karlpejera: Shane Williams selects his men to watch in this year's Six Nations

Biyernes, Pebrero 3, 2012

Shane Williams selects his men to watch in this year's Six Nations

Wales' record try scorer runs the rule over the players he believes have the potential to stand out in the tournament

England

I'm biased, being a winger, but I'll be keeping an eye out for Chris Ashton. No doubt he'll be one of the top scorers in the tournament because of his hunger to score tries ? his strike rate at the moment is quite phenomenal. He's got an interesting couple of months coming up in club rugby, too, with his impending move to Saracens. There'll be a lot of pressure on him but he's the kind of player that enjoys that atmosphere. He's a controversial character and quite cheeky ? he seems to play at his best when he's under that pressure.

Wales

I'm looking forward to seeing Alex Cuthbert play. He plays in my position. He hasn't got much experience at international level but having him play for Wales in sevens will have helped him a lot. He's come on leaps and bounds this season and has been in good form for Cardiff Blues. Other teams will have done their research on him but sometimes new players come into international rugby and they're overlooked, so the element of surprise could help him too. The other sides will know all about Leigh Halfpenny and George North but Cuthbert could slip under the radar. He's got a great work-rate and is very quick too, like Ashton, I think he could end up with a lot of tries.

France

France are a mixed bag: they've got great experienced players but a few new guys coming in too. I particularly like the look of Rapha�l Lakafia and Wesley Fofana. Imanol Harinordoquy is also a tremendous player and, when he's on form, France hardly ever lose a game. I played against him when we [Ospreys] were beaten by Biarritz a couple of weeks ago [22 January] and Harinordoquy put in one of the best individual performances I've ever seen. When he teams up with Dimitri Yachvili they are a deadly combination and both players bring a huge amount of experience with them.

Ireland

Johnny Sexton is coming through and he's a very accomplished outside-half, who will be hoping to take over from Ronan O'Gara permanently. He's already got a lot of trophies under his belt with Leinster. It'll be interesting to see how he takes control of that No10 shirt and whether he can hold on to it for the coming years. He's got a point to prove in this Six Nations. He controls the game very well, kicks well and he's a very clever player too ? he knows how to make the right decisions. That's exactly what you need at his position: someone who knows when to kick and when to run and can control a game. He certainly has become a master of that over the past couple of years. He's got the potential to be one of the best 10s out there.

Scotland

Max Evans is a great player. He's not the biggest in terms of stature but he's gutsy and willing to get involved. He's confident in defence and attack. I'm looking forward to seeing Richie Gray play again. He had a very good Six Nations last season and had a great performance against France in Paris. He'll be keen to keep up that standard and maintain his reputation as one of the best locks in European rugby at the moment. He's one of the stand-out players. Scotland could be a dark horse this year. They've got a young squad and nothing to lose.

Italy

There's a name that always stands out for me with Italy and that's Sergio Parisse, I don't think I've ever seen him have a bad game for his country. He'll be the Azzurri's main target and he can give the bigger sides problems. He's a back-row but he could probably play any position he wanted. He's full of skills and a world-class player. He's an obvious name to pick but I do enjoy watching him play and I don't enjoy playing against him ? so that means he's very good.

Shane Williams will offer insight and analysis as part of the BBC for this year's Six Nations. Every game of the tournament will be shown live on BBC One and BBC One HD apart from France v Ireland (11 February) and Scotland v France (26 February), which will be broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD.