The Six Nations are underway, and it's been less than six months since the final of last year's event. Ireland handed England the title in 2020 when they lost to France in Paris in the last fixture, but Andy Farrell will be motivated to make sure his Ireland team are suitably prepared to prevent England retaining the title.

At 63/25 with Marathonbet to lift the Six Nations trophy, Ireland are a good value bet considering the strength of their squad and with the Irish teams of Leinster and Ulster leading the Guinness PRO14.

Johnny Sexton

At 35 years old, this may be Sexton's last appearance in the Six Nations tournament and having won the competition three times already, he's well-versed in what it takes to succeed at the highest level. An ever present in their last three Championships, Sexton is the heartbeat of Andy Farrell's talented Ireland side and will be buoyed at the thought of dethroning England in this year's event.

The former World Rugby Player of the Year is integral to an Ireland side who rely on his kicking ability, as well as his defensive proficiency and passing skills. With over 700 international points, Sexton is not only one of Ireland's top point scorers, he's also one of the most elite scorers the sport has ever seen. 

Sexton is a leader for club and country, and neither Leinster nor Ireland are more dependent on anyone else than their captain. There has traditionally been concern around Sexton's fitness heading into major tournaments and with the Fly Half entering the latter years of his illustrious career, Ireland are trying to plan his successor however it will not be easy to replace such an influential star.

Ireland will be reliant on their talisman at points during this tournament and Sexton will have to be at his best for his country to triumph and land his fourth Six Nations accolade.

Form

The form of the team is fairly impressive and morale in the Ireland camp must be high. With comfortable wins over Scotland, Georgia and Wales over the last few months, Ireland are primed to challenge their biggest competition – England. The only recent loss for Andy Farrell's team was a difficult encounter in November, in which Eddie Jones' England ran out 18-7 victors.

Farrell commented that the loss was a tale of two teams at different parts of their journey and that Ireland will be bigger and better for the defeat. It's true that England's nucleus has been together for longer than Ireland's, however with three months to knit together a tighter unit and with most of their club players in their native country, there should be enough time for Farrell to make his side more competitive in the Six Nations.

Leinster are dominating the Pro14 and have been imperious, with strength and skill on show for every game. Their squad have been in tune all season and it's no surprise to see the Dublin based side heading towards their fourth consecutive title. Leinster's reign is welcome news for Ireland as with 17 different Leinster players recently called up to the national side, it provides an automatic chemistry within the Irish team.

The weekend's loss to Wales has put a dampener on such expectations, but Farrell will point to the side's incredible first-half performance with only 14 men on the pitch as a good omen. If they can replicate that strength of will and domination through possession, they'll be tough to beat. 

History

It was George Santayana who once said, ‘those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it', and Ireland's squad will have that at the forefront of their minds as their 35-27 loss to France on the final day of last year's tournament handed England the title.

Having only won one of the past five competitions, Andy Farrell will be desperate for his team to find the form which saw Ireland win the Grand Slam and Triple Crown in 2018. There's a reasonable chance a few nations could win the title this year, however history shows that Ireland rarely stay out of the limelight for three consecutive tournaments and this could be the year Farrell's talented squad brings the sought after trophy back to Dublin.