The 2017 Six Nations looks set to be one of the most competitive in recent years. England and Ireland are favourites to lift the title come March, but what of Wales and how do France shape up?
Scotland are also much improved, while Italy will look to follow up their victory over South Africa in the autumn, with a strong showing in the tournament.
With a Lions tour on the horizon, it looks set to be a big couple of months in the rugby world.
England
Last Year: Winners
Head Coach: Eddie Jones
Captain: Dylan Hartley
One to watch: Nathan Hughes
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Nathan Catt (Bath), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tommy Taylor (Wasps), Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Anthony Watson (Bath), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers
France
Last Year: 5th
Head Coach: Guy Noves
Captain: Guilhem Guirado
One to watch: Gael Fickou
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Mohamed Boughanmi (La Rochelle), Damien Chouly (Clermont Auvergne), Loann Goujon (Bordeaux Begles), Kevin Gourdon (La Rochelle), Guilhem Guirado (Toulon), Arthur Iturria (Clermont Auvergne), Julien Le Devedec (Brive), Bernard le Roux (Racing 92), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Clement Maynadier (Bordeaux Begles), Louis Picamoles (Northampton Saints), Fabien Sanconnie (Brive), Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais), Christopher Tolofua (Toulouse), Sebastien Vahaamahina (Clermont Auvergne)
Backs: Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Djibril Camara (Stade Francais), Yann David (Toulouse), Jean-Marc Doussain (Toulouse), Gael Fickou (Toulouse), Yoann Huget (Toulouse), Remi Lamerat (Clermont Auvergne), Camille Lopez (Clermont Auvergne), Maxime Machenaud (Racing 92), Noa Nakaitaci (Clermont Auvergne), Geoffrey Palis (Castres), Baptiste Serin (Bordeaux Begles), Scott Spedding (Clermont Auvergne), Virimi Vakatawa (Unattached)
Ireland
Last Year: 3rd
Head Coach: Joe Schmidt
Captain: Rory Best
One to watch: Garry Ringrose
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Rory Best (Ulster), Jack Conan (Connacht), Ultan Dillane (Connacht), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Billy Holland (Munster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Dan Leavy (Leinster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Tommy O’Donnell (Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), John Ryan (Munster), Niall Scannell (Munster), CJ Stander (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), James Tracy (Leinster), Josh Van der Flier (Leinster)
Backs: Tommy Bowe (Ulster), Andrew Conway (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), Luke Marshall (Ulster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Luke McGrath (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Rory Scannell (Munster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Munster)
Wales
Last Year: 2nd
Head Coach: Rob Howley (Interim)
Captain: Alun Wyn Jones
One to watch: Scott Williams
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Scott Andrews (Cardiff Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Bath), Olly Cracknell (Ospreys), Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Rob Evans (Scarlets), Taulupe Faletau (Bath), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Cory Hill (Newport Gwent Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Ospreys), James King (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Rory Thornton (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues), Thomas Young (Wasps)
Backs: Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Aled Davies (Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Sam Davies (Ospreys), Steffan Evans (Scarlets), Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Ashton Hewitt (Newport Gwent Dragons), George North (Northampton Saints), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Liam Williams (Scarlets), Owen Williams (Leicester Tigers), Scott Williams (Scarlets)
Scotland
Last Year: 4th
Head Coach: Vern Cotter
Captain: Greig Laidlaw
One to watch: Huw Jones
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Berghan (Edinburgh), Allan Dell (Edinburgh), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), John Barclay (Scarlets), Cornell Du Preez (Edinburgh), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors)
Backs: Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Weir (Edinburgh), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Huw Jones (Stormers), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins)
Italy
Last Year: 6th
Head Coach: Conor O’Shea
Captain: Sergio Parisse
One to watch: Carlo Canna
Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli (Zebre), Dario Chistolini (Zebre), Lorenzo Cittadini (Bayonne), Andrea Lovotti (Zebre), Sami Panico (Patar Calvisano), Tommaso D’Apice (Zebre), Ornel Gega (Treviso), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Toulouse), George Fabio Biagi (Zebre), Joshua Furno (Zebre), Marco Fuser (Treviso), Federico Ruzza (Zebre), Andries Van Schalkwyk (Zebre), Marco Barbini (Treviso), Simone Favaro (Glasgow Warriors), Maxime Mata Mbanda (Zebre), Francesco Minto (Treviso), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais), Abraham Jurgens Steyn (Treviso)
Backs: Giorgio Bronzini (Treviso), Edoardo Gori (Treviso), Marcello Violi (Zebre), Tommaso Allan (Treviso), Carlo Canna (Zebre), Tommaso Benvenuti (Treviso), Tommaso Boni (Zebre), Michele Campagnaro (Exeter Chiefs), Luke McLean (Treviso), Giulio Bisegni (Zebre), Angelo Esposito (Treviso), Giovambattista Venditti (Zebre), Edoardo Padovani (Zebre)
