This year's Six Nations looks to be an extremely open affair, with Ireland seeking to defend the Grand Slam they earned last spring.
Andy Farrell's men claimed a fairly routine championship title last March, with a clean sweep after particularly impressive victories over France and England.
Both the French and English have home advantage over Ireland this year and that could well give them the advantage over the defending champions, as all three grapple with the changing faces of their squads.
Each of the three teams have lost the players who captained them in last year's championship - Antoine Dupont is taking a year away from French duty to prepare for Paris 2024 with the 7s team, while Owen Farrell has chosen to take a hiatus from the England national team for the sake of his family.
Ex-Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman, however, fears that the losses of Johnny Sexton and other experienced heads within the Irish camp could arguably prove more costly.
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Bernard Jackman fears Ireland may have tough Six Nations ahead
25 November 2023; Former Leinster captain Jonathan Sexton is introduced to the crowd before the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Ireland's talismanic captain Johnny Sexton finally stepped away from professional rugby after the bittersweet World Cup quarter-final exit last October, and his absence is set to be keenly felt by Andy Farrell and the Irish side as they prepare for the Six Nations.
Speaking to the RTÉ Rugby Podcast this week, Bernard Jackman shared his fears that Ireland's squad issues may go deeper than the absence of Sexton.
Jackman listed the ever-growing group of players who have been ruled out of action for the upcoming Six Nations, as well as questioning the form and fitness of the likes of Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray. The ex-Leinster man said that he feared how Ireland's eventual squad would stack up against the likes of France:
When I look at what France are going to be able to put in...
When I look at Peter being injured, Conor hasn't played a huge amount, Porter has played a lot, Tadhg [Furlong] hasn't played much, Mack's injury [Hansen], Jimmy's injury [O'Brien], James Lowe having not played, obviously replacing Johnny...I'm a little bit worried going into this.
What players who aren't first choice for Ireland have been absolutely pulling up trees for the provinces? Usually there's a big push for someone who's come from outside the squad where his form warrants hype or expectation or inclusion. I'm struggling to think.
Jackman did say he had high hopes to see Joe McCarthy and Tom Ahern make an impact during the Six Nations. Despite his optimism for the two locks, it's hard to argue with his concern for the squad depth of an injury-ravaged Ireland side.
It is set to be a strange Six Nations. Not only are Ireland, France, and England missing Sexton, Dupont and Farrell respectively, but Stuart Hogg will be missing for Scotland, and Wales must prepare for life without Alun Wyn Jones (both Hogg and Jones departed before the World Cup even got underway).
Perhaps it will be the team who best bloods their new young talent that takes the title on March 16.
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