Ireland on the other hand performed poorly during the autumn, but with the return of the two Os - Brian ODriscoll and Paul OConnell - there seems to be a high level of confidence at the moment, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster for them recently.

I am unsure whether Wales will miss Gavin Henson in the first couple of fixtures, he is fine player but he has not played for Wales for a time now and he has been very hyped up, the pressure each time he takes the field must be colossal, he needs to get his head down and get a good season under his belt.

Lawrence Dallaglios recall to the England squad is a great move for them, he is a fantastic player - he still has years in him - is a great leader, has been in great form recently and will be a big plus for England.

England will be challenging for the Championship although I think France will be the only side pushing for the Grand Slam, but Ireland have three matches at home before they play the big two away, where they will have to do some damage.

It is difficult to say who will take the Championship, England have moved on a lot since this time last year but whether they can keep it up over five weekends is another thing, and people will be taking a lot more notice of Wales, so they will be hard pushed to take the Grand Slam again.