WORLD XV SQUAD: MAY/JUNE 2006

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French international prop Christian Califano recently agreed to a two-year contract to play for Gloucester in the English top flight joining them from Agen. The 34-year-old has already spent two years in England playing with Saracens from 2002-2003 and says that his stay at Gloucester will represent "the last great challenge of my career." Califano won six French league titles with Toulouse between 1994 and 2001 and was capped 68 times for France between 1994 and 2003.

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Dave Hewett was 27 when from the blue he was called into the Canterbury side for the NPC semifinal against Waikato in 1998. Hewett, who had been till then little more than a club battler with Christchurch’s Sydenham club, won a Crusaders Super 12 contract for the 1999 season. In his first two seasons Hewett appeared in the Super 12 only occasionally and did not play in either final in 1999 and 2000. But at the NPC level he made considerable progress through the 1999 and 2000 seasons. At the end of 2000 he toured Europe with New Zealand A and 12 months later he went one step better and made the All Black side for the tour of Scotland, Ireland and Argentina. He was 30 when he made his test debut.

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Andrea Lo Cicero has established himself as a cornerstone of Italy's pack since making his debut against England in 2000. The Sicilian powerhouse was named in the BBC's dream XV at the 2004 Six Nations and was part of the Barbarians squad to take on New Zealand later that year - the only European player to receive a call and he capped the feat by scoring a try. The L'Aquila forward continued that form in 2005 and again represented the Barbarians for their matches against Scotland and England.

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Former All Black Sam Harding joined Northampton in 2005 after earlier in the season being part of the Canterbury Crusaders Super 12 winning team. Harding had also been a part of the Highlanders set-up as well as NPC side Otago. He won his New Zealand cap against Fiji in 2002 at the age of just 21. Born in Australia, Harding comes from a rugby family with his father and two uncles all playing for Western Australia. His great-uncle Rowe Harding captained Wales, and the Lions when the British Isles toured South Africa in 1924. Known as an attacking line-breaker, Harding was the highest scoring forward for the Saints last season.

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Cobus Visagie is one of the most respected front row players in world rugby and has been capped 29 times by South Africa after making his debut against Italy in 1999. The 6ft 1 inch 18st prop, who is also a charterted accountant, comes with an impressive pedigree. Cobus was a cornerstone of the South African side who reached the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup and has won four Currie Cups with Western Province. He also won 43 Super 12 caps with the Stormers. He has become the cornerstone of the Saracens scrum.

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Mark Regan’s England breakthrough came when he succeeded Brian Moore in 1995 for the visit of South Africa to Twickenham in November. He retained his place for the 1996 and 1997 Five Nations championships and was selected for the 1997 British Lions. He was out of the England squad in 1998 and 1999 but returned to the international scene on the England squad on the tour to South Africa in 2000. Though he missed out on the Lions tour to Australia in 2001 he was selected for England's summer tour. He announced his international retirement in 2004.

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Raphael Ibanez began his playing career in his home town of Dax before moving to Perpignan and Castres. He made his French debut against Wales in 1996 and went on to win 72 caps for his country, including 27 as captain. He won successive Grand Slams with France in 1997 and 1998 and led them to the World Cup Final in 1999. After retiring from international rugby union following the 2003 World Cup he moved to Saracens. In 2005 he moved to Wasps on a two-year deal. Bernard Laporte made it one of his priorities to bring him back into the fold, especially after fellow hooker William Servat was ruled out of the autumn schedule with a neck injury.

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Tom Palmer originally elected to play for Scotland at Under 21 level but was then persuaded to join the English for full honours. He earned a place in the England A squad whilst still playing in National Division One and was then rewarded with a place on the Summer tour to North America in 2001 After appearing in the midweek sides, Tom made his debut in the final game of the tour against the USA in San Francisco on June 16. Palmer played for Scotland Under-19s and Under-21s, catching the eye of Ian McGeechan. He recently left Leeds Tykes to join London Wasps.

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The veteran Australian, who joined Newcastle in 2005, boasts considerable experience at both Test and Super 12 level. A stalwart with the ACT Brumbies side in Canberra since its foundation ten years ago, Finegan went on to become the most prolific forward in the history of the competition, averaging an incredible try-scoring ratio of around one every three games during more than 90 Super 12 outings. The Brumbies twice lifted the Super 12 trophy, the last time being in 2004 when they defeated the Crusaders in the final, with Finegan as captain.

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Olivier Magne made his debut for France in 1994 and has since been awarded 83 caps. He is only one of two French forwards to have won four Grand Slam titles. He played a starring role in the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups, playing in all his country's matches in both tournaments. He played in all of last season's Six Nations matches and toured with France to South Africa and Australia during the summer. The famous French international back row forward signed a two year contract with London Irish in June 2005.

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Xavier Rush made his test debut for the All Blacks against Australia in 1998 at the age of 21. Through various circumstances he was only called on again at the top level in 2004. With a new All Black coaching and selection panel in place in 2004 Rush was given an All Black trial, then selected on merit for two home tests against England, the one-off match against the Pacific Islands and four Tri-Nations tests. While relatively short at about 1.87m Rush was able to use his 108kg bulk to good effect in breaking over advantage lines. He has shown himself to be an adept link in open play, to be a strong defender and to have a high work rate.

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Toutai Kefu is a veteran of 60 tests for Australia having made his debut against South Africa in 1997. Australia’s most-capped number eight moved to Japan in 2004 after missing out on the 2003 Rugby World Cup due to a cracked shoulder blade. Kefu scored 10 test tries during his international career. He represented Queensland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level and also earned his international colours at under-19 and under-21 level.

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Despite consistently turning in outstanding performances for club side Sale Sharks, Chabal is not a regular in the French squad and tends only to receive call-ups when others ahead of him are injured. He made his France debut in 2000 but failed to hold on to a regular starting berth and suffered a one-year exile from international rugby in 2003 before making his comeback in 2004. He made two appearances for France during the 2005 autumn internationals - against Australia and Tonga - and recently signed a new three-year contract with Sale, where he is affectionately known as 'Seabass'.

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Julien Pierre began his professional career for L Rochelle in the 2001 season. He joined Bourgoin in 2003 and has represented the Club in the French League as well as in the Heineken Cup over the past three seasons. He is uncapped.

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Born in the Fijian Village of Nadi, Samo represented Fiji Under 19's before moving to Canberra when he was signed by the Tuggeranong Vikings. He made his Super 12 debut for the Brumbies at lock against the Reds at Canberra Stadium in 2000 and such is his versatility, agility and speed; finished the match on the wing. In 2001 he was awarded a Brumbies contract but persistent injuries allowed him just four appearances in his first four seasons. The 29-year-old's career sky-rocketed in the 2004 season after he was given an opportunity to claim a starting position. His partnership with Mark Chisholm at lock quickly became the dominant pairing in the competition, leading to Samo's selection for the Wallabies later that year.