Halfpenny ruled out of England game

Rugby:Winger Leigh Halfpenny has been ruled out of Wales' Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff on Friday night.

The Cardiff Blues player suffered a sprained ankle during Wales training yesterday, and joins Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Tom Shanklin, Andrew Bishop, George North and Richie Rees on the sidelines.

A scan, though, has revealed Halfpenny’s injury is not as bad as first thought.

He also looks set to miss the Murrayfield appointment with Scotland on Saturday week, but could be available for Wales’ third championship game against Italy in Rome on February 26th.

Meanwhile Wales fullback Lee Byrne has signed a three-year deal with French champions Clermont Auvergne. Byrne will follow his Ospreys and Wales colleague James Hook to France after the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

Hook, a rival for Byrne's number 15 shirt against England on Friday announced last week he would be joining Perpignan next season.

Byrne (30) has won 38 Wales caps and toured South Africa with the 2009 British and Irish Lions.

The Ospreys confirmed they had "reluctantly agreed" to Byrne's request that he be released early from his existing contract with the region, which runs until 2012.

Ospreys managing director Mike Cuddy said: "It is extremely disappointing to lose a player who hails from the region, and who has been, and continues to be, an excellent servant to the Ospreys.

"Our determination to keep Lee at the Ospreys meant that we fought hard to keep him here, turning down a similar request 12 months ago.

"But unfortunately, the circumstances are such that we now find ourselves in this position where we have reluctantly agreed to release Lee, given his desire to take on a fresh challenge following the Rugby World Cup later this year.

"We would not have seen much of Lee next season, when he will be 31, and for him to have the security of a three-year contract and the change of lifestyle that this move will allow him is a fantastic personal opportunity, and we wish him the best of luck."

Byrne, who joined the Ospreys from the Scarlets in 2006, added: "I will be sad to leave my home region, but this was too good an opportunity for me to turn down at this stage of my career.

"I am excited about what the future holds for me in France, and the challenges that lie ahead for me. I am extremely thankful to the directors of the Ospreys for the way that they have handled this, allowing me to look ahead to what will be a fantastic experience for me.

"In the longer term, the Ospreys is my region, and I would like to think that I will be able to return here before my career is over."

Byrne will not be the first high-profile Welsh player to feature in Clermont's colours. Current Test team outhalf Stephen Jones enjoyed a successful stint there a few years ago before rejoining the Scarlets.

Clermont's announcement ends weeks of speculation surrounding Byrne's future.

He will become the latest international to join a star-studded Clermont squad, whose strength is underlined by five of their players being named in France's starting XV for the Six Nations appointment with Scotland in Paris on Saturday.

Byrne continued: "I cannot wait to play alongside players like Aurelien Rougerie, Julien Malzieu and Morgan Parra. I am also waiting to discover the French Top 14. It is a very high level of competition, probably one of the most noted in the world."