Who will win the title?
Robert Kitson Ireland. Hard to see them folding at home to England on the final weekend with a potential title and Lions tour berths up for grabs.
Paul Rees Ireland have home advantage over injury-hit England and travel to Cardiff where they have lost only three times since 1983 and they were the most impressive European side in the autumn.
Andy Bull Ireland. They improved hugely in the autumn, and all those injuries mean England surely aren’t going to be quite as strong as they were in 2016.
Michael Aylwin Scotland. A long shot, and we’ve been excited about Scotland before. Then disappointed. Again. But confidence is high. England and Ireland also contenders, obviously.
Gerard Meagher England. They comfortably boast the greatest strength in depth and are still improving under Eddie Jones. And if all else fails, Owen Farrell’s goal-kicking will not.
Which will be the key match?
RK Scotland v Ireland in round one. A Scottish victory would make everyone sit bolt upright.
PR Scotland v Ireland and Wales against England on the opening two weekends.
AB Ireland v England in Dublin. Rightly or wrongly, there’s an idea that England have a little of that old arrogance about them. The Irish have been waiting for another shot.
MA Scotland v Ireland. The Scots will need to win this and enjoy underdog status. But will probably then lose at Twickenham. Ireland to beat England in Dublin.
GM Wales v England. Wales will relish being underdogs at home but if England prevail they will take some stopping. Scotland v Ireland is also hugely significant.
Who will be the key player?
RK Alun Wyn Jones. Should Wales struggle under his captaincy, who will lead the Lions this summer?
PR Jonathan Sexton’s fitness will be crucial for Ireland, Nathan Hughes needs to find Billy Vunipola’s boots a comfortable fit and Finn Russell must spark Scotland.
AB Maro Itoje, left. If there is a player who can haul England through this tournament and their transition to a younger team for 2019, it’s him.
MA Finn Russell. The way he failed to win the match against Munster was worrying but thinking on his feet as an underdog will suit him – indeed, render him lethal.
GM Johnny Sexton. If Ireland win without him in Scotland and he is fit thereafter they may just be favourites. Huge roles too for Nathan Hughes and Zander Fagerson.
Where might there be a shock?
RK Wales will have their work cut out against Italy in Rome.
PR Murrayfield, where Ireland and Wales will tread warily.
AB Scotland are stronger now than they’ve been in a long, long while, and are well capable of beating any of the other five sides.
MA This is the annual ‘can Italy win a game?’ question. They might well beat Wales on the opening weekend, but would that be a shock?
GM Scotland will fancy a first win in Paris since 1999, particularly if they beat Ireland. If Wales are not bold in selection and approach in Rome they may come unstuck.
Bonus points will mean …
RK Little initially but a lot more in mid-March.
PR More to losing teams than winners. Italy may benefit from teams getting distracted by the lure of five points before they have secured four.
AB A little more running rugby in the final few minutes, and a lot more confusion about who needs to do what to win on the final weekend.
MA Nothing on the field. They might resolve a tie-break but there’s already a system for that called points difference. Waste of time and energy.
GM Not much. England should get the most but will probably still need to beat Ireland. If the title is won in Dublin with a losing bonus point it will be to the detriment of the tournament.
