Six Nations 2010 - The Outsiders

Sunday 17 January 2010
Published By:
International Rugby > Scotland

It's rare for a shock winner to emerge from the Six Nations, but could England be the team that surprises everyone this year? And what are Italy's chances of avoiding the wooden spoon?

England

Don't be fooled by the mathematical marvel that meant England ended up finishing second in last year's tournament - 2009 was at best a disappointing time for Martin Johnson's men. It ended with an autumn series that saw only one try scored in three games by the Twickenham home side and added fuel to the argument that the former international skipper is not the right man to lead the team in a managerial capacity. But England have plenty of players returning from injury and with home matches against Wales and Ireland are well-placed to start changing opinion and building momentum towards the World Cup.

Scotland

Clearly a long way from mounting a serious challenge for the title, the Scottish showed rapid improvement after Andy Robinson took over. A famous win over Australia was followed by a disappointing loss to Argentina in the autumn, making it hard to tell if Scotland are going to remove themselves from the bottom two - England could be ripe for the taking - or once again become embroiled in a shootout with Italy to avoid the dreaded sixth place.

Italy

Comfortably beaten by New Zealand and South Africa in November, it's tough to see how Italy can avoid continuing their habit of finishing in the bottom third of the table. But their players are among the most passionate in the world and with home games against both England and Scotland, don't rule out a surprise result or two.