Check out our team by team guide of this year's Six Nations Championship hopefuls.

ENGLAND

COLOURS: White with red slash.
STADIUM: Twickenham.
ODDS: 2-1.

COACH: Brian Ashton.
Ashton was criticised for his leadership during the World Cup by some players - but he was reappointed along with coaches Mike Ford and John Wells after
leading England to the final.

CAPTAIN: Phil Vickery.
Ashton had no hesitation in reappointing Vickery for the Six Nations after the pair formed a strong bond on the rocky road to the World Cup final. ``I have
stood by Phil, he has stood by me. We had a difficult year together last year, but we came through it.''

STAR PLAYER: James Haskell.
It is a bold statement given Haskell is not guaranteed to start the championship, such is England's wealth of back row options. But the dynamic
Wasps flanker has a star quality and is already showing it at Heineken Cup level.

STRENGTHS: Forwards.
England proved at the World Cup there is no side in the world who can match them up front which is why Ashton has retained the likes of gnarly hooker Mark
Regan. Ashton will hope they can set a platform to free a back division with outrageous potential.

WEAKNESSES: Potential inexperience.
England learned their lessons from post-2003 and Ashton wants to embrace the next generation but he must also find the right balance between youth and
experience. Too many bright-eyed newcomers could see England exposed.

DID YOU KNOW? Lesley Vainikolo will become the second New Zealand rugby league international to play union for England, following Henry Paul.

FRANCE

COLOURS: Blue and white.
STADIUM: Stade de France.
ODDS: 6-4 favourites.

COACH: Marc Lievremont.
Lievremont was the surprise choice as the new France coach following the World Cup. The former Test flanker was preferred to the likes of Fabien Galthie and
Philippe Saint-Andre.

CAPTAIN: Lionel Nallet.
The Castres lock was an unexpected choice as France's new captain following Raphael Ibanez's retirement. Nallet was only a fringe player during the World
Cup and 14 of his 31 caps have come off the bench.

STAR PLAYER: Vincent Clerc.
The Toulouse winger was France's leading try-scorer at the World Cup and has continued that form into the club game, where he continues to score for fun. He
will benefit further from a French back-line likely to be dominated by Toulouse players.

STRENGTHS: Back row.
The French back row is starting to blossom. Thierry Dusautoir was the French find of the World Cup and he is part of a dynamic loose-forward unit featuring
the likes of Julien Bonnaire, Sebastien Chabal and Elvis Vermeulen.

WEAKNESSES: Being French.
It is a syndrome no-one has ever found a cure for. Why can a side be so mercurial and brilliant one day and so short on composure the next? They have
lost leaders in Ibanez and Fabien Pelous and are still without one at fly-half.

DID YOU KNOW? France's World Cup coach Bernard Laporte took a job as junior sports minister after the tournament.

WALES

COLOURS: Red and white.
STADIUM: Millennium Stadium.
ODDS: 8-1.

COACH: Warren Gatland.
The New Zealander was hired on a four-year contract to restore Wales as a credible force after their World Cup disaster. Gatland enjoyed unparalleled
success at Wasps, winning a hat-trick of Premiership titles and the Heineken Cup.

CAPTAIN: Ryan Jones.
Jones made a huge impact as a player and personality during the 2005 Grand Slam season and later on the Lions tour. He has been dogged by shoulder problems
since and missed the World Cup but is fit again and could prove an inspired captaincy choice.

STAR PLAYER: James Hook.
This may well be the season where Hook, although young and relatively inexperienced, supplants Stephen Jones as Wales' first-choice fly-half. He did
not enjoy the best World Cup but boasts immense promise.

STRENGTHS: Attack.
Wales' players are well suited to open, attacking rugby. On their day the likes of James Hook, Shane Williams and Tom Shanklin can be deadly. Recruiting
Shaun Edwards is a massive coup as there are few better coaches to sort out Wales' defensive problems.

WEAKNESSES: Forwards.
Wales' open rugby can also be their downfall. They may boast wonderful footballers among the forwards but grunt and grind is not their forte. Improving
the set-piece will be a priority for Gatland.

DID YOU KNOW? Warren Gatland played 17 times for New Zealand - but did not appear in a single Test match.

IRELAND

COLOURS: Emerald green and white.
STADIUM: Croke Park.
ODDS: 4-1.

COACH: Eddie O'Sullivan.
O'Sullivan signed a new four-year deal before Ireland's disappointing World Cup campaign, which damaged his reputation. He will target a big Six Nations
with the Lions head coaching position up for grabs.

CAPTAIN: Brian O'Driscoll.
Giving the captaincy to the best player does not always work - see Andrew Flintoff - but O'Driscoll is an inspirational leader for Ireland. He led the
Lions to New Zealand in 2005 and deserves a Six Nations title for all his commitment to the Irish cause.

STAR PLAYER: Brian O'Driscoll.
While the big-name stars failed to deliver, Brian O'Driscoll was one of the few to keep his reputation intact at the World Cup. The man known as BOD was
voted player of the tournament in last season's Six Nations championship.

STRENGTHS: Midfield.
Twelve months ago Ireland boasted arguably the finest midfield combination in world rugby, with Ronan O'Gara an astute playmaker as well as top-class kicker,
and Brian O'Driscoll alongside Gordon D'Arcy in the centres. But do they still have it?

WEAKNESSES: Bottle.
Ireland have been capable of winning the Six Nations every year since 2005 and they went into the World Cup expected to be the best performing home nation. But their big-name players are prone to go missing at key times. Can they recover from the World Cup debacle?

DID YOU KNOW? Ireland will come up against two former coaches during the Six Nations - Warren Gatland, who is now with Wales, and England supremo Brian
Ashton.

SCOTLAND

COLOURS: Navy blue and white.
STADIUM: Murrayfield.
ODDS: 12-1.

COACH: Frank Hadden
Hadden signed a new contract after the World Cup. He has had to temper a natural preference for open, attacking rugby after it backfired last year as
Scotland lost to Italy and ended up with the wooden spoon. But he leads a young squad with high hopes.

CAPTAIN: Jason White.
The down-to-earth Aberdonian is one of the northern hemisphere's most inspiring rugby figures - but his captaincy has been dogged by injury. He missed
all of last year's championship with a cruciate knee ligament injury and it is vital for Scotland that he stays fit.

STAR PLAYER: Chris Paterson.
Scotland are reliant on kicking king Paterson, whose remarkable accuracy almost guarantees points from every shot at goal. He enjoyed a 100% record at
the World Cup. Rory Lamont has come on leaps and bounds this season and could also shine.

STRENGTHS: Kicking.
Whether it be from the tee or from hand, Scotland boast two of the game's best exponents at putting boot to ball. Paterson's goalkicking is renowned, while
fly-half Dan Parks is a clever and accurate tactical kicker who earns valuable territory for his side.

WEAKNESSES: Fly-half.
Over the last year Scotland have been torn between the practical and the adventurous and part of the problem is the lack of a consistent fly-half. Dan
Parks is a solid kicking fly-half while Paterson is more creative but is often used elsewhere in the team.

DID YOU KNOW? Sean Lamont will miss the whole tournament with a cruciate knee injury.

ITALY

COLOURS: Light blue.
STADIUM: Stadio Flaminio.
ODDS: 100-1.

COACH: Nick Mallett.
Nick Mallett was South Africa coach between 1997 and 2000, guiding the Boks on a record run of 17 victories. He won two French titles at Stade Francais. He has replaced Pierre Berbizier, who masterminded Italy's most successful Six Nations last year.

CAPTAIN: Sergio Parisse
Nick Mallett decided to replace Marco Bortolami as captain to help "write a new chapter in the history of Italian rugby`" Parisse plays his rugby at Stade
Francais and was one of Italy's major players in last year's campaign.

STAR PLAYER: Mirco Bergamasco.
One of the Italian rugby stars whose public profile goes some way to matching the country's top footballers. The Stade Francais centre was voted into the 2006 Six Nations dream team and forms an eye-catching centre partnership with Gonzalo Canale.

STRENGTHS: Forwards.
The Azzurri back row is dynamic with the energetic Mauro Bergamasco on the openside flank and Sergio Parisse at number eight. Marco Bortolami can be
dominant in the second row while Martin Castrogiovanni is one of the Guinness Premiership's leading props.

WEAKNESSES: Lack of depth.
Italy enjoyed their best ever Six Nations campaign last year with wins over Scotland and Wales but could not back it up in the World Cup. Their first XV is
competitive and contains more than a handful of top-class players but injuries or suspensions can hit them hard.

DID YOU KNOW? Italy played their first international in 1929 against Spain in Barcelona. They lost 9-0.