O'Sullivan, who has been heavily criticised for his conservatism, has given starts to number eight Jamie Heaslip, hooker Bernard Jackman and winger Rob Kearney.

The Leinster trio boast just 11 caps between them and all three will be making their full RBS 6 Nations debuts.

Ulster's Andrew Trimble moves into the centre to plug the gap left by Gordon D'Arcy's broken arm while Denis Leamy switches to blindside with Simon Easterby dropping to the bench.

Hooker Rory Best, who started against the Azzurri, must settle for a place on the bench, and Geordan Murphy swaps wings to complete the six changes.

Surprisingly, France reacted to their impressive 27-6 victory over Scotland by making six changes.

Winger Vincent Clerc, who scored two tries at Murrayfield, and fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc are dropped to the bench in the backs.

Aurelien Rougerie and David Skrela come in as their replacements, with Rougerie slotting in on the left wing and Julien Malzieu switching to the right flank.

Up-front hooker William Servat, prop Julien Brugnaut and lock Loic Jacquet leave the side, while number eight Elvis Vermeulen has been ruled out of the tournament with a broken rib.

Montpellier's Louis Picamoles has replaced Vermeulen and is on the bench for this weekend, while Dimitri Szarzewski, Arnaud Mela and Julien Bonnaire come into the pack.