Looks like the best championship for years, with the added spice of bonus points.
England should win the tournament. Any of the rest could come second - except Italy.
Looking forward to it
Will
[a Scot, in exile for over 30 years]
England should win it, but Ireland are looking pretty formidable too; I certainly rate Scotland under Vern Cotter. They have been playing some pretty good rugby and have some real talent in the squad; their lack of depth on the bench will remain a problem, but i think they will likely cause an upset or two. France have only two home fixtures, and more to the point, meet England and Ireland away. In the autumn tests, Wales seemed to be stumbling, repeating what happened the last time Gatland took on the Lions job and Rob Howley took over.
So.....to stick my neck out I predict the outcome will be
1 England
2 Ireland
3 Wales
4 Scotland
5 France
6 Italy.
I agree with Scrambledsignals in many ways about Twickenham vs Cardiff. The Millennium stadium is a really great sporting venue. The fact that it's in the centre of town makes it even better, you can just wander out of the pub and into the ground. Twickenham however is right out on it's own, and unless you've got friends with a Range Rover full of beer in the car park it's not such a fun place. They're both miles better than the Stade de France mind you. How I miss the Parc des Princes.
On the pricing, however, if they are managing to fill the stadium, the cost of tickets is probably OK; just look at how much people are prepared to pay for a ticket on the black market.
