The Six Nations may not be the biggest rugby competition in the world, but it's certainly one of the most loved. How could it not be? This is a competition that has a long history and which always throws up a surprise or two. The rivalries, performances, and swinging fortunes make it a competition that even non-fans of rugby can get behind. And as always, it'll be coming back in 2022.

In this blog, we're going to run through everything you need to know about the forthcoming competition, including the key details, some key moments to look forward to, who's favourite to lift the trophy and more.

The Details

The fixtures will take place from February 5 through to March 19. And if you're new to the world of rugby, we'll just throw in a little reminder — those six nations are England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Italy. That's a lot of rivalries wrapped up in just one competition! The action will get underway with a match between Ireland and Wales, who will play each other at 15:15 on February 5, followed by Scotland v England at 17:45.

As you know, all the teams will play each other once. Teams either play two or three of their games at home, two or three away. The final match of the tournament will be between France and England, who will play each other at 21:00 on March 19.

What To Look Forward To

There's always much to love about the Six Nations. As the tournament unfolds, there will be plenty of talking points and controversies, surprise victories, underwhelming performances, and so on. And as well as the usual excitement, there will be a few standout moments that'll have all rugby fans licking their lips.

One is the return of Friday night matches, which always seem to have a great atmosphere. Round 4 sees France and Wales taking on each other on a Friday; the game starts at 20:00. Another date to mark in the calendar is March 19. This is called “Super Saturday,” and with good reason — there'll be three stellar matches on this day, which marks the final round of games for this year's tournament.

• Wales v Italy
• Ireland v Scotland
• France v England.

Likely Winners

So who will fancy their chances at the tournament? France must consider themselves favourites to win the trophy, but they won't have everything their own way. England, for example, seem to be on the rise, and there'll be plenty of people using online betting sites to back Eddie Jones' side to lift the trophy. Despite winning last year's competition, Wales are likely to be out of the picture this time around. But you never know what will quite happen when the action gets underway.

Spare a Thought For Italy

We've taken a look at the likely winners of the competition. But what about the other end of the table? It'll be highly unlikely that any team other than Italy finishes rock bottom of the group. Since their introduction to the tournament back in 2000, Italy have not only been nowhere near the top, they've struggled to win any games. They haven't won a game in the competition since 2015, and truthfully, things aren't looking much better this time around. They're pretty much dead certain to finish last.

Final Thoughts

As always, there'll be plenty to enjoy about the Six Nations competition. It's one of those competitions that even mild fans of rugby can watch and enjoy. And with no obvious winner and plenty of good players on show, this will prove to be another classic year.