Six Nations should be about Vern Cotter, not Eddie Jones, as Rob Howley looks to reignite 2013 success

Cotter leaves Scotland in the summer with Gregor Townsend taking over

Scotland have been impressive since it was announced Cotter would leave (Getty)

For once, it’s not all about Eddie Jones. The Australian made his Six Nations bow this time last year, stormed the championship with his rejuvenated England side and clinched the Grand Slam at the first asking. No, this time the Six Nations should belong to Vern Cotter, the New Zealander who takes charge of Scotland for the final time this year before leaving his post through no decision of his own.

Scotland will be in good hands, with former international fly-half Gregor Townsend leaving a successful Glasgow side to take the reins off Cotter. Under the Kiwi, Scotland have come on leaps and bounds, even if the results haven’t always backed that up, and the way he expressed his disappointment with the decision to give him the boot showed he still believed this side has not yet reached its potential.

What has picked up, significantly, is the calibre of performance, the frequency that the side deliver and the depth of talent Scotland now have to choose from. They harbour world class players in Stuart Hogg and WP Nel, with the rapidly improving Jonny Gray not far behind, and as captain Greig Laidlaw told The Independent this week, “the boys are keen to give him a fitting farewell”.

But as it is, Scottish Rugby has decided the time is right for change, and it means that the home nations have lost – albeit temporarily – one half of its Antipodean coaching stranglehold. Australian Jones has so far taken European rugby by storm, guiding England to victory in all 13 matches in 2016 after succeeding Stuart Lancaster.

England’s form means that Jones has a target on his back though, and with another New Zealander in Warren Gatland taking the year off in order to focus on his latest British and Irish Lions mission, Welshman Rob Howley fills the void to try and plot a similar Six Nations success to his successful 2013 campaign.

Wales haven’t had it all their one way of late, with the two disappointing 2015 and 2016 campaigns sandwiching the Rugby World Cup semi-final run that was certainly a highlight to remember. The November defeat by Australia somewhat overshadowed their three wins out of four, and Howley has plenty of work to do to get the Welsh back on top of the Northern Hemisphere.

He has a new captain, with talks between Howley, Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones leading to the lock replacing the flanker as skipper this year, and the injury troubles have been kept to a minimum although the loss of Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris will not have been welcomed by the head coach.

Howley said his side back themselves in this year's championship (Getty)

Across the Irish Sea, something special may be happening, although that largely depends on how Ireland kick start their campaign. Travelling to Scotland in the opening fixture is a real threat to Joe Schmidt and his side’s championship hopes, but the momentum provided by a victory would set-up the Men in Green perfectly for the rest of the tournament.

Schmidt’s regarded as one of the finest coaches in world rugby and the new contract he agreed last October will have been music to the ears of the Irish hierarchy. What Ireland need to avoid though is injuries, and with Jonathan Sexton and Peter O’Mahony already out of the opener, Schmidt has work to do to ensure they don’t slip up.

Schmidt needs to build on Ireland's impressive autumn (Getty)

France meanwhile are beginning to look something like a team under Guy Noves, though he has already opened himself up to criticism by failing to select a recognised goalkicker in his Six Nations squad. Noves took time to settle in and restructure the French following the Philippe Saint-Andre era, but while he seems to be getting to grips with international rugby, his selection still seems to baffle at times. One early positive to come from a very big negative is that Noves has selected the highly-rated Gael Fickou to replace the injured Wesley Fofana, rather than the tried and tested battering ram that is Mathieu Bastareaud.

France have already been ravaged by injuries, which looks certain to scupper any championship hopes Les Bleus may harbour, but they have enough talent and, finally, the structure to spring a surprise along the way.

Finally to Italy and Conor O’Shea’s project which, he says, has “a short, medium and long-term plan”. While he has half an eye on ensuring Italy build on their recent campaigns with the obvious aim to avoid the Wooden Spoon, and qualification for the Rugby World Cup on the agenda that you imagine is almost a certainty, his focus is heavily on restructuring the Italian rugby tree, improving the state of the two professional clubs they harbour and ensuring their players have the chance to reach their potential at home, rather than in neighbouring France.