Irish looking for Six Nations glory

The only safe prediction to be made about this year's Six Nations is that it won't be won by either Scotland or Italy.

Although even that was thrown into question when Scotland coach Matt Williams warned late last week that "the Scots in adversity are tremendously resilient and gutsy". The lack of sunshine is obviously getting to the Australian.

The 2005 championship is heavily fancied to be the most open since 1999. Only Williams, though, reckons it's open enough for Scotland to feature. Everyone else is split between England, Ireland and France with Wales fancied to knock at least one of them over. Italy will do a grand job making up the numbers.

England are the most intriguing proposition. Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood and Richard Hill are all out and their resources in midfield are so stretched that coach Andy Robinson will have to think seriously about playing 18-year-old Newcastle Falcon Mathew Tait.

The last time a teenager was forced into the English midfield there was a chorus of disapproval from the picnickers who roam the Twickenham car park. They soon shut up when the teenager in question, a certain J. Wilkinson, turned out to be rather good.

Tait might bolster England the same way Wilkinson did six years ago. Robinson, however, might leave him be until the tests against Wales, Ireland and France are out of the way.

England's opening game in Cardiff this Saturday will be a tough place for a young centre to make his debut.

Wales now have a finely-honed running game, which during last November's internationals was being orchestrated by second five-eighths Gavin Henson.

Such is Henson's standing now, that Welsh captain Gareth Thomas singled him out as the man driving the country's renaissance.

"Gavin is certainly going to be one of the star players in world rugby," said Thomas.

Having gone so close to beating both the All Blacks and Springboks last November, the Welsh fancy their chances of causing an upset in Cardiff. However, the forwards are still lacking in bite and the bookmakers, usually the best judge of these things, are confident taking two major scalps will be beyond Wales.

Running out of steam was an old failing of the Irish. Not now. They have had a blessed time with injuries and have a gentle opening in Rome. Their squad is dominated again by players from Leinster and Munster, who both made the Heineken Cup quarterfinals.

The midfield pairing of Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll will again be the best in the championship, as will their locking combination of Paul O'Connell and Malcolm O'Kelly.

Crucially, they play both England and France in Dublin.

The Irish feel it's about time for them to stop going close and actually beat the best in the world. It's not a case of now or never, but this year seems as good a time as any for them to make the breakthrough.

England's record in Dublin is good but the French have never travelled well, even in the modern era. The championship could hinge on how France perform away from home. Their squad looks the strongest but, then again, it so often does.

Coach Bernard Laporte has recalled the Castres veteran Yann Delaigue to fill the troublesome No 10 shirt and has also brought back the seriously-talented Damien Traille.

Like Ireland, France have an easy opener against Scotland, which should allow them to experiment with their backrow combination. The vaunted trio of Serge Betsen, Olivier Magne and Imanol Harinordoquy struggled to make an impact against the All Blacks in France's last game.

Laporte is searching for more passion and is hoping that Sebastien Chabal, having vastly improved his game at Sale, can give it to him.

The key games will be in Dublin - England on February 27 and France on March 12.

2005 SIX NATIONS

Sat Feb 5: France v Scotland, Stade de France (1400GMT). Wales v England, Millennium Stadium (1730GMT).
Sun Feb 6: Italy v Ireland, Stadio Flaminio (1430GMT).
Sat Feb 12: Italy v Wales, Stadio Flaminio (1330GMT). Scotland v Ireland, Murrayfield (1600GMT).
Sun Feb 13: England v France, Twickenham (1500GMT).
Sat Feb 26: Scotland v Italy, Murrayfield (1400GMT). France v Wales, Stade de France (1600GMT).
Sun Feb 27: Ireland v England, Lansdowne Road (1500GMT).
Sat Mar 12: Ireland v France, Lansdowne Road (1330GMT). England v Italy, Twickenham (1600GMT).
Sun Mar 13: Scotland v Wales, Murrayfield (1500GMT).
Sat Mar 19: Italy v France, Stadio Flaminio (1300GMT). Wales v Ireland, Millennium Stadium (1530GMT). England v Scotland, Twickenham.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY