LONG READ Ben Kay: 'I know we get accused of arrogance but I love the English mentality right now.'

If there’s a theme for this season’s Championship, especially with the World Cup in the horizon, it will be squad depth. Indeed, the next six weeks will be wake-up call for all the coaches in the lead up to Australia. They will have to ask themselves some tough questions about players they will have treated like sons for so long.

For those already out in the cold, non-selection will send a message to say, ‘you’re not indispensable, you need work hard to earn your place back.’ It will see what desire they still possess to fight their way back into future plans.

One thing I’d say is England and France now have an advantage over their other rivals given the Six Nations tournament is over six weeks not seven. They have a bigger player pool, of course, but their players also play at clubs, rather than union-owned franchises, so they’re more attuned to playing week-in, week-out in the Top 14 and Gallagher Prem.

That first game is only hours away and is huge for the whole Championship, so let’s look at the protagonists of the 138^th iteration of the storied tournament.

Ireland

Andy Farrell’s tried and tested warhorses have been so good for so long, but he has to see what he has coming through now, because he doesn’t want to find out months out from the World Cup he doesn’t have the requisite quality of experience. He’s been heavily hit by injuries to key players like Andrew Porter, Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan, but learning some hard lessons short term could bear fruit longer term. Ireland’s first problem is finding out whether their front row can compete in Paris. Scrummaging in France’s is their bread and butter and if Ireland get torn apart, like they were against South Africa, it will be difficult to stop that being one of the narratives of the tournament. Correspondingly, if they go well, it will go some way to rebuilding their reputation.

Andy Farrell is great on instilling confidence into his squad, but only the most one-eyed fan would question the fact they’ve fallen a long way from their peak in 2023. Coming into the last World Cup, they genuinely felt they could beat anyone, and with good reason. The Bundee Aki ban hasn’t helped preparations, either. The IRFU had to act because there were murmurs about a growing reputation for poor discipline and Ireland didn’t want it levelled against them. Ireland were on the crest of a wave for a while and expectation has gone through the roof but with a squad full of Lions, they have a target on their back. It could be a chastening tournament for them.

Player to watch: Edwin Odogbu

Given some of the negativity that surrounds Ireland, and the chat about them being past it, they need a young breakthrough player and I really like the look of Munster’s Edwin Odogbu. He may have to bide his time for now but he’s a massive athlete, with a huge engine and he just loves the physicality. I can’t wait to see him in action.

France

Fabien Galthie’s come under a lot of heat for dropping Damian Penaud, Gregory Alldritt and Gael Fickou, but he wants to see what else is out there and the age-profile of the squad has really dropped. Secretly, I quite like what he’s done, it’s so typically French. Saying that, he’ll be heavily reliant on Antoine Dupont, which isn’t ideal given he’s working his way back from a long-term injury. His deputies Maxime Lucu and Nolann Le Garrec are out themselves so there will be no bedding him in – he’ll be thrown in at the deep end. One of the fascinating sub-plots will be how maverick Matthieu Jalibert dovetails with Dupont. If it goes pear-shaped Thomas Ramos do a job at 10 and Ntamack will come back in when fit.

Even though it seems wrong to speak about Uini Atonio at this time – and I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery – I worry how much France will be affected by his untimely absence. The big man gives them such stability, on an off the pitch. If that had happened to someone like Lawrence Dallaglio or Richard Hill back in our day, I’m sure it would have affected us. It could be that France try to overcompensate winning it for Uini and it adds an interesting psychological sub-plot.

Player to watch: Antoine Dupont

Okay, okay, I know it’s a boring pick but there will be so many people asking, ‘is Antoine Dupont the same player?’ If he has a couple of quiet games, the scrutiny will intensify. In fairness, he’s looked pretty sharp since his comeback but after the type of injury he had, players I’ve spoken to say it takes a while to fully trust it – even when the physio is telling you it’s okay. Fortunately for Dupont, his brain works as quickly as his legs and even at 90 % Antoine Dupont is still one of the best players in the world. I’d love him to have a moment during the tournament where he flicks the switch and says, ‘I’m back’.

England

Pre-tournament, Steve Borthwick has been as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him. Of course, eleven wins on the bounce has a way of helping with stress. England were second last year, and that late, late win over France seemed to be the catalyst for a turnaround. Borthers does this wherever he goes. He sorts the basics out and then bolts bits on. When they were losing and the criticism was building England were accused of being boring, but now he’s really taken the handbrake off and backed raw speed. The aerial battle is still fundamental to his gameplan but through those ‘crumbs’ it gives his broken-field runners, like Feyi-Waboso and Henry Arundell, the chance to cut loose, because they have guys who can match Louis Bielle-Biarrey stride-for-stride. Where he’ll really focus is the alchemy in midfield, where he’s giving Dingwall and Tommy Freeman a chance build their club relationship on the international stage.

I know we get accused of arrogance but I love hearing the English mentality right now. The tone has changed from being too humble to now being a bit more bullish. They’ve said they want a Grand Slam, and why shouldn’t they? A final word for Lee Blackett. He’s like the missing piece of the jigsaw. He’s brought a sense of fun and laughter and I’m a huge fan. You can see that team bonding in front of your eyes and it’s very exciting.

Player to watch: Tommy Freeman

Fit and on form, Tommy Freeman is always going to be in that England team, but he’s still green at 13 and on trial. If there are a couple of disasters, they may abandon the experiment ahead of the World Cup and put him back on the wing, and that would mean sacrificing some top-end pace. You want him to develop as an exceptional centre, rather than, ‘Freeman’s out of position’ and it turning into a big debate. These next six weeks will tell us a lot.

Scotland

Gregor Townsend is obviously under massive pressure with his Newcastle Red Bulls consultancy, and recent reports suggest he’s due take over there after the World Cup. How well Glasgow are playing can be seen as both a positive and a negative. If they continue that form, all is well and Scotland could topple the best teams in the tournament, but if Scotland are a pale imitation of Glasgow, then comparisons won’t be favourable to a Franco Smith-coached side. That’s how it will look from the outside.

These first two weekends will set the scene. Get off to a flyer against Italy over in Rome and repel English attackers at Murrayfield and any doubts will evaporate into the Edinburgh air. If they lose both games, the writing is on the wall for Gregor. Their late collapse against Argentina could haunt them and there’s a balance to be found behind training to close out games in the last 20 and the angst turning it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Player to watch: Ben White

If there are any question marks over Sione Tuipulotu’s fitness, I would install Ben White as the new Scotland captain. I knew him at Leicester when he was part of the Tigers leadership group at a young age but they didn’t back him and he went to London Irish before heading to the South of France with Toulon. He has this ability to score in the big matches at key moments and I like the way he stays in the fight. He was unlucky not to be a Lions tourist in the summer but he’s one of those players you want in your team. I see him becoming increasingly important to Scotland.

Italy

Oh Italy. I feel their pain. They’ve been really unlucky with injuries. First their x-factor players, Ange Capuozzo and Eduardo Todaro pulled out and they’re also missing bruisers like Sebastian Negri and Marco Riccioni. This could have been the tournament to really show they are no longer Six Nations kicking stools. Back in the early years of the Six Nations, if you lost the Castros and Bergamascos you wouldn’t be left with much but Gonzalo Quesada still has a decent squad.

There will be confidence after beating Australia and with a good crop of youngsters, every neutral will be desperate for them to kick on. If they can beat Scotland from the off and raid Cardiff, as they have done in recent tournaments, they’ll be basking in mid-table respectability.

Player to watch: Andrea Zambonin

As a former lock, I do like the look of Andrea Zambonin. I’ve been hugely impressed with his workrate down at the Chiefs. He’s 6ft 8ins, very athletic and has great hair. What’s not to love? He may not start from the outset, but he has a great skillset, so much so that I put him in my family Fantasy Team and he got me a shedload of points at the start of the season. Forza Italia.

Wales

Before we talk about the rugby, I genuinely don’t think any decent rugby fan is delighting in what’s happening in Wales right now. No one likes kicking them when they’re down, but the historic rivalry isn’t there right now. It’s on pause, I hope. Their rivals want them to be competitive but it’s a long road back. I can see the players coming out with fire and brimstone the first 20 minutes of games, but can they sustain it for 80 minutes? They will be sensitive of the fan sentiment in stadiums and will be desperate for their backing. The off-field problems have been a major caveat to their performances over the past two years, and I think the majority of fans don’t hold the players responsible.

It’s a tough watch because they do have talent there. Tomos Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and the injured Jac Morgan are high quality players.  What could play in their favour is the complete lack of expectation because there’s nothing to lose. If England and France don’t hammer their resolve and they could easily upset Scotland and Italy in Cardiff, but it’s in hope not expectation.

Player to watch: Dewi Lake

I like the cut of Dewi Lake’s jib. He’s a good addition to the Gloucester squad next season and he may thrive from not being in the goldfish bowl of Welsh rugby where he has had a huge weight on his shoulders. He will have to face the brunt of the negativity and pressure at press conferences talking about poor results and political turmoil off the pitch. Hopefully on the field of play, he can forget about that and just enjoy his rugby. He’s a powerful lad and a good leader.