Ignore the talk – opener is ours to lose

But still you have to have a game plan going to these events. It is crucial you say nothing that can come back and bite you on the keister over the next couple of months. Therefore it is important to have your talking points well-rehearsed.

The generic approach is the safest and it delivers a number of important messages. It says you are happy where you are in your team’s progression, you are looking forward to the tournament, you are worried about your opposition, you are definitely not favourites for the tournament and if you have any injuries you play up the significance of them.

You can say that in a number of different ways but it is essential that you keep saying it.

Love-bombing your immediate opposition is always a go-to tactic to start with.

Sexton will lick his lips should France pick a young fly half on Saturday

JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

Warren Gatland hailed Scotland’s improvement as a team and believes that they have “the potential to be serious contenders” for the championship. Of course “potential” means they have yet to achieve anything and “contenders” . . . well they could end up in second or third position. Definitive stuff. But Warren didn’t play the injury card because it is genuinely so bad it may frighten the hell out of the Welsh supporters.

Despite an excellent November series, Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach, was using a firehose to dampen expectations that are growing to fever pitch. Gregor believes that they have “to play even better than November” to have any chance of winning and highlighted the difficulty of facing a “hugely experienced” Welsh side in their opening game in Cardiff. This is a “hugely experienced” Welsh side that will be without Dan Bigger, Rhys Priestland, Rhys Webb, Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau and Dan Lydiate. Cry me a river, Gregor.

Italy face England first up in Rome and Conor O’Shea grabbed some headlines by “mocking” England’s so-called injury crisis. Despite England losing 15 players to injury, Conor was able to pick an England XV who would give many teams a sleepless night.

Which brings us to Eddie Jones, who did play the injury card because he knows, as O’Shea correctly pointed out, he still has a team good enough to beat Italy. Based on his injury crisis and despite winning the past two Six Nations Championships and 22 of his past 23 Tests, Eddie has installed Ireland as favourites for the tournament. Installing another team as favourites is always a good one to get off the bat early doors.

Of course Joe Schmidt has to diffuse that hand grenade and cleverly did so by claiming that England were actually favourites because “the bookies don’t make money by being wrong”. Then pivoting away to Ireland’s first game in Paris, where we have only won three times in 45 years, how could the bookies make us favourites?

So where are Ireland and where are France when it comes to next Saturday?

Well let’s look at form.

Based on Ireland’s outings in November we are in great stead. We demolished a pitiful Springboks team by a record score. We also dispatched Fiji and Argentina pretty comfortably while using more than 30 players over the three Tests. Players of the calibre of Simon Zebo, Donnacha Ryan, Ian Madigan and Marty Moore are surplus to requirements. Our injury profile is about as good as it gets this time of year. We have tightened up our defence and have begun expanding our game to score some excellent tries. So based on form, of course we are favourites going to Paris on Saturday.

Ireland have only won three times in Paris in 45 years

JAMES CROMBIE/INPHO

Where are France in their build-up to the Six Nations? Well as usual nobody knows and that includes them. After an abysmal run under Guy Novès, in which France won just seven of their 21 Tests, he got the shepherd’s crook after the autumn. A lucky draw against Japan was the final straw and it was untypically French that he was relieved of his duties in mid-contract. Jacques Brunel and a new coaching team have been installed to salvage them.

And it is a salvage job if you look at where France are. They have plummeted to ninth in the rankings, which is six places below Ireland.

If you look at their form in the Six Nations over the past six championships, they have never finished above Ireland. As recently as 2013 they ended up bottom of the pile in sixth and in doing so took the wooden spoon for the first time in modern history.

Over the past six years Ireland have played France seven times including the 2015 World Cup pool game. Over that time Ireland have won four, drawn two and lost one. The loss was a nailbiting 10-9 defeat in 2016 on our last visit to Paris. After the game the French team did a lap of honour . . . how things have changed.

With regard to selection, Brunel has chosen six uncapped players in his squad. It is something you must do to show the French pubic you are looking to the future. That includes two uncapped fly halves, the 21-year-old Anthony Belleau and the 19-year-old Matthieu Jalibert. The experienced François Trinh-Duc is omitted.

If Brunel decides to select either of those rookies at fly half it will be the equivalent of the white flag being raised before the Six Nations even begins. The narrative would be that France are planning for the next World Cup and beyond. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Brunel could roll that dice. If he does, Johnny Sexton will have either of those kids for breakfast with an espresso and a croissant.

Even if he doesn’t, it is Ireland’s game to lose. The days of travelling to Paris in trepidation and hope have long passed.

Still the media tango will continue for another five days until the tournament actually kicks off on Saturday.

Then we will see if all the shadow boxing last Wednesday at the Hilton Syon Park hotel was of any substance or if the bookies are actually right and Ireland will win in Paris for the fourth time in 46 years.