Level playing field Post-World Cup Six Nations presents equal opportunity for next wave of stars

If this year's Six Nations follows the recent pattern then it is shaping up to finish with another grand slam.

It would be a third in succession and history shows us every championship after a World Cup - with the exception of the Covid-hit tournament in 2020 -has ended in a clean sweep. That is fascinating because when there is a Six Nations at the start of a World Cup cycle, every team is effectively starting from zero.

Last year we had France and Ireland as the two standout teams, both very settled and looking to fine-tune, sustain and maintain in the lead-up to the World Cup. Scotland were in a similar position, but then there was England and Wales both trying to play catch-up having recently appointed Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland as their respective head coaches.

Italy were on the up, too.

But you can't say that about this championship.

Everyone arrives at the starting line together and while there may only be one new head coach in Italy's Gonzalo Quesada, the fact that five teams have new captains demonstrates the sense of change.

That situation has come about because there is a large group of players who have been synonymous with the Six Nations in recent years who will not be taking part. Whether it is the retirements of Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar and Johnny Sexton, the decision of Owen Farrell to make himself unavailable, Antoine Dupont's pursuit of his Olympic dream with the France sevens team, or Louis Rees-Zammit's sudden switch to American football, there are a host of stars missing.