France forward Sebastien Chabal believes he is fully adapted to playing in the second row ahead of Les Blues' clash with Ireland.
France forward pleased with second-row position
France forward Sebastien Chabal says he will have no trouble starting at lock for Les Blues' opening Six Nations match against Ireland.
The Sale player has appeared at number eight for the majority of his 42 caps, but says he has gradually adapted through his sporadic appearances in the second-row.
"I feel much more at ease in the second row than I did when I first was selected there," Chabal said.
"When I was first selected there I didn't really want to play there, while I wasn't going to turn it down. I preferred being in the back-row and didn't really know how I was going to adapt.
"I didn't think I was going to derive as much pleasure from playing there as I did in the back-row."
Doubters
Former France coach Bernard Laporte often utilised Chabal as a replacement, bringing him on in the last 20 minutes of matches to torment tired defences.
However, Chabal is hoping to disprove the notion that he is only effective when coming off the bench.
"I think that I have proved that I am indeed a player capable of lasting 80 minutes of a match and can contribute from start to finish, no question," he added.
"It has taken a while to convince people and maybe there are still doubters out there I will seek in this tournament to show them they are wrong."
