Hard hits, muddy pitches and shear entertainment. The Six Nations is back, and this year looks the tightest competition in history. We have had two rounds of fixtures and Ireland are the early pacesetters with two comprehensive wins followed closely by France.

The team in green have dispatched Scotland and defending champions Wales at the Aviva Stadium, and may have become the favourites in the bookies for the championship. However with matches against England and France still to come, the Irish can’t take their foot off the gas.

I always believed the French were going to be dark horses in this competition this year. After a disastrous Six Nations campaign in 2013- one in which they finished in last place- the team would be looking to bounce back with a serious title winning bid. Like Ireland, the team have won their opening two games, including a crucial last minute victory over England. But again, France have played in Paris for both fixtures they have fun, and they have to come across the channel to play in Cardiff and Dublin.

For England and Wales, it is a bit of catching up to do. A heartbreaking defeat in Paris was followed last Saturday by an excellent performance at Murrayfield where England won 20-0. England need to beat both Ireland and Wales to come out in 1^st place in the Championship and we all know that will be a huge challenge for Lancaster and his men.

The Welsh are in the exact same position. The defending champions have been below par in my opinion. They only just put Italy to the sword in their opening fixture before being annihilated by the Irish. They will have to beat France and England, making the game at Twickenham massive as the losers can say goodbye to their title challenge.

The Scottish and the Italians find themselves both pointless, and bottom of the pile. It seems like these two nations will be fighting it out to avoid the ‘wooden spoon’.

So, who do you think will win the Six Nations? Why not comment below or tweet me at @leeham1996 or Facebook at Liam ‘leeham’ Richner