Six Nations rugby is back. Here are the big questions ahead of Friday's start

Ireland is going for an unprecedented three-peat. France superstar Antoine Dupont is back after his sevens sabbatical. The Welsh? Well, they've never been this bad.

The Six Nations starts on Friday and the annual jamboree between the top rugby nations in the northern hemisphere isn't short of storylines for the 2025 edition.

Here are some of the big questions heading into a tournament that rarely fails to deliver:

Can Ireland make history?

The tournament has been going 142 years, starting out as a contest between the home unions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland before France was added in 1910 to make it a Five Nations and Italy joined in 2000 for the modern-day Six Nations. Throughout, no country has ever won the title outright for three successive years. That's the task facing Ireland, which is the favorite with the British bookmakers. There are some red flags, though. Ireland isn't being led by its head coach, Andy Farrell, because he's on a sabbatical so he can focus on his temporary role as coach of the British and Irish Lions for their tour of Australia this year. Farrell will be in the stadiums for matches during the tournament, just not in an Irish uniform. Then there's Ireland's performances in the autumn, when they were ragged in losing to New Zealand before beating Argentina and Australia each by three points. Ireland is No. 2 in the world ranking, behind South Africa, so is in theory Europe's top team. Let's see if they play like it.

Will Dupont be the difference?

For many, France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont is the world's best rugby player. In 2021, he was player of the year in the 15-man game and has been player of the championship in the Six Nations a record-tying three times. France missed Dupont in last year's Six Nations, when he stepped away to focus on playing sevens for France at the Paris Olympics. Naturally, he starred in France's run to the gold medal but is back in 15s and just led the French to a third straight win over the All Blacks. France will be a more fearsome prospect with the irrepressible Dupont but has a tough schedule, with away games against England (Round 2) and Ireland (Round 4).

Can Gatland survive another whitewash?

It wasn't long ago that Warren Gatland was regarded as one of the world's top rugby coaches. A disastrous second spell in charge of Wales is damaging his reputation, though. Under the New Zealander, Wales — a proud rugby nation — has just gone an entire calendar year without a win for the first time since 1937 and is on a record 12-match losing run. Five of those defeats came in last year's Six Nations, where the Welsh finished last for the first time since 2003. With Italy — the perennial wooden-spoon winner — steadily improving under coach Gonzalo Quesada, Wales looks primed for another whitewash that could spell the end for Gatland. Italy hosts Wales in Round 2.

There's a British and Irish Lions subplot, right?

The Lions squad for the tour of Australia across June and July is expected to be announced in April so this is the last chance for hopefuls to make an impression on the international stage in front of Farrell, who is sure to be attending as many matches as he can in a neutral capacity. Farrell knows all about the Irish players — he has been Ireland's coach since late 2019 — so the onus is on the English, Welsh and Scots to stand out. And performances in the Six Nations do matter: Just ask Jack Conan. The Irish back-rower was out of favor going into the 2021 Six Nations and missed the team's opening two games, only to be recalled for the final three rounds, star in the Round 5 dismantling of England, get a Lions call-up and start all three tests against South Africa.

What else is new about the Six Nations?

Well, one thing splitting opinion is the introduction of 20-minute red cards, which were trialed in the autumn internationals and will be seen in the Six Nations for the first time. Rather than a red card reducing a team to 14 players permanently, those players sent off for technical offenses can be replaced by a teammate after 20 minutes have elapsed. It is an initiative designed to punish players, not teams. Referees can still award permanent red cards for deliberate and dangerous acts of foul play.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press