned to England's extended squad that was announced on Sunday, while the uncapped Cadan Murley was included on the list.

Borthwick is scheduled to announce his 23-man matchday squad on Tuesday as England look to keep their outside Six Nations title hopes alive.

They lost to Scotland in their opening fixture of Borthwick's reign, but they have since defeated Italy and Wales to sit within five points of leaders Ireland.

Full England squad:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Bevan Rodd, Sam Simmonds, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis.

Backs: Henry Arundell, Owen Farrell, Tommy Freeman, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs.

Mohamed Haouas will play no part in the rest of France's Six Nations campaign after he was banned for a collision with Scotland's Ben White.

The prop made head-on-head contact with White while trying to clear out the Scotland scrum-half in the 10th minute of France's 32-21 win at the Stade de France on Sunday.

Haouas also received a red card against Scotland in the 2020 edition of the competition, being given a three-week ban for punching Jamie Ritchie.

He has received a four-week suspension on this occasion, meaning he will miss France's matches with England and Wales as his team bid to retain the Six Nations.

A widely reported statement from Six Nations said: "French prop Mohamed Haouas appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link having received a red card for an act of foul play in the Guinness Six Nations match between France and Scotland on Sunday.

"After reviewing all the evidence, the committee applied World Rugby's mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.

"Having acknowledged that there were no aggravating factors and accepted mitigating factors including the player's early acknowledgement that the incident warranted a red card; the lack of intent and premeditation and clearly expressed remorse, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by two weeks, resulting in a sanction of four weeks."

The suspension leaves head coach Fabien Galthie with a headache ahead of Saturday's meeting with England at Twickenham, with first-choice prop Uini Atonio also unavailable following his ban for a tackle in the loss to Ireland.

Sipili Falatea looks to be the favourite to deputise against England, though Atonio could return for the clash with Wales should he complete a tackle coaching intervention program.

Finlay Bealham has been ruled out of Ireland's remaining two Six Nations games with a knee injury.

The 31-year-old prop started Ireland's wins over Wales, France and Italy, but he twisted his knee during Saturday's 34-20 victory in Rome.

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) confirmed on Monday that Bealham will play no further part in the 2023 tournament.

However, Bealham's lay-off coincides with Tadhg Furlong's return to the Ireland squad for this week's mini-camp.

Furlong has recovered from a calf injury that has ruled him out of his side's opening three games, while scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Parker is back from a hamstring problem.

Skipper Johnny Sexton and centres Robbie Henshaw and Gary Ringrose are also part of Andy Farrell's 27-man training squad.

Ireland top the Six Nations standings and are on course for a first Grand Slam since 2018 ahead of facing Scotland at Murrayfield on March 12.

The world's top-ranked side conclude their campaign against England at the Aviva Stadium six days later.

France got back to winning ways in the Six Nations with a 32-21 bonus-point victory over Scotland at the Stade de France.

Scotland headed into Sunday's game having opened the competition with back-to-back wins for the first time ever in the Six Nations era, but their hopes of setting up a potential Grand Slam decider against Ireland were ended as France bounced back from their 32-19 defeat to Andy Farrell's side in their last outing.

France were ahead within five minutes through Roman Ntamack, with Thomas Ramos adding the extras, and things went from bad to worse for Scotland shortly after when Grant Gilchrist was sent off for a high tackle on Anthony Jelonch.

The hosts extended their lead to 19-0 with tries from Ethan Dumortier and Ramos, though they were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas saw red for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Huw Jones reduced the deficit prior to the break before going over again shortly after the restart to spark hopes of a Scotland revival, though a Ramos kick went through the posts to stretch France's advantage to 11 points.

Finn Russell then barrelled over before converting his own try to cut the lead to just four, and his team got the ball back with less than two minutes to play.

Scotland needed to go almost the full length of the field, but a penalty handed possession back to France, and the hosts capped the victory through Gael Fickou.

Ireland will be expected to stay in the hunt for a Grand Slam when they resume the Six Nations against Italy while Scotland's title credentials will face a stern test in Paris.

Andy Farrell's Ireland side showed why they are the top-ranked team in the world by halting France's long winning streak with a 32-19 victory at the Aviva Stadium before the break.

The leaders ought to make it three wins out of three at the expense of Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday before third-placed England take on wounded Wales at the Principality Stadium.

Scotland followed up their win over England by hammering Wales and will be braced for a response from defending champions France in what should be an entertaining contest at Stade de France on Sunday.

Stats Perform previews the three tussles with the help of some standout Opta data.

ITALY v IRELAND

FORM

The Ireland juggernaut will take some stopping, with their winning run now at seven matches.

They have come out on top in 19 of their past 21 Tests, losing only to France and New Zealand last year in that period. Farrell's ruthless men have averaged 4.4 tries per game in those 21 matches.

In his 32 Tests in charge, Farrell has a 78 per cent win rate – the best of any Ireland head coach to have been at the helm for two or more games.

Italy have lost each of their 23 home games in the Six Nations since beating Ireland in Rome in 2013. After almost pulling off a shock against France in the opening round, they suffered a 31-14 loss to England last time out.

ONES TO WATCH

Italy powerhouse Sebastian Negri has made 30 carries in the Six Nations this year, the joint-most along with Scotland playmaker Finn Russell. He must play a big part if the Azzurri are to trouble Ireland.

Garry Ringrose will win his 50th cap for Ireland. On the six occasions the centre has faced Italy, he has scored three tries – two of those coming in his past two trips to Rome. 

Ringrose has been more defenders than any other Ireland player in the tournament so far, doing so eight times.

WALES v ENGLAND

FORM

The start of Warren Gatland's second spell as Wales head coach has not gone to plan, losing twice and having to contend with a dispute over contracts that resulted in the threat of strike action from players this weekend.

Gatland has made nine changes after it was confirmed the game will go ahead in Cardiff, where Wales will attempt to avoid starting the tournament with three straight defeats for only the third time – having previously done so in 2003 and 2007.

England got their first win under head coach Steve Borthwick against Italy and will be looking to avoid a third successive away loss to Wales.

The Red Rose have won seven of their last nine meetings with Wales, though, with the previous six of those coming by a margin of no more than six points.

ONES TO WATCH

Gatland has dropped big names such as Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and George North after the heavy loss to Scotland.

Josh Adams is among the players who have retained his place, though, and the wing could help to lift the gloom. The flyer and Ken Owens have made four dominant tackles apiece in the tournament, with only seven players have produced that many. 

Alex Dombrandt will start at number eight once again for England, having made more effective contributions at defensive rucks than any other player in the Six Nations with seven. 

He has won two jackal turnovers and slowed down a further five rucks, so he can make his presence felt again.

FRANCE v SCOTLAND

FORM 

Scotland put on another show to see off Wales, turning on the style at a raucous Murrayfield after winning a thriller against England.

They won on their most recent visit to the French capital, defeating Les Bleus 27-23 in 2021. Scotland have not won back-to-back games in Paris since 1967-1969.

France have won 18 of their past 19 Test matches on home soil, including nine in a row. Their only loss during that time was that one at the hands of Scotland. 

A victory this weekend would give them a 10th straight home win for the first time since 1986-1989.

ONES TO WATCH

Damian Penaud finished superbly to score for France in their loss to Ireland. 

The wing has beaten 15 defenders in his two appearances in this tournament and another livewire display could be on the cards.

Russell produced a masterclass against Wales and Scotland will need him to pull the strings once again. 

The fly-half has made three line-break assists and also laid on three tries in the tournament so far and there should be more to come.

Warren Gatland is keen to "draw a line in the sand" ahead of Wales' Six Nations clash with England, saying the threat of strike action had taken the team "to the brink of disaster" this week.

Saturday's fixture at the Principality Stadium was in serious doubt as Wales players considered making themselves unavailable amid a dispute with the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). 

On Wednesday, however, PRB chair Malcolm Wall confirmed an agreement had been reached with the Welsh Rugby Players' Association on several key issues, including wages and changes to the 60-cap rule that governed international selection.

Wales coach Gatland was forced to delay naming his team due to the uncertainty, and he says the effects of Saturday's game not taking place would have been dire. 

"Looking back now, few people realise just how close we came to the brink of disaster," Gatland wrote in a column for The Telegraph. "What took me by absolute surprise was the level of frustration and anger that boiled over from the players on Monday morning.

"Learning the extent of their frustration was one of the hardest things I had to deal with. I have always prided myself on putting the demands of the players first.

"I was caught in the middle. You want to support the players as much as possible, but you've got to be very careful about how much of the line you cross from that perspective.

"I'm not sure that they had thought about the potential consequences or the long-term effects of the game not going ahead. It would have had such an impact on all rugby in Wales, and potentially led to one or two of the regions going under.

"What hurt me most was hearing a couple of emotive comments from players, second hand, that I didn't care about them. That was the hardest thing because I have always been about putting the players first and looking after them. I just think it was the emotions of the time."

Gatland was eventually able to name his team on Thursday, as Wales look to respond to defeats against Ireland and Scotland in their first two Six Nations contests.

While the 59-year-old is acutely aware of the impact this week's events have had on Wales' preparations, the team are now keen to move on.   

"I am pretty sure I would have easily got a team if I had walked up St Mary Street and asked who was up for beating England. But thankfully we never got that far," Gatland said.

"On Thursday morning I finally named the team. I said it had been a challenging week and we needed to draw a line in the sand and focus entirely on playing against England.

"In fairness to the boys, given what has been going on, they have trained hard and been good in the sessions. It has probably been a welcome distraction to them and I have to take my hat off to them.

"The difficult thing to assess is what impact the mental stress of this week has had on the players. One thing I can promise the Welsh supporters is that the players know how much it means to you. Armageddon or not."

Wales captain Ken Owens said the ordeal had made Welsh rugby "a laughing stock" as he urged the players to pull together in order to get a much-needed result in Cardiff.

France head coach Fabien Galthie has selected Mohamed Haouas as the replacement for the suspended Uini Atonio for France's Six Nations clash with Scotland.

Atonio was handed a three-week ban for a high tackle on Ireland's Rob Herring, with Haouas coming in at tighthead despite not featuring in France's first two games.

That is the only change made by Galthie from the 32-19 defeat in Dublin on February 11.

Captain Antoine Dupont will play alongside Romain Ntamack in the half-backs, while Yoram Moefana and Gael Fickou remain as the centre pairing.

France have won 18 of their last 19 Test matches on home soil, including their last nine in a row, with their only defeat in that spell coming against Scotland in 2021. They will be aiming to win 10 straight home games for the first time since 1986-1989.

Scotland are looking to make it three wins from three after victories over England and Wales, and coach Gregor Townsend has also made just the one alteration to his side from last time out.

The 2021 Six Nations Player of the Championship Hamish Watson comes in to replace Luke Crosbie after recovering from a head injury sustained against New Zealand in December.

Crosbie and Chris Harris are not even named on the bench, with Sam Skinner coming in, while Ali Price is also back and among the replacements.

Stuart Hogg went off with a head injury in Scotland's defeat of Wales in round two, but has been passed fit to start.

France XV: Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Ethan Dumortier, Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (c); Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Mohamed Haouas, Thibaud Flament, Paul Willemse, Anthony Jelonch, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.

Replacements: Gaetan Barlot, Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea, Romain Taofifenua, Francois Cros, Sekou Macalou, Baptiste Couilloud, Matthieu Jalibert.

Scotland XV: Stuart Hogg, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie (c), Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson.

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, WP Nel, Jonny Gray, Sam Skinner, Jack Dempsey, Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn.

Courtney Lawes is poised to make his England return at the Principality Stadium, while Dan Biggar drops to the bench as Warren Gatland has made nine changes to his team for the Six Nations clash on Saturday.

Lock Lawes has been named among the replacements after recovering from injury and is set to make his first appearance for the Red Rose since captaining his country for the series victory in Australia last year.

Anthony Watson has got the nod to start on the left wing ahead of Ollie Hassell-Collins in the only change to the team that beat Italy 31-14 before the weekend off.

That means Marcus Smith is on the bench once again, with captain Owen Farrell staying at fly-half.

Warren Gatland has wielded the axe following a 35-7 hammered at the hands of Scotland, fly-half Biggar among those to lose his place. George North, Liam Williams and Wyn Jones miss out altogether.

Centre Mason Grady will make his senior bow, Owen Williams comes in at number 10 and the fit-again Louis Rees-Zammit is back on the wing.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that the game will go ahead following a threat of strike action from Wales players, who will attempt to get up and running following defeats to Ireland and Scotland.

Wales team: Leigh Halfpenny, Josh Adams, Mason Grady, Joe Hawkins, Louis Rees-Zammit, Owen Williams, Tomos Williams; Gareth Thomas, Ken Owens (captain), Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Christ Tshiunza, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Kieran Hardy, Dan Biggar, Nick Tompkins.

England team: Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Anthony Watson, Owen Farrell (captain), Jack van Poortvliet;  Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Lewis Ludlam, Jack Willis, Alex Dombrandt.

Replacements: Jack Walker, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Courtney Lawes, Ben Curry, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell.

Craig Casey and Ross Byrne will make their first Six Nations starts for Ireland when they travel to Rome to face Italy on Saturday.

With Johnny Sexton out with a groin injury and Conor Murray dropped to the bench, Casey and Byrne will pair at half-back as coach Andy Farrell makes six changes to the team that beat France last time out.

Ronan Kelleher replaces Rob Herring at hooker, while Jack Conan comes in for Peter O'Mahony and Bundee Aki earns a start after coming off the bench in the first two games, replacing Stuart McCloskey.

Dan Sheehan is fit again and has been named among the replacements.

James Ryan will captain the side in Sexton's absence as Ireland look to make it three wins from three following victories against Wales and France.

Ireland have won 22 of their previous 23 matches against Italy in the Six Nations, including the last nine in a row, with their only defeat in that spell coming in Rome in 2013, which was the last time Italy won at home in the competition against anyone.

Italy have made three changes from the side that lost to England in their last game, with fly-half Paolo Garbisi back in for Tommaso Allan.

Coach Kieran Crowley has also recalled Pierre Bruno to the left wing, while Simone Ferrari is in for Marco Riccioni at tighthead prop.

Italy XV: Ange Capuozzo, Edoardo Padovani, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Pierre Bruno, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (c), Lorenzo Cannone.

Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Marco Riccioni, Edoardo Iachizzi, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Fusco, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Allan

Ireland XV: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, James Ryan (c), Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Dave Kilcoyne, Tom O'Toole, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Stuart McCloskey.

Wales' Six Nations clash with England will go ahead this weekend after strike action was avoided following crunch talks on Wednesday.

Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall confirmed an agreement had been reached with Welsh Rugby Players' Association (WRPA) chief executive officer Gareth Lewis over a series of key issues that had led to a realistic threat of the fixture not taking place.

The settlement of a significant contract dispute came after the PRB agreed a reduction to the 60-cap rule that governs international selection and revised the fixed-and-variable contract offer for players.

Only 25 international caps will be required for players before being able to play freely outside of Wales, and still be available for the national side, while Lewis will attend all PRB meetings.

A new contract agreement, under the newly proposed new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA), will contain a fixed-only option, as well as a fixed-variable deal that Wales' professional sides will work under.

"We have listened to our players and have been able to resolve the three issues presented, quickly and efficiently," said Wall after the announcement.

"The six-year framework we have agreed has always had the players' best interests at heart and we have been happy to allay their understandable concerns with the adjustments described.

"Negotiations at PRB will continue in earnest as we seek to sign our new six-year PRA as soon as possible and we continue to be grateful to our professional players for their understanding and patience at this most critical time for the game in Wales."

Warren Gatland delayed his squad announcement on Tuesday amid ongoing discussions, with Wales players reportedly keen to have matters sorted by the following day.

Those plans came to fruition after negotiations between the four Wales professional sides and WRPA representatives at Principality Stadium, and a further meeting among international and club players.

"I'm grateful to PRB members for the meaningful consultation that has taken place over the past days and weeks and for the compromises they have made in getting to this point," said WRPA's Lewis.

"The impasse that was reached this week is of course regrettable for all parties but, having now been granted a place within PRB, the players' voices can now be heard which will avoid any repeat of situations like this in the future.

"The players are now keen to put this matter behind them and concentrate on preparations for one of the biggest matches in the international sporting calendar in Cardiff on Saturday."

Welsh Rugby Union interim chief executive officer Nigel Walker added: "The PRB has been agile and receptive to the players' requests and the players have, equally, been responsible and reasonable in their dealings with the PRB which is a credit to all parties.

"We will all now put this matter behind us and I know the nation will also unite as one behind the team when they face England.

"The game is on and, whilst there is still some detail to discuss and some fine tuning to be done in our negotiations at PRB, this is undoubtedly been a linchpin moment from which we can build."

Wales are bottom of the table after losing to Ireland and Scotland at the start of Gatland's second spell as head coach.

Tom Curry will not return before the end of the Six Nations due to another hamstring injury.

Curry had been in line to return for England against Wales this week after missing time with a tear to his right hamstring.

But after making his comeback for Sale Sharks on Saturday, he injured the same muscle in his left leg.

On Tuesday, England confirmed Curry would be replaced in the squad by brother Ben.

An update followed from Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson, who ruled the back rower out for the remainder of the tournament.

"It's a grade 2c hamstring injury on the opposite side to the one that he did six weeks ago," Sanderson said.

"It's a soft muscle injury that extends into the tendon. It's four to six weeks."

Sanderson explained the injury had been sustained after linking up with England this week rather than in the club match against Northampton Saints.

He attributed the setback to "something to do with the loading and the physical demands of an international camp compared to your club".

Defending the decision to involve Curry against Northampton, Sanderson said: "Tom knows his body and his mind better.

"This is not a guy who needs two or three games to warm up. He can just go straight in and be at the top of his game."

Tom Curry will not make his England comeback against Wales on Saturday due to a leg injury and has been replaced in the squad by his twin brother Ben.

Curry had hoped to return for the Six Nations battle at the Principality Stadium this weekend after a spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring tear.

But the back rower, who played for Sale Sharks in a win over Northampton Saints on Saturday, will not feature in Cardiff after withdrawing from the squad.

Ben Curry has been drafted in by head coach Steve Borthwick, while Ben Earl has been omitted after coming off the bench in the round-two win over Italy.

Fit-again lock Courtney Lawes is poised to make first England appearance since captaining his country in the series victory in Australia last year. Wing Ollie Hassell-Collins misses out with a knee issue.

Warren Gatland delayed naming his team on Tuesday amid uncertainty over potential strike action from Wales players, but the head coach said he was confident the issues would be resolved and the game would go ahead.