1. What’s the biggest storyline in this year’s Six Nations?
Murray Kinsella: Antoine Dupont’s return. France obviously missed him last year but so did the entire Six Nations. Whether he’s the very best of all time is a matter of opinion but the French scrum-half is obviously among the greatest to have played this sport. Any chance to watch him play should be relished, all the more so if you’re fortunate enough to see him in the flesh.
Ciarán Kennedy: Ireland’s bid to become the first team to win three Six Nations titles in a row. There will be plenty of eyes on Antoine Dupont after he sat out last year’s tournament and England’s fortunes could be the most interesting to follow given their November results and the pressure on Steve Borthwick. Yet Ireland are aiming to make history so deserve top billing, with Andy Farrell’s absence adding a bit of spice to the story. It’s a chance to become not just one of the great Ireland teams, but one of the great teams full stop.
Gavan Casey: It feels one-eyed but I genuinely think the biggest storyline is Ireland’s pursuit of a three-peat, which has never been done before in the history of the Five/Six Nations championship. Similarly to how the Kansas City Chiefs are pursuing an unprecedented three Super Bowls in a row which would distinguish them from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots dynasty, a third Irish championship win on the spin would separate Andy Farrell’s side as one of the best ever from the northern hemisphere. Only England’s World Cup-winning team from 2003 would have something to hold over them in the legacy stakes.
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2. What Irish player are you most excited to watch?
MK: Sam Prendergast. It’s unusual for a 21-year-old to be the starting out-half for his country, particularly a strong one like Ireland. Prendergast is very talented and the Irish coaches’ faith in his ability to cope with the pressure of a Six Nations game is clear from the fact he’s picked ahead of an out-half as good as Jack Crowley. There are surely ups and downs ahead given his inexperience but Prendergast’s kicking and passing skills, eye for space, and confidence should make him fun to watch.
CK: Caelan Doris. The 10 battle should be fascinating again and I’m looking forward to seeing Dan Sheehan back in a green jersey, but I feel Doris is primed for a statement campaign. This is Doris’ first Six Nations as captain and he’s in superb form. He’s also acknowledged he hasn’t fully put his stamp on this tournament previously, so let’s see if now is his time. I feel like he’s primed to have a special championship.
GC: I’d love to see Cormac Izuchukwu get some meaningful gametime but for the moment, I’ll go with Dan Sheehan: he seems to have bulked up his upper body while rehabbing his ACL injury and if he can return to anywhere near top speed, he’ll be an absolute fright.
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3. Pick one game you can’t wait for?
MK: Ireland v France on 8 March. Les Bleus were second-best in a brilliant game the last time they visited Dublin in 2023 so they will arrive with a point to prove. This could be the championship decider.
CK: England v France in round two. A massive game for England, who are in such an interesting place going into the championship. Beat Ireland in round one, and they’ll be aiming to back it up at home and position themselves for the Slam. Lose in Dublin and they’ll be under pressure to stay out of the bottom half of the table. Two games in, England could either be the team to topple or plummeting toward crisis.
GC: Ireland-France on 8 March instinctively feels like the biggest but I have a feeling Scotland-Italy tomorrow could be a cracker. The Italians came within a whisker of beating the Scots at Murrayfield in 2023 and got the job done in Rome last year. The loss of Sione Tuipolotu changes the complexion of Scotland’s whole tournament for me, and I expect Tomasso Menoncello and Nacho Brex to cause damage in a high-scoring game in Edinburgh.
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4. How do you assess Ireland’s chances?
MK: They have a good chance of pulling off an unprecedented third title in a row as long as they can avoid further injuries to go along with Tadhg Furlong and Joe McCarthy. Even losing those two notably reduces Ireland’s power and size against England, so they need better injury luck from here on in. That said, they have lots of in-form players who are top-class on their day and even without Andy Farrell, a smart coaching team.
CK: Right up there. November clearly didn’t go as planned but key men like Doris, Josh van der Flier, Tadhg Beirne and Garry Ringrose have been in excellent form. Dan Sheehan and James Lowe both looked sharp on their returns from injury and in Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley, Ireland have two excellent 10s pushing each other hard. Manage it right, and that one-two punch could be a point of difference.
Front row is my only real concern, as Ireland are still heavily reliant on Andrew Porter while Tadhg Furlong is back on the treatment table. Still, with England and France both coming to Dublin, the fixtures fall in Ireland’s favour.
GC: I think they’re justifiably second-favourites in a fairly open tournament. An error-strewn and off-colour November felt like a continuation of a trend, to me, and not an anomaly. But even allowing for my suspicion that the best of this team is behind it for the time being, the carrot of three in a row should be a powerful stimulus. Home games against England and France — and France having to visit Twickenham — give Ireland a real shot.
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5. And the winners of the Six Nations will be?
MK: France but only on a tight margin. It could even come down to bonus points if no one can do the Grand Slam.
CK: It’s tight, but France, and they might even do it with a Slam despite travelling to London and Dublin. They have the squad depth to ship a couple of injuries and survive, Dupont’s return (alongside Romain Ntamack) is a game-changer and Louis Bielle-Biarrey could be the star of the tournament. I’m already counting down the days to Ireland v France in round four.
GC: France. With the return of their first-choice half-backs — one of whom is the best player to ever pick up a rugby ball, the other being possibly the best out-half in the world right now — they’re simply the most formidable team in the competition. France have won only one championship in the last 14 years and Fabien Galthié and his players will feel a sense of urgency to win another. A France focused not on the future, but on silverware in the immediate term, will win a Slam even with trips to London and Dublin on their horizon.
Still waiting on Heffernans citing for taking out Henderson.
@Ross Watson: that should have been picked up by TMO. Not a fan of us complaining so much to the ref but he said it was checked. If it was it was clear head contact and should have been reviewed.
I’ve always rated big stu and thought he never got enough chances under joe schmidt, Farrell on the other hand seems to rate him higher. Probably a league thing.