New stars emerged across the board as Ireland successfully defended their Six Nations title. More talent will be itching to follow Joe McCarthy, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommaso Meno

Rugby's greatest championship has been played in some form or another since 1883, becoming the modern Six Nations in 2000. How have the various participants fared over the years, and which players have gone down in the sport's folklore for their performances in the tournament?

Hope springs eternal as the Six Nations sides renew hostilities in rugby’s grandest old championship. Another competitive edition of the tournament looks likely in 2025 with questions for each and every one of the competing sextet,

France face their trickier biennial Six Nations itinerary in oddly numbered years, with England in Twickenham and Ireland in the Aviva Stadium. Of their six titles since the expansion to the Six Nations, France have won only one championship in odd years.

France captain Antoine Dupont said Toulouse's thrashing of Leicester in the Champions Cup was the perfect warm-up for the Six Nations.

Next up in our set of previews ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last fifth-placed finishers, Gonzalo Quesada's Italy.

Dupont is one of 13 Toulouse players included in Fabien Galthie’s 42-man France squad for the Six Nations, which begin on Jan 31. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Following the Six Nations squad announcements and with the action closing in fast, our focus turns to those players set to miss part or in some cases all of the Championship.

Two returning players and French teams' results in Europe put Les Bleus in good heart for the Six Nations despite some injury concerns.

He has this year’s tournament in his sights and he leads a French team that is bursting with talent and determination.

Then the Australian TV tennis commentator Tony Jones recorded a few sentences of on screen banter in front of a group of Djokovic’s Serbian flag-waving supporters. Djokovic is a national treasure to the Serbian people and they support their hero with a passion that, to the uneducated viewer, far outweighs the importance of a game of tennis.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, who were investigated for rape in Argentina before the case was dismissed last month, were both named Wednesday in France's 42-man squad for the Six Nations.