Yachvili forgoes sleep to cheer his brother

It was a sleepless night for Georgia's Gregoire Yachvili. The robust flanker spent last night tossing and turning in bed waiting for the alarm to go off at 3.30am this morning.

The reason: 'I wanted to watch my younger brother playing for France against England in the Six Nations. I will cheer him on and hope they will beat the world champions,' said Yachvili yesterday.

His younger brother Dimitri is scrumhalf for Les Bleus. Both brothers were born and brought up in France. Dimitri, 23, has won 12 caps for France and is expected to play a key role in the future.

'We both qualify to play for France by birth. But we also qualify to play for Georgia through our grandfather, who is Georgian. Dimitri has earned a place in the French team but I play for Georgia,' explained Yachvili.

Three years older than Dimitri, Yachvili plays for Bordeaux in the French Second Division. He also turned out for Georgia in last October's World Cup in Australia - and was a member of the team who lost 84-0 to Sir Clive Woodward's England in the preliminary round.

That was the worst defeat in the short history of the former Soviet state. No wonder that Yachvili will be cheering his brother on against England. His own blood and the bitter memory of that loss was enough reason to keep him awake last night.