Betsen out of Scotland match after training injury

Serge Betsen is out of France's opening Six Nations Championship match against Scotland after suffering a torn thigh muscle during a strenuous physical work-out for the Tricolores. He is also a doubt for France's second game against England at Twickenham a week later.

The Biarritz flanker could miss both matches anyway if he is found guilty of tripping Wasps' England centre Stuart Abbott in the Heineken Cup match last weekend. Abbott suffered a broken leg in the incident and is out for the rest of the season, but the ERC, the sport's European governing body, yesterday said that it was still sorting through the paperwork and an announcement as to whether there would be a citing hearing could be expected either today or Monday.

But the injury to Betsen has sparked the beginnings of a club versus country dispute across the Channel, with the Biarritz coach, Patrice Lagisquet, saying: "After two hard matches against Leicester and Wasps, I shouldn't have let my players take the tests.

"It is a stupid thing to have a squad session between two demanding club matches like those. The tests carry a high workload, present an injury risk, and leave no time for recovery. I should have followed my feelings and not released him for this session."

Another Frenchman, Philippe Saint-André also waded into the debate. Sale provided England with six players for England's Rugby League training camp this week as well as one each to France and Scotland.

Tonight Sale take on Bath in the Powergen Cup quarter-final, but the enforced absentees left Saint-André with just one training session with the full Sharks squad to prepare for tonight's tie.

"This match comes at the end of a very, very difficult week for me trying to prepare the side for this match," he said.

"Sébastien Bruno has been with France, Jason White with Scotland and there are six players with England, that's eight players plus injuries - 13 players out of a squad of 31. I think if five players or more are picked for [international duty] the authorities should move the date of the club game."

The Powergen Cup is one of Sale's major hopes for this season, and is a crucial target as it guarantees qualification for next season's Heineken Cup.

"We're in the quarter-finals, it's always better to play at home than away and it's a great opportunity," added Saint-André. "But we have to be careful. Bath have just been knocked out of Europe and will make it a tough game."

Bath have also been able to welcome back a few key players. The captain Jonathan Humphreys, Matt Perry, Andy Williams, Lee Best and Andrew Higgins are all named in the squad, while a new-look pack includes Steve Borthwick, Danny Grewcock, Issac Feaunati and David Barnes in the starting line up.

But Bath are still without Mike Tindall, Martyn Wood, Robbie Fleck, Spencer Davey, David Flatman, Gareth Delve and Frikkie Welsh who are still recovering from injury.

Another long-term casualty, the England flanker Richard Hill, has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Saracens, for whom he has made more than 250 appearances in 12 years at the club.

Two of Hill's former England captains, Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio, have been signed up as pundits by the BBC for the next two years, joining two more erstwhile captains, Ireland's captain Keith Wood and Scotland's Andy Nicol.

All four are former Lions and will work alongside the regular analysts Jonathan Davies and Jeremy Guscott. Yet another former England captain, Will Carling, will make his debut as a live co-commentator when Scotland play Italy at Murrayfield on 26 February.