France head coach Bernard Laporte has included four uncapped players in his 40-man squad for the Six Nations Championship, which begins next month.

Frontrow forwards Benoit August and Laurent Emmanuelli, centre Romain Cabannes and fullback Anthony Floch have been called up by Les Bleus for the first time.

Laporte has also brought five players - Clement Poitrenaud, Nicolas Mas, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Sebastien Chabal and Sebastien Bruno - back into the squad after spells out of the international reckoning.

The displays of Chabal and Bruno in Guinness Premiership side Sale's recent Heineken Cup games against Stade Francais proved decisive in earning their recalls.

Outhalves Benjamin Boyet and Thomas Castaignede are currently injured but are still named in the group.

There is no place for in-form Stade Francais flyhalf Lionel Beauxis, who loses out to fellow number 10 and club colleague David Skrela, while fullbacks Julien Laharrague and Pepito Elhorga are dropped after poor showings in the November Tests.

Cabannes, who has been in good form for Biarritz this season, gets the nod over Stade Francais centre Geoffrey Messina in midfield.

Toulouse lock Fabien Pelous, who is recovering from an injury sustained against Llanelli Scarlets in the Heineken Cup last month, will captain the team, whose first match of the tournament is against Italy in Rome on February 3rd.

The reigning champions will then be the first international rugby team to face Ireland in Croke Park on February 11th, in what will be a clash of Europe's current heavyweights.

Laporte will use the Six Nations to gauge the form of his players ahead of this year's World Cup in France, which begins in September.

The Les Bleus coach said recently that every member of his 40-man squad will play at least one game in the Six Nations, and that no player will feature in all five matches.