But apart from our last Grand Slam in 1987 my outstanding memories

But apart from our last Grand Slam in 1987, my outstanding memories with France are from two tours - in 1993 in South Africa when we won one Test and drew the other, and the following year in New Zealand when we beat the All Blacks in both internationals."I have no regrets about missing out on the professional era except that I never had as much time to prepare myself for important matches as I would have wished. I always had the distractions of worrying about my family and job responsibilities."Preparations by the World XV, who only began to assemble under the aegis of the former Australian coach Bob Dwyer last Thursday, have not exactly been thorough. When you're away, you can concentrate properly, work together and focus. In the championship, we're often distracted and lose games we should win. Sure, there's conviviality in the game, but above all else there's the desire to prepare well, play hard, go all out to win and give of yourself for the whole team."France's fitful displays in its first Sella-less Five Nations' campaign since 1982 must therefore have been quite hard to bear "The French only really fulfil themselves on tour. "I'm looking forward to the whole challenge - physically, commercially and professionally - and I want to test myself in a new context.

Rugby is a state of mind and it's impossible to narrow it down to one thing. That is very important to me," said Wray, who clearly also relishes the prospect of Sella linking up with the former Australian captain Michael Lynagh.Not only will his family - wife Josie, daughter Philippine (10) and son Geoffrey (3) - move with him to London, but so will his business, Sella Communications, which organises management and motivational seminars."My life will undergo a big change, but I'm not coming over just to improve my English," Sella said. Sella may have bowed out at the highest level - though the word is that France would definitely have selected him this season had he been available - but his appetite for a testing challenge remains unquenched, hence his enterprising decision to play for Saracens next season. His fee for a one-year contract is in the region of pounds 100,000, but in the view of the club's benefactor, Nigel Wray, it is money well spent "Philippe is a nice bloke. After an international career spanning 13 years and 111 games, Philippe Sella could be forgiven for taking his rugby a little less seriously nowadays. But the 34-year-old centre, who captains the World XV in the Sanyo Cup match against Leicester at Twickenham this afternoon, refuses to allow retirement to diminish his commitment to a sport that is "so much a vital part of my being".

By persistence and with help from Orrell's defensive mistakes, they worked their lock forward Martin Haag over for two tries, and another, again from close quarters came from scrum-half Andy Nicol Callard converted twice and added a penalty. Even though Austin Healey, the Orrell scrum-half, contributed the pick of the place kicks, a penalty from 50 metres and near the touchline, Bath led 25-6 at half-time.After the interval, when you expected Bath to open up, they relaxed only so far as to put their captain Phil de Glanville over for a try after an intricate but impromptu passing movement, and make openings for Jon Sleightholme, who through speed and one lucky bounce scored twice on the wing within seven minutes. Ian Wynn got one try back for Orrell.If Sale can play as well at Bath next Saturday as they did to win last season's final league game at the Rec, the championship could still go to the last blast of the whistle.Orrell: S Mason (S Taberner, 30); I Wynn, P Johnson (capt), L Tuigamala, G Smith; A Peacock, A Healey; P Winstanley, R Rawlinson, M Scott (A Moffatt, 72), C Cusani, P O'Neill, J Huxley, P Manley (P Anglesea, 63), T Woods.Bath: J Callard; J Sleightholme, P de Glanville (capt), A Adebayo, A Lumsden; M Catt, A Nicol; K Yates, G Dawe, J Mallett, M Haag, N Redman, A Robinson, E Peters, S Ojomoh.Referee: C White (Cheltenham). And in Bath's case this was to use their pack to roll Orrell back into their 22. Twickenham had been chosen only for its 75,000 capacity, and already 30,000 tickets have been sold.Meanwhile Bath had more immediate matters of concern and although they built up a substantial score the first half was little but a muscular grind in which they gradually imposed themselves on Orrell.Simon Mason and Jon Callard exchanged penalties almost as if they were touching gloves before the sides began business. The number of supporters boycotting the ground showed in yesterday's attendance of only 2,650, and the Orrell committee has now decided to invest in improvements at their old home at Edge Hall Road. This was not the only sign of current difficulties involving the two codes, though in this case the participants, Bath and Wigan, have made common cause.

On Friday they heard from the Rugby Football Union that Twickenham Station will be closed for engineering works when they meet there on 25 May, and that the attendance will be capped at 37,500. Danny Sacco, the Bath committee man coordinating these arrangements for his club, said he felt disbelief at this late announcement. At a press conference he announced that Bath and Wigan are demanding a meeting with the RFU and the Police early next week to try to get the ceiling lifted. And, with ugly rumours spreading that they were over the crown of the hill and staring into the sunset, they had both to beat Orrell and improve their points tally This they did, and it was probably enough to do the trick. But it was not the performance of a side bursting with fresh talent and confidence.