ALL local rugby eyes will be on the opening matches of the 2007 Six Nations competition which on Saturday see England taking on Scotland and Italy versus France.Sunday’s game will have Wales at home against Ireland.

This year’s tournament will be an intriguing contest as the teams prepare for the upcoming World Cup. Defending World Champions England’s torrid run of horrendous form eventually cost coach Andy Robinson his job. His replacement Bran Ashton has caused a stir by selecting two former rugby league stars, Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell in his starting 15 alongside World Cup hero Johnny Wilkinson.

Although extremely experienced, all three have seen little to no international exposure in the past three years. Ashton must be counting on Robinson and Farrell to revive the magic chemistry they had whilst playing league for Wigan and hoping that Wilkinson’ recent run of bad luck with injuries has not diminished his considerable talent. Either way it will come down to the traditional strength of England’s forwards to create attacking platforms. New captain Phil Vickery takes over from the out- of-favour Martin Corry who is fighting for his position. An unfortunate injury to upcoming back row star Daniel Ward-Smith will have helped Corry’s cause.

Scotland were last year’s surprise as they stunned France and had a rare home win against England. They will be hard pressed to repeat last year’s heroics especially with their talismanic captain Jason White unavailable through injury. Despite that coach Frank Hadden is optimistic about his side chances and is starting a healthy Chris Cusiter at scrumhalf. Winger Chris Patterson will captain the side at the expense of in-form Simon Webster. No less than four of Scotland’s pack are making their debuts; lock James Hamilton, prop Euan Murray, forwards David Callam and Kelly Brown. Scotland has not beaten England in Twickenham since 1983, and with the wealth of experience on the side England should regain the Calcutta Cup.

Italy has been the perennial cellar dwellers of the Six Nations since the joined. Sophomore coach Peirre Beibizier will have to call on all of his rugby know-how to inspire his team if they are not to be the whipping boys again. Lead by the Bergamasco brothers Mirco and Marco, the Azzurri have been getting more competitive of late.

France is an enigmatic team which more swings of moods and performance than a manic depressive. Injuries to fly-half Frederic Michalak and skipper Fabien Pelous have hampered Coach Bernard Laporte build up to the 6 Nations and he is still experimenting to find his best XV. Les Bleus will be captained by Wasps’ hooker Raphael Ibanez. The depth of talent that the French side has should see them past Italy but they will face sterner challenges ahead.

Sunday’s mouth-watering encounter pits Ireland at Wales in a game the winner of which many pundits predict will be this years Six Nations champion. Ireland, lead by the charismatic Brian O’Driscol, have a good away record at the Millennium Stadium.

Their forwards, lead by Munster big man and in-form Scarlet back row Simon Easterby, are expected to dominate in the lineouts and loose respectively. A late injury to Shane Horgan will not dampen Ireland’s will to run at a relatively inexperienced Welsh back line.

Meanwhile Welsh coach Gareth Jenkins has opted to bolster his forwards with the inclusion of props Gethin Jenkins and Chris Horsman.

Once the dust settles on European rugby, the local stars take to the pitch on Sunday. Starting at 1 p.m. Police Ladies take on Renegades. Les Femmes Blues will be looking to bounce back from two consecutive drubbings whilst the ‘Gades will be looking to their rookie sensations Melissa Field and Vanessa George to display their considerable talents.

At 1:30 p.m. league champions Renegades take on a sorely depleted Police team who at press release time only had nine confirmed players. Police woes are systemic of local rugby where once they could rely on overseas bobbies to strengthen their cause, now they must compete with the other three clubs in an ever dwindling pool of prospective rugby players.

If there is a dance to be had, the Black and Whites should waltz this one. It is a shame as this game brings to the end of local rugby character Peter Elliott’s tenure as a Police player. After nine years of stellar service to his adopted club Elliot departs Bermuda’s fair shores for further rugger adventures in the UK — beware Britain!

The second ladies match should be a ding-dong affair with the powerful Mariners side taking on a well coached Teachers squad — far too close to call — it will come down to who wants it more. The final match of the day will see Teachers, led by its conquering back row, take on a weaken Mariners squad whose steady improvement will been hampered by injuries to rising Bermudian star Kris Furbert and forwards Rian Lindo and Dylan Simpson.

On the plus side, backs — Andy Boyce and Steve Husbands — are expected to pass Thursday’s fitness tests. With both sides expected to not field a front row — uncontested scrums could give Teachers the slight advantage, in what should be a crowd pleasing match.