The Six Nations is finally upon us.
Wales head into the tournament as defending champions, but few - if any - are tipping Wayne Pivac's side to repeat last year's achievement.
With the tournament about to begin, it's time to take a look at the predictions from some of the game's biggest names to gauge who might be lifting the trophy on March 19.
Nigel Owens: France
"If I had to put money on it, I'd go with France," the former referee told the Mirror. "And that's because the fixtures fall to suit them this year.
"I also think it may not be a Grand Slam, it may well be a championship win.
"It's going to be very, very interesting, but if I had to put my money on somebody, I'd go for France.
"But — and this is key here — what is adding a big question mark behind things is: we don't know what Covid is going to do."
Geordan Murphy: France
"I don't see France losing a game," the former Irish full-back told the Daily Mail.
"You see it in the way France are playing since [Shaun Edwards has] been involved. Their defence has gone to the next level and they seem to be far tougher mentally.
"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.
"France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy."
Rob Howley: France
Former Wales coach and scrum-half Howley is tipping Wales to finish fifth this year, having told the Mail: "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.
"France always used to be brittle away from home. They're not now, that's down to [Shaun Edwards]. Their mentality is different. For me, France are favourites
"France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Italy."
Sam Warburton: France
"There will be a lot of focus on France, Ireland and England leading into this year’s competition, but Scotland are genuine contenders too in my opinion," former Wales captain Warburton wrote in his column for The Times.
"They have a stable and experienced squad that is improving all the time.
"That said, France are my favourites. That victory over New Zealand last autumn was stunning and I can see the influence that Shaun Edwards, the defence coach, is having there, but there will be some concern in their camp about the effects of Covid and injuries.
"Antoine Dupont has not played for a while, but you would think that he is a player of such quality that it will not take him too long to get back up to speed, and France have Italy at home first up so that does allow them some time to blow away the cobwebs and prepare for sterner challenges ahead."
Danny Cipriani: France
"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," England fly-half Cipriani told the Mail.
"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.
"France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy."
Mike Ruddock: Ireland
"It's absolutely brilliant," the former Wales coach told On The Ball podcast.
"It's so exciting. We used to look with envy at Super Rugby and the Tri Nations, but when you boil it down, we realised they were envious of the Six Nations.
"I've always believed with momentum in any tournament. If you can win that first game, anything can happen.
"France have just beaten the All Blacks and will come in with so much confidence. But consistency is still the thing with them.
"England have lost a lot of key players. Eddie's changed his squad and created a fresh look. If there's a couple of combinations that are not on the money, they could be vulnerable.
"Given how settled they are, in my mind, Ireland are one of, if not, the favourite for the tournament."
Sir Clive Woodward: France
"I don't think there will be a Slam this year," former England coach Woodward told the Mail.
"This is going to be one of the closest Six Nations ever. With five of the teams, anything could happen.
"France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy. No grand slam."
Jeremy Guscott: France/Ireland
"I think Eddie [Jones] would rather have his best team now rather than be forced to experiment," former England and Lions centre Guscott told On The Ball.
"I think Marcus Smith just needs a really good run at 10.
"There's 20-odd games until the World Cup and I think he needs the experience. England need the centre partnership outside him shored up.
"But don't take the glare off France and Ireland. The way those two played against New Zealand makes them the favourites. If England come under the radar, which is difficult, they might relax and play some rugby."
Alan Quinlan: France
Former Ireland flanker Quinlan revealed on On The Ball that he would be backing France, but couldn't see a Grand Slam this year.
"If France win it, Antoine Dupont will most probably be the player of the tournament," he said.
"If Jack Carty gets some game-time, he could surprise us. He's shown some great glimpses this year for Connacht.
"When Wales are written off, that's when they usually go and win the Grand Slam. I think we have enough experience in the squad to cope with the passion they'll bring. I can see a 15-point win for Ireland."
Andy Nicol: France
"France have England and Ireland in Paris so if they are the three leading contenders, France must be in the box seat," Nicol told the Mail.
"France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Italy."
Andy Goode: France
"Pre-tournament, you are asking me looking at the fixtures, France have got the best run of fixtures," ex-England fly-half Andy Goode told the Rugby Pod.
"If they can dust Scotland away from home, they have got Ireland in Paris, they have got England in Paris and the form they were on in the autumn, I think France are favourites for me."
John Inverdale: England/Ireland
"There's a melancholy feeling around Wales, but a strong Wales makes a strong Six Nations," Inverdale, the former face of the BBC's Six Nations coverage, told On The Ball.
"They're often the heartbeat of the tournament.
"My feeling is that England v Ireland at Twickenham will be the deciding match."
Benjamin Kayser: France
"We've been waiting for a long time to win the Six Nations, since 2010 in fact," the former France hooker told the BBC.
"The calendar of the Six Nations is crucial. We have three home games, two away games, and one guy missing in the whole line-up - centre Arthur Vincent. You can't complain.
"The ticket of favourites is put on France which is something they're going to have to deal with.
"The expectation is different because of the shadow of the 2023 World Cup which France will host.
"To be good they have to beat the best teams in the world, and in the autumn they beat New Zealand.
"But they also need to win titles. For that they need to deliver in this Six Nations."
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