France duo Jelonch and Meafou out of Ireland game

French back-row forward Anthony Jelonch has been ruled out of the Six Nations Championship after sustaining knee ligament damage and has been replaced in the squad by uncapped Alexandre Roumat.

Roumat, 26, is the son of former France forward Olivier who played for the national team alongside current coach Fabien Galthie.

Galthie will also be without Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou who sustained a knee injury in the same game as Jelonch, against Bath.

Australian-raised Meafou, who had hoped to make his France debut in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on 2 February will miss the start of the tournament, but no replacement has been named.

France were already without captain Antoine Dupont, who will play on the world Sevens series as he bids for a place on the French team at the Paris Olympic Games this year.

With Jelonch's absence, 21 of the players who competed at last year's World Cup on home soil are in the Six Nations squad as they look to put behind them a quarter-final loss to eventual champions South Africa.