Culminating in a World Cup in New Zealand, 2011 is set to be one of the busiest and most exciting years for some time in the world of rugby, so we thought it only appropriate to look ahead to the first big event in the sport’s calendar; the RBS Six Nations. The tournament comes months after a hard-fought series of Autumn Internationals that saw mixed results for the 6 nations sides.

England kick off their Six Nations campaign with an away trip to Cardiff in the opening weekend

England secured a 35-18 victory over Australia with some awe-inspiring running rugby, but were then unable to follow it up against their other Tri-Nations opponents, losing narrowly to both New Zealand and South Africa. Wales, like Ireland, competed well with all the Tri-Nations teams but couldn’t pull off a victory. In fact, the closest Wales came to a win was their 4 point defeat to South Africa – the same gap by which Scotland defeated South Africa in their one excellent performance of the autumn. Finally, France suffered the humiliation of a 16-59 thrashing by Australia, so last year’s Six Nations Champions are not in the ideal position to retain their title.

With Wales taking on England at the Millennium Stadium in the opening match on 4th February, we look ahead to what excitement the 2011 RBS Six Nations might just bring us…

Tournament favourites
The nature of England’s excellent win over Australia in November means that the team heads into the Six Nations as favourites, with the bookies currently offering odds of 7/4 for an England win. Despite their recent poor form and the pressure on their coach, Marc Lievremont, France are second favourites for the win, with odds of 5/2 currently on offer.

Player of the tournament
Stand out players in the 2010 Autumn Internationals included England scrum half Ben Youngs, French prop Nicholas Mas and rising star Johnny Sexton of Ireland. England would have been hoping that lock Courtney Lawes would have a big RBS Six Nations after his excellent Autumn series, but his recent knee ligament injury means that the Northampton start will miss the whole tournament. In his absence, England will be hoping that their back three of Chris Ashton, Mark Cueto and Ben Foden feature heavily and challenge for player of the tournament.

Most exciting game
The 26th February sees England take on France, with the favourites on home turf at Twickenham. The match is set to be a thriller; France are desperate to prove that their recent run of bad form has been a temporary blip as they build towards the World Cup, while England are keen to go into the big event as the leading European contender.

The Scotland v Wales game looks set to be equally exciting, as the Scots attempt to forget their 2010 Six Nations nightmare, in which they threw away a 12 point lead and the chance to beat Wales in Cardiff for the first time in eight years, with a win against their Celtic rivals.

Biggest comeback
Johnny Wilkinson will be hoping that he is included in the squad, despite missing the Autumn Internationals with a shoulder injury. He also faces tough competition from Toby Flood and has just signed an extended contract with his French team, Toulon, which puts him at odds with the RFU who have said they will no longer select players who are playing abroad for the England squad after 2011’s World Cup. Martin Johnson is a pragmatist though, and is unlikely to think beyond this year’s key tournaments when weighing up whether to select England’s 2003 World Cup winning fly-half.

Best venue
2011 will see Ireland play their first RBS Six Nations matches at the Aviva Stadium and it will be interesting to see just how they adjust to the move from their home of the past few years, Croke Park.

As always, a filled-to-capacity Twickenham will provide a hugely exciting atmosphere, as will a packed-out Stade de France. RBS Six Nations tickets for matches at Twickenham, the Millennium Stadium and the Aviva Stadium are on-sale at GetMeIn.com. It’s set to be a heart-racing year for rugby building up to the World Cup, so what better time to witness the action live?