The week before the Guinness Six Nations is a period when we think about what’s being done, how the teams are going to be ready, who is the best team in Europe.
Those questions arise around the Guinness Six Nations. We just had the World Cup and the excitement of that competition, but there were some frustrations around some of our nations as well.
The question there is how those teams are going to start the Guinness Six Nations, and moving past that frustrating moment.
It’s always difficult to see a Welsh team losing in Cardiff, because Principality Stadium is so difficult to play in.
We know how proud the Welsh team are and also, they’ve now got a new management coaching them.
It’s going to be very difficult for Italy to win in Cardiff and I think the amazing atmosphere will be difficult to handle.
Every time there is a new era, the players are very focused on their performance and want to impress the management.
For that, I think it will be very exciting to see how they behave and react, and also to find out if they’ve got new strategies, a new way of thinking.
There are so many lessons to learn from watching Wales play; I am supporting France and I know that they will be heading to Cardiff as well for one of their games!
Ireland are one of the toughest teams in the Guinness Six Nations.
They’ve been very successful and despite the difficulty they had in the World Cup, I think with the new management and Andy Farrell being the head coach, the team will be ready to impress.
They came from being number two in the rankings and can still be successful.
I think that Ireland will be the team to pay attention to, it will be interesting to see how they react and if they change their style of play.
With the new stadium, the atmosphere, it’s difficult to cope as a visitor. I remember playing one of my toughest games there in 2007 where we scored in the last minute through Vincent Clerc, which helped us to win the title.
One of the best games I saw in the Guinness Six Nations last year was Scotland v Ireland, where the Scottish team really played very open rugby and Ireland played brilliantly too.
Both teams were so close, and the game was fantastic; hopefully there will be the same kind of mindset!
Le Crunch! It’s exciting, really exciting, one of the best rivalries of the Championship.
It’s what we were supposed to see during the World Cup, but it didn’t happen because of the typhoon.
I think it’s going to be very interesting because in one way we see France developing their game and their style. They still managed to be successful even though they lost the quarter-final against Wales.
I think they have improved their style of play and organisation. They showed a lot of great things, young players coming out and have good new coaches, with Fabien Galthié and Shaun Edwards, who will give them the fighting spirit.
I have to say, I see France being successful to start with and hopefully they can sustain that.
Saying that, England were so amazing during the World Cup and hopefully they will keep that fire, challenging France to be at their best.
I can’t wait to see it!
