has been ruled out of the opening Royal Bank of Scotland Six Nations match with France.
Leinster Lions flanker Eric Miller has been ruled out of the opening RBS Six Nations match with France. The 28-year-old 37-times capped Leinster star has a shoulder injury and will be replaced for the match in Paris on February 14 by Ulster's 23-year-old backrow forward Roger Wilson.
Miller made his debut for Ireland in 1997 and played one test for the Lions against South Africa in the victorious three test series in 1997. The team to play France will be announced on February 10.
Meanwhile, New Zealand-born centre Tony Marsh and veteran loosehead prop Jean-Jacques Crenca face the guillotine when head coach Bernard Laporte names a 30-man Six Nations squad on tomorrow (Tuesday).
Marsh, plagued by Achilles tendon problems, has only played three times since the World Cup and Laporte has not spoken to the 31-year-old since returning from Australia. Marsh successfully battled back from testicular cancer to win a place in France's World Cup squad but Laporte was expected to go for Damien Traille and Yannick Jauzion as his first-choice centres.
South African-born Brian Liebenberg, a controversial World Cup selection, was in thundering form for Stade Francais against Leicester in the European Cup last Friday and is as good as guaranteed a place in the squad.
Crenca, 34, is another player Laporte feels he no longer needs as he looks over the horizon to the 2007 World Cup in France.
Left wing ,b>Christophe Dominici, sin binned in the World Cup semi-final for tripping England wing Jason Robinson, is another player who at 32 is unlikely to make the cut.
Toulouse half-backs Frederic Michalak and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde can expect a call-up but Elissalde, who got the nod from club coaches when the Midi Olympique rugby weekly asked who should be France's scrum-half, was expected to be on the bench for the opening Six Nations match against Ireland on February 14th.
Biarritz scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, the understudy of retired captain Fabien Galthie all last season, should keep Laporte's faith - at least for now. Michalak's conversion to fly-half from scrum-half has left Toulouse stand-off Yannick Delaigue on the bench this season too often for his liking and he has signed to join Castres in the summer.
European champions Toulouse will supply the lion's share of players. Wing Vincent Clerc, a surprise omission from the World Cup, should earn a recall while 26-year-old William Servat is in line to replace the retired Raphael Ibanez and win a first cap as France hooker.
Veteran lock Fabien Pelous successfully came through his comeback match against Edinburgh in the European Cup over the weekend and will lead the side.
"Don't think that just because we beat Ireland in the World Cup quarter-finals we expect this to be easy. It's a new a season and Ireland have given us a few problems in the Six Nations in the recent past," said the 30-year-old who has been capped 86 times.
Pelous captained France 15 times between 1997 and 2002 and took over from Galthie when the scrum-half was injured for the last three matches of the 2003 Six Nations.