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Rangers midfielder Jamie Ness has backed new signing El-Hadji Diouf to be a strong force for the Ibrox side and hopes the forward can have big part to play in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Diouf, who joined on loan from Blackburn on the transfer deadline day, made his debut for Rangers when he was brought on from the bench after 20 minutes in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Hearts.

Ness admitted he was impressed by the Senegalese’s performance and expects big things from his new team mate.

"It was difficult for him as I don't think he expected to come on so early," said the 19-year-old.

"But he showed some good touches and I think he will only get better and be a really good player for us."

Diouf, who was widely criticised for spitting at a Celtic fan in 2003, could feature in the fifth round match against the Hoops and Ness believes he has the potential to have a huge impact on the match.

He added: “[Diouf's] obviously got the quality so, if he's playing, hopefully he will be able to do something for us."

Ness is looking to secure a foothold in Walter Smith’s side himself after making his starting debut in the New Year Old Firm game. He hopes his recent performance have done enough to feature in Smith’s plans.

"Hopefully I'll be involved. I always want to play and hopefully the gaffer will think I've done enough to merit a place,” he said.

"I've trained with the first team boys regularly for almost two years so I know everyone really well and I know everyone's game well and I think that has helped me a lot."

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Labels: Celtic, clash, Diouf, hopes, Rangersapos, shine, stvtv

“These days players across the world are as big and as powerful as each other. We’ve all got access to gyms and conditioners. There’s no real difference between the teams.”

Lamont is wrong of course. And right. Right because, self-evidently, the size of the gene pool doesn’t influence the results of international matches in the way that it did a generation or so ago; because Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, with fewer players to choose from, can now, on the back of specialist nutritional advice and a load of weights, churn out individuals who tip the scales with, and stand as tall as, the best of the rest.

But wrong because Lamont’s answer ignores the way France go about their rugby, which, at its finest, is an explosive combination of very powerful men running fast at pockets of unguarded space. It is the Holy Grail of modern Test rugby, and no one, not even New Zealand, does it as well as France when they are up for it.

In recent seasons, it has come with a twist. France have always done big and direct. From the brutish and bullying Gerard Cholley and Jean-Pierre Bastiat, down through Marc Cécillon, and onto the likes of Fabien Pelous, a succession of French coaches have reasoned that a good big ’un will marmalise a good little ’un. Current boss Marc Lièvremont is no different.

He also is of the opinion that size matters, only Lièvremont has shifted the big is beautiful philosophy from the pack to a specific area of the backs.

When Ireland take on France in the Aviva Stadium this afternoon they will encounter a midfield of Damien Traille, switched from full-back to centre because of an injury to Maxime Mermoz, and Aurélien Rougerie, who are a stone and a half heavier and five inches taller than their oppos, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll.

Rougerie and Traille, at 16st 5lb each, are heavier than three of the French forwards, and taller, at 6ft 4in, than six of them. This is not a one-off. Last season Lièvremont selected Mathieu Bastareaud who is six-foot tall and 17st 4lb, while Yannick Jauzion, on the bench this afternoon for France, has been an ever-present at 6ft 4in and 16st 7lb.

It’s not as if Rougerie and Traille are just big lumps either. Rougerie, having spent much of his career on the wing, has gas, and, as his deft poke through for France’s opening score against Scotland demonstrated, can manipulate a rugby ball with his feet. Traille, no slouch himself, has started at outside half as well as full-back and centre for France in his 78-cap career. These guys can play.

That’s Ireland’s first job. Stop the French midfield from operating and you start to stop France, because they are at their most dangerous when their big men get in behind the tacklers and are able to offload to support runners flooding the holes close in. That’s the benefit of being tall and heavy on attack. It allows you to ride over or through the collisions, freeing up a hand to distribute. In defence the additional weight on impact can dislodge the ball, forcing turnovers.

Ireland play it differently. If their run-out against Italy is anything to go by, they will attempt to bewilder France with the variety of their offence.

Ireland weren’t very good against Italy. There were far too many unforced errors by D’Arcy in particular, but they are more of a play-book side than France, more reliant on choreographed decoys and deceptive running lines involving the back three. France thump in midfield.

Ireland, led by the majestic O’Driscoll, aim to obfuscate, to fix or wrong-foot defenders by confusion. Pull Traille and Rougerie out of their defensive channels and they fall off tackles. It’s not quite beauty against the beast, but almost.

The other big difference between the two sides is at the scrummage. France can. Ireland can’t. Again, size is the issue here. France were a stone a man lighter than Scotland up front yet forced a penalty try from Scottish inadequacies, damaging Euan Murray’s reputation for competence into the bargain. Against Ireland, France are just half a stone lighter but they still expect to dominate that area. Less weight, more go-forward. It doesn’t make sense.

Except that it does when you take account of the fact that French oomph is channelled through a front row which houses a freak of a forward.

At a vertically challenged 5ft 8in, Thomas Domingo, the French loosehead prop, is the Six Nations’ little big man. His diminutive stature is a virtue because taller opponents find it almost impossible to get underneath him to shunt him backwards. Nicolas Mas, Domingo’s mate on the tight head, is also smallish for a modern prop.

At 5ft 11in, he completes a squat trio which, when the front rows engage, naturally thrusts up and against taller opponents. Trying to get low in the stance to meet them head on, which is what Murray tried to do, means shifting your feet further back away from the hips which in turn makes you vulnerable to collapse. Ireland could be in real trouble here this afternoon.

Mike Ross is six inches taller than Domingo, a massive discrepancy. With the International Rugby Board keen to address the mess of collapses and resets polluting Test rugby, English referee Dave Pearson is honour bound to reward the dominant scrum.

So, a game of intriguing contrasts, of petit French props and huge centres against big Irish props and little centres. They may not be the only issues around which the game turns. The French mood generally, the return of the excellent Jamie Heaslip and the fact that Ireland won’t be as diffident as they were in Rome may affect the result. But in an age where the top teams are all much of a muchness, it is rather satisfying to anticipate genuine points of difference.

Labels: France, French, hopes, Ireland, lifted, little, Nations, Telegraphcouk

"The most pleasing thing for me, and I must stress this, everybody wanted to be here, everybody played with a smile on their face," Scots boss Levein said.

"And everybody understood how important it was for the fans to come here and see just how good a team they can be.

"I was hoping that they would make sure I didn't have to eat my words."

Scotland's build-up started in controversial fashion, with Wolves striker Steven Fletcher saying in a text message that he did not wish to be considered for the game.

Levein's comments about the desire to win in Dublin may have been a barbed response to that, but he concentrated on praising the players who he lauded before the game for their recent improving form.

"I was thrilled with them, not just with the way they performed, but their application was exceptional," the 46-year-old told BBC Scotland.

"I have been watching them week-in and week-out playing at the very highest level and I am not surprised by that.

"What I thought was exceptional was the way they pressed as a team, they worked back the pitch just as hard as they went forward, which is sometimes a difficult thing to do, and I have noting but praise for them in the way they did that.

"That application, I think, made the game a little bit easier because we did not give Northern Ireland a second in possession.

"We have technically some very good players, but they also have good football brains, particularly in the midfield area."

The victory in Dublin, coming 24 hours after hosts Republic of Ireland defeated Wales 3-0, leaves the Scots equal top in the new competition before it resumes in May.

Neither match was played in front of large crowds and some have questioned value of the Nations Cup, but full-back Phil Bardsley stressed the Scots' desire to lift the trophy.

"It is a great start for us and hopefully we can continue that in May," Bardsley commented.

"It was fantastic. We wanted to start this competition well and we have done that - it was a great performance and everyone played their part.

"We've got good experienced players and young hungry players who want to come in and do well.

"If we keep working hard together when we are called up for Scotland and keep doing well, I am sure we have a bright future."

Bardsley was pleased with his developing partnership with Kris Commons, who scored Scotland's third goal after Kenny Miller opened the scoring and James McArthur added the second.

Commons was also delighted with his recent form, having made a scoring start to his time at Celtic.

"We got out of the blocks nice and quick and created quite a lot of chances and it could have been maybe four or five in the end," the former Derby County winger reflected.

"It looked like we were a team that's been playing together quite some time, but there were a few making their debuts and a few out of position, so credit to the boys."

Meanwhile, Levein revealed that he had withdrawn Celtic midfielder Scott Brown from the starting line-up just before the kick-off because he had a tight groin and the Scotland coach did not want to risk further damage.

Labels: hopes, impressed, Levein, Scots

From Australian football to rugby for Italy ... Kris Burton. Photo: Getty Images

AUSTRALIAN-born Italy five-eighth Kris Burton has set his sights on a place in the Azzurri World Cup squad for this year's tournament in New Zealand after forcing his way back into reckoning for the first team.

With fellow Australian Craig Gower on the treatment table, Burton earned a call-up to Italy's Six Nations squad for their first two games, against Ireland on Saturday and England next weekend.

With just four caps for Italy since switching allegiance seven years ago, Burton is determined not to let his goal slip through his fingers this time, four years after his hopes of representing the Azzurri in the 2007 World Cup in France were dashed. ''It's important to me because it's my objective,'' he said of the World Cup.

''My primary objective is to play well for my club, and only from there can you be selected for the national team. So for me, after missing out on the 2007 World Cup from being in the 40-man squad and dropping out a few weeks before, I've always had in my mind that I'd do everything I could to get to this World Cup.

''At the end of the day, I can only play as hard as I can. If I get selected, I get selected. It's not something I can say I'm going to be there, because other players can play better than you, you can't control that. I can only control how I'm playing, and hopefully I can be there.''

Burton's route to being on the verge of making his Six Nations debut for Italy has been a peculiar one. He played Australian football in Brisbane from four before taking up rugby nine years later.

''I've been kicking a football since I was four but it's a bit different to Italy where they kick a soccer ball around,'' he said. ''I played Aussie rules until I was 13, and actually played rugby union and AFL in the same year, one day training one and one day training the other.

''Then I chose to stay with union because I was at a private school so you had to pick one sport to play … It was the first time I'd played rugby union, and I thought I'd give it a go, and from there I got better.''

Burton qualified to play for Italy through his mother's antecedents, and decided to move to her homeland when he failed to make the grade at the Queensland Reds.

''I was originally with the Queensland squad but didn't get selected for the Super 12 the following year,'' he said. ''So my mother said, 'I have an Italian passport,' so I could go and play in Italy if I'd like to have another experience, playing a different type of rugby, the European game, so we decided to come to Italy.''

Now he is on the brink of making his Six Nations bow as Italy strive to improve on their previous showings. They have finished last in eight out of 11 participations.

AFP

Labels: Burton, Herald, hopes, Italy, Morning, Nations, passport, performance, Sydney