It appears that Pom-bashing is alive and well ? in France. A week before La Revanche (France's planned revenge for the ignominy heaped upon them by Ze Rosbifs in the World Cup semi-final), Serge Betsen and Bernard Laporte have been lobbing abuse at England in their respective autobiographies.

Betsen takes exception to what he sees as British hypocrisy on the subject of foul play. "There is no one as cunning as an Englishman, unless it's an Irishman, " says Betsen in Making the Sun Shine. "The British have the art of walking all over you as if they were climbing a staircase to greet the Queen.

When they crush your snout beneath their studs, they do so with tact. I have thought several times that I should apologise for straying into their path ? The British glory in their reputation as gentlemen while the hooligan image sticks to us." Laporte prefers to poke fun at Clive Woodward. In The Height of my Dreams, he recounts how he and Richard Pool-Jones hoodwinked Sir Clive into picking the former Stade Francais flanker for England.

"He [Pool-Jones] drew up a letter addressed to Woodward and purposely put it in broken English, as if I had written it myself. I signed it and sent it by express post to England ? Three days later, Richard found himself training with the England squad at Twickenham." Pool-Jones subsequently made England's 'Tour of Hell' in 1998, when he won his only international cap. Cue Gallic giggles.

ISLANDERS TAKE THE HOP TO NEW ZEALAND Good news for the struggling Pacific Island nations is that Samoa will play an historic 'home' test in Wellington when they host Scotland on 4 June.

It's hoped Fiji and Tonga will also host matches in New Zealand and Australia in the future. Also, a conglomerate Pacific Islanders team will play South Africa in Australia on 17 July although a venue has yet to be announced.

THE UGLY TRUTH No feelings spared in SA Rugby, the South African magazine that printed its '10 Ugliest Players' lately. The list includes just one Bok, Dale Santon, the 'Cape coloured' prop at 10. The others are: 9) Trevor Leota 8) Matt Cockbain 7) Phil Waugh 6) Graham Rowntree 5) Olivier Milloud 4) Tana Umaga 3) Mauricio Reggiardo 2) Martin Johnson 1) Neil Jenkins.