Rugby Union News and information

ENGLAND: Their collectivity is their main strength. They have 22 men there, very well prepared, very committed and very mature now, which is important.

If they have one weakness it is that they are not particularly exceptional strikers, with the exception of Iain Balshaw. To beat England you need to deny them the ball and disrupt their rhythm.

KEY PLAYER: All of them. There isn't one single individual that makes the team. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

WALES: Their strength will be their collective desire and they have a great coach in Graham Henry. The major problem areas for the Welsh will be that they don't have high professional capabilties and they are not a crest of a wave.

The Millenium Stadium will not be the easiest place to go and play

KEY PLAYER: Neil Jenkins

His kicking will be the real danger and Scott Gibbs in the centre will be a threat.

SCOTLAND: I don't know if Scotland have sufficient depth to mount a full scale challenge.

They will need to keep players fit if they are going to make any impact.

Some players can be unpredictable. They begin with a tough game in France.

KEY PLAYER: Gregor Townsend

The mercurial fly-half who on his day can be a major strike force, but if he is not on his game Scotland suffer.

FRANCE: They are absolutely unpredictable. They have played two games recently against New Zealand. They lost the first one but then pasted them the second time around. Unbelievable. They used to be the most physical side but they are not as powerful and nasty as they used to be.

KEY PLAYER: Christof Lamiason

He will have total control and total command of the kicking game and the running game.

IRELAND: I have a sneaking regard for Ireland. I think they will do extremely well. They start in Italy and that will give us some indication of how good they are.

They have a lot of players from Munster, who are in the semi final of the European Cup and if they can carry on that form they rae going to be very strong

KEY PLAYER: Captain Keith Wood.

He is phenomenal, the all-action rugby man. A ball-handler of the highest quality.

ITALY: They have a coach from New Zealand, Brad Johnson and they are easily capable of causing an upset.

They have got three games at home and they will be looking to win two of them to biuld on that victory against Scotland last year.

They will be looking to avoid the wooden spoon.

KEY PLAYERS: Diego Dominguez

He is one hell of a kicker, he has scored more than 600 international points.