David Llewellyn looks at two sides who may be locked in a desperate tussle

David Llewellyn looks at two sides who may be locked in a desperate tussle to avoid the wooden spoon.
The record as they enter the arena is not good. Both teams are still licking wounded pride following embarrassing setbacks recently against the upstart pups of Italy. Ireland have won just two of their last 10 games, Scotland two out of 12, suffering two record defeats against Australia and South Africa along the way.The form book favours Scotland. It doesn’t matter if you are a prop or a full-back, you’re both expected to put in the same number of tackles in a match.”. Even before a ball has been kicked in anger, Ireland’s meeting with Scotland in Dublin today is being billed as the battle of the underdogs. “Jerome Gallion was there: when I was a kid growing up in Toulon, he was my hero. But now I don’t know if I can ever look him in the eyes again.”Today’s game against England is a chance for Califano and his team-mates to erase that memory, and what he calls the shame and humiliation of the defeat.

“We know that we have to respond to the new challenges that England represents. We all saw how they performed against New Zealand in the Twickenham game last December, and we are aware of the efforts we have to make to prevent them from scoring,” he says.The opening game of the Stade de France may be a little early for Califano to exercise his talents as a centre, and he is more likely to be concentrating on putting in extra tackles than in popping up outside Castaignede for a scintillating mid-field break. It was an occasion which was supposed to have been the Tricolores’ emotional farewell to the famous Paris stadium, but it ended like a knife in the heart for this normally effervescent character.After the match Califano spoke and walked like a man in a daze. “If we want to compete with the English we have to make sure our defence keeps them out. That is our priority for the game: an aggressive first line of defence.”The southern hemisphere teams have shown the way. “There were so many famous ex-internationals in the stands that day, and I wanted so much to be worthy of them,” he confided. According to close friends, it took him days to get over the shock, and while many people considered him to be the player of the year in France, he felt like a humbled schoolboy.

His rotund, teddy-bear appearance belies a powerful frame capable of bench-pressing 160 kilos, but perhaps the most surprising aspect is his remarkable speed for a man of 109kg. At a recent French squad session Califano reeled off some sprint times which embarrassed a number of the threequarters. His 12.03 seconds for the 100 metres is perhaps nothing exceptional, but 3.07sec over 20 metres and 6.49 over 50 put him among the fastest in the team. It is hardly surprising to learn, then, that his secret desire is to play centre threequarter, preferably alongside Thomas Castaignede. “I just need to lose 10 kilos or so, and we could form a brilliant tandem: the perfect combination of the tactician and the battering ram!”One of the few to have emerged with any credit from the disastrous two- Test series against the Springboks last November, this passionate and tireless competitor, was also one of the most deeply affected by the record-breaking 52-10 loss at the Parc des Princes. Virtually an automatic choice in the French front row, Califano has developed into arguably one of the best front-row forwards in the world, capable of playing on either side of the scrum. “Rugby has changed my life, and in everything I do, I just try to give back to the game everything it has given me.”One of the ironies of his career is that he first won selection for France at the expense of his childhood friend, Marc de Rougemont.