Ireland
Second row is the main area of concern for Ireland for the opening round of the Six Nations. Iain Henderson faces some time on the sidelines after a reoccurrence of an ongoing problem with his finger. Tadhg Beirne will miss the opening two games after sustaining a knee injury in Munster’s win over Exeter. Dan Leavy is still rehabbing a calf problem, but will probably be in contention for selection for Leinster against Scarlets this weekend.
Scrum-halves are a potential issue. Conor Murray is back, but both Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath are out. John Cooney is in flying form for Ulster, and is a very able deputy. Caoilin Blade will be raring for a run out, after impressing for Connacht for the last few seasons. Joe Schmidt will have been happy to see two of his most important big game players return to action in the Champion’s Cup last weekend, Sean O’Brien and Robbie Henshaw both completed 55 minutes against Wasps and showed no signs of being rusty.
Scotland
Hooker is the biggest area of concern for Scotland. While number one choice Stuart McInally is fit, usual backups Fraser Brown and George Turner are unlikely to feature. Gregor Townsend has called up the uncapped trio of Edinburgh’s Dave Cherry, Glasgow’s Grant Stewart or Leicester’s Jake Kerr.
Hamish Watson was a huge loss to Scotland last weekend. The openside has a firm grasp on the Scotland 7 jersey, and was a part of a very effective combination with Johnny Barclay and Ryan Wilson. ‘Pinball’ was considered by many to be unlucky to miss out on a Lions jersey. Jonny Gray is currently dealing with a shoulder issue, but will remain in camp. His brother Richie unfortunately, will miss the tournament, as will captain Barclay, and the permanently crocked Duncan Taylor.
England
Eddie Jones may have been tempting fate when he said that England’s injury list is the lowest its been for three years. There are some minor concerns however. Dylan Hartley is set to miss the opening rounds, so Owen Farrell will retain the captaincy. Chris Robshaw is likely to miss the majority of the tournament, as is flanker Sam Underhill, and winger Anthony Watson.
There are recalls however for the Vunipola brothers and Ellis Genge who missed the Autumn internationals through injury. Joe Launchbury was withdrawn early from Wasps’ loss to Leinster, but Dai Young has played down any worries saying “We don’t see it potentially being an issue moving forward.”
Wales
The backrow is an area of concern for Warren Gatland. Taulupe Faletau returned after three months out with a broken arm, only to re-break it in his comeback game.
Ellis Jenkins and Aaron Shingler are both still recovering from cruciate ligament damage, while Ross Moriarty and Ollie Griffiths still haven’t returned to action. James Davies had a reoccurrence of a foot problem playing for Scarlets against the Blues around Christmas and hasnt featured since. Dan Lydiate injured his bicep playing for Wales in November and is a doubt for the start of the competition. Leigh Halfpenny has been included in the extended squad, but is still suffering from concussion symptoms, so it remains to be seen whether he will make it back during the Six Nations. Props Rhodri Jones, Leon Brown and Nicky Smith are also in doubt, as is Cardiff out-half Jarrod Evans. Gareth Davies is also likely to miss the first game or two
France
France have a quite short injury list, or maybe its harder to judge to the high player turnover rate in the national squad. Dangerous wing Teddy Thomas is the biggest name to miss out for France, along with fellow winger Alivereti Raka, who recently gained French citizenship. Other players to miss out include Castres flanker Mathieu Babillot, prop Cedate Gomes Sa, and veteran lock Yoann Maestri
Italy
Italy have a similar problem to France with the player turnover rate, so there is not a long list of absent players. The two injured players are two important ones however. Gloucester flanker Jake Polledri. Polledri is an incredible ball-carrier and will be a huge loss to Italy’s source of go-forward ball. The other main absentee is electric full-back Matteo Minozzi. Minozzi lit up last year’s tournament with box office displays in every game, earning himself a nomination for Player of the Tournament
