Six Nations:

Woodward, Nicol Murphy, Howley & Cipriani tackle the big questions

NEXT weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby’s treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign.

Sportsmail’s panel of experts — columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy — debate the issues and offer their predictions… CHRIS FOY: Thanks for joining us. It feels like a real event this year with fans back. Let’s start with each of your respective countries. Clive and Danny, how do you think England are fixed? DANNY CIPRIANI: Whenever you mention England going into a tournament, you have to say that they are contenders on the basis of the players they have. If you then add the stardust like Marcus Smith, Henry Slade and Freddie Steward — the boys who had a good autumn — you begin to think that they’re starting to purr and be in a strong position. I always feel England will be contenders. CLIVE WOODWARD: They’re big contenders, but the big thing for me is that the first game with Scotland is absolutely huge. It will be a tough Six Nations for whoever loses that, which England are well capable of.

We’re all waiting on the team Eddie is going to pick. There are huge selection dilemmas, especially in the back row. England do have world-class players, but their big achilles’ heel is the 12 position. Once Manu Tuilagi is out, England have real problems in that area. CF: Andy, will Scotland fancy England first up and how big a factor is Owen Farrell being out injured? ANDY NICOL: Eddie Jones has almost backed himself into a corner because he went all-in on Farrell. He made him captain and said Marcus Smith could be a great player but only with Owen at 12. That’s strange because now he is injured, it leaves a position to fill.

For Scotland, having England first up this year is good. Scotland will be all-or-nothing next week and they have a real chance. We won last year at Twickenham. We had the crazy 38-38 in 2019 and we beat them quite easily in 2018.

These Scotland players have real confidence playing against England and belief is everything. GEORDAN MURPHY: From a neutral point of view, it’s an ideal time for Scotland to play England, who have a bit of disruption with Farrell and Courtney Lawes being injured and Joe Marler getting Covid again. It seems there is a bit of uncertainty there. ROB HOWLEY: England should always be there or thereabouts but it’s not a typical England side now. The Vunipola brothers have gone. Farrell isn’t there. Generally, there is a spine to an England team and going up to Murrayfield, that spine is not there.

The thing I’ve noticed over the last 18 months with Eddie’s England is their poor discipline. Last Championship, they gave away 69 penalties. When I was playing and Sir Clive was in charge, we feared going to Twickenham. It was a tough place to go. Now, teams go to Twickenham thinking they can have a crack at England. CF: Rob, what about Wales? They’re the holders, but are without a lot of key players. RH: Wayne Pivac has talked about the 726 caps missing. When you’re without Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Taulupe Faletau, Justin

Tipuric, George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Josh Navidi, it’s tough.

Generally, in the Six Nations, it’s about dominating up front. Wayne will be looking at the 2023 World Cup — blooding some players. There is nothing for them to lose.

I like Dan Biggar being captain. He portrays the quality of hard work and there’s a toughness in Dan which will feed into the team.

Going to Ireland first up is not easy. Ireland are coming off an autumn when they beat the All Blacks. When you look at the depth Andy Farrell has to pick from, they probably have 400 caps of experience on the bench! CF: It’s not just the national team with Ireland, their domestic teams are flying while the Welsh regions are struggling… RH: It’s been that way for years, but hopefully the players can come into camp and forget about the regions. They need to focus on the international game. Having fans back in from an emotional and adrenaline perspective is huge. AN: No group of players lift their game more than Wales do every year. The Welsh regions have not had success for years, but Wales have still won Grand Slams and Championships. They always raise their game and the Six Nations seems to mean more to Wales than it does to other countries. But I’d be very surprised if Wales were contenders this year. GM: It will be a much tougher ask for Wales in Dublin. They will try to impose their game on Ireland, but I was looking at the Leinster

team who had four or five weeks off over Christmas due to Covid. I thought it would be interesting to see how they started back into Europe and wow, look at the way they played.

Look at their confidence levels. The Leinster team will form the majority of the Ireland side supplemented by some other outstanding players, but all the Irish provinces are performing very well right now.

Munster are winning games and Ulster and Connacht are doing well. For a small country, they’re doing well and you wouldn’t envy Andy Farrell’s selection meetings because he has great players, strength in depth and experience. They’re on a good run on the back of the All Blacks victory, so I’m hopeful of a good championship. CF: Was the All Blacks win a takeoff moment for Farrell’s Ireland? GM: Joe Schmidt was absolutely adored by the Irish public and took the team to new heights. Andy took over and wanted to change the way Ireland played. He wanted to play more expansively and not be as structured. The first couple of games didn’t go great and people were sharpening the knives, but since then, there has been a huge improvement. CW: You’d have to say that if Wales win in Ireland, it would be a massive upset. Wales have just got too many people missing to go to Ireland and win. Ireland have no weaknesses in their team. DC: The combinations Ireland have that come from their club sides into the national team is huge for them. Ireland can almost run their system with their eyes shut — especially after beating the All Blacks. I just don’t see anything other than an Irish win. AN: Andy has got one hell of a selection to make, though. Ulster are on fire. Guys like James Hume, Robert Baloucoune and Michael Lowry are really putting their hand up. All four Irish teams have qualified for the last-16 of the Champions Cup. They’re all flying. Andy Farrell is pulling players down off the ceiling whereas Wayne Pivac is pulling them up off the floor. CF: In the past, Scotland have often been seen as clear underdogs who needed to find the emotional intensity to beat England, but now they appear to have a high-class side in all areas... AN: Scotland had to use emotion in the past because we weren’t as good as England and we had to try and close the gap. In some areas, we weren’t as good by a distance.

This Scotland squad is probably the strongest I can remember. If you look at the back line, Finn

Russell and Stuart Hogg have been around for a while. Cameron Redpath has come on the scene and even if it was just one game, he looked to the manor born.

Chris Harris is getting better and better. Duhan van der Merwe is a class act. Darcy Graham and Rufus McLean are there too. That’s a back line that can really excite and we’ve got a pack that can win us good ball.

All the parts are there. I’ve always talked Scotland up, now

‘For Scotland, having England first is good. They will be all-or-nothing next week. They have a real chance’

I’m under-playing them with the strongest squad we’ve ever had! CW: I always look at the 10-12-13 and Scotland’s combination of Russell, Redpath and Harris is absolutely world-class. Scotland aren’t going to fear the England backs. I’m hoping Redpath plays with Harris, but Scotland also have Rory Hutchinson from Northampton who is an amazing player. GM: In the past, you would go into the competition and think Scotland might finish fourth or fifth. If you look at the Scottish side now, they can turn anyone over. CF: Yes or no — are Scotland genuine title contenders? GM: No. CW, RH & AN: Yes. GM: You didn’t say yes too quickly there, Andy! AN: What Scotland haven’t had is consistency. Last year, we went from beating England at Twickenham

to losing at home to Wales when they were in complete control of that game. CF: What about France? Are they favourites? People have enjoyed their revival, but is it time they delivered a trophy? AN: France have England and Ireland in Paris so if they are the three leading contenders, France must be in the box seat. DC: France have the best player in the world in Antoine Dupont, they’re at home for key games, and also have a serial winner in Shaun Edwards. I think he’s been in 40 finals as a player and coach and never lost one.

You can see the impact he has on every team he works with. When you speak to him in a big-game week, he’s one of the few coaches I’ve known where the information gets simpler. The way Shaun is getting to grips with this France squad is second to none. GM: You see it in the way France are playing since he’s been involved. Their defence has gone to the next level and they seem to be far tougher mentally. DC: Shaun won’t only be doing defence. He’ll be grabbing halfbacks for extra sessions. He’ll grab people the whole time to shape their mindset so they deliver in big moments. It’s rubbing off on them. CW: Look at France’s 10-12-13; Romain Ntamack, Virimi Vakatawa