The bookies fancy England after their run to the World Cup final but a new Six Nations era could spring a few surprises after some tough talking at the tournament launch on Wednesday morning.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY WILL KELLEHER: Leigh Halfpenny is a nervy interviewee at the best of times. After the 18 months he has endured, it is understandable that his self-assurance is low.

Louis Rees-Zammit can be the new George North for Wales in the Six Nations, according to his more senior team-mates. The 18-year-old Gloucester winger could make his Test debut on Saturday.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: George North has started to notice something on those occasions when he cannot hide from the inevitable.

With post-World Cup fallouts always bringing about change, there are plenty of new faces set to burst onto the scene. Here, Sportsmail runs through 10 uncapped stars to watch...

The uncapped pair have been training with the group in the last few weeks, but have now officially been drafted into the squad and will be available for selection.

EXCLUSIVE: The Six Nations are facing a battle to win support from clubs and players for an expanded tournament featuring South Africa.

Leigh Halfpenny reckons Wales can roll back the clock and repeat their feats of 2013 this year by winning the Six Nations title, despite losing to Ireland in their last encounter.

Les Bleus are unbeaten in the tournament so far after wins against England and Italy at home but Wales lock Jake Ball has warned they are ready to make the most of a 'hostile' atmosphere in Cardiff.

WILL KELLEHER AT PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: And so the fortress has fallen. After 10 years of being out-gunned in Cardiff, the French revolution is well and truly alive.

As Sportsmail reported last month, full back Liam Williams has made a swift departure from under-fire European and English champions Saracens after their salary cap disaster.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: There are some things much more important than sport, and when something like the coronavirus comes along rugby has to step into line.

CHRIS FOY: Twickenham will be a sanitised zone but the health and safety initiatives will not extend to the field of play, as England seek to end Six Nations campaign with a vengeance.

CHRIS FOY AT TWICKENHAM: Wales didn't even bother to try to antagonise Kyle Sinckler again this time. He has matured a lot in the space of a year, as he proved on Saturday

Joe Marler demonstrated some impressive handling skills for a front-row forward in England's Six Nations victory over Wales at Twickenham.

WILL KELLEHER AT TWICKENHAM: Justrin Tipuric called for calm after Wales' third consecutive defeat - making this their worst Six Nations run since 2007.

NIK SIMON FOR THE DAILY MAIL: Danny Care issued a staunch defence of Harlequins team-mate Joe Marler ahead of today's disciplinary hearing in Dublin.

INTERVIEW BY STEFFAN THOMAS: Jamie Roberts is far from your average rugby player and the former Wales centre is more qualified than most in sport to articulate his fears over coronavirus.

Eddie Jones has urged Joe Marler not to quit rugby and has scheduled a meeting with the prop once the lockdown is over. Marler was handed a 10-week ban for grabbing Alun Wyn Jones' genitals.

EXCLUSIVE BY ALEX BYWATER: Hadleigh Parkes and Owen Williams are to end their Wales careers after they turning down offers in regional rugby in favour of big money moves to Japan.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has revealed that 'two or three' of his squad have tested positive for coronavirus. The pandemic saw the Six Nations brought to a halt before it could finish.

Time and again we have exposed how copycat scammers use the search engine to trick users into paying more for holiday visas, passports - you name it. Our City Editor was even caught out.

There is no doubt that the most hygienic way to pay for something is with a tap of a contactless card. But if you're spending more than £45 you either have to use a card machine, or hand over cash.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT OLD TRAFFORD: Joe Root insisted he was still the right man to captain England, despite Australia regaining the Ashes on a tense final day in Manchester.

NASSER HUSSAIN: The way that England have played their Test cricket in recent years, they were always going to be found out by a high-class bowling attack.

The 27-year-old has been in the UK supporting her boyfriend Nathan Lyon, 31, throughout the series. She shed tears of joy when Josh Hazlewood took the final wicket on Sunday

PAUL NEWMAN: There have not been many England captains handed the chance to win a third Ashes series after losing his first two in charge but Joe Root could be the exception.

Jimmy Anderson will consider changing his diet in a bid to prolong his Test career after the disappointment of missing the Ashes through injury - and has looked at the possibility of going vegan.

Former captain Steve Smith who won the Ashes for Australia has opened up about the sandpaper scandal saying there was a time when he thought he wouldn't play again for the country.

Steve Smith's glorious Ashes has raised calls from some fans and pundits for his restoration to the Australia captaincy but incumbent Tim Paine has no plans to hand over the reins quietly.

PAUL NEWMAN AT THE OVAL: Root wore the tired, almost haunted, look of many an England captain coming to the end of the road as he tried to summon up one last effort on Wednesday.

The urn might be returning to Australia but England still have a job on their hands to ensure their old foes don't win the compelling Ashes series outright.

Mick Jagger cut a casual figure as he watched England take on Australia in the Ashes on Thursday.

Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh finished England's innings as the hosts were bowled out for 294 early on the second day at the Oval.

NASSER HUSSAIN AT THE OVAL: England fans may be entitled to ask where Sam Curran has been all this series after a very impressive effort with the ball.

Jofra Archer and Sam Curran combined to hand England a vital first-innings lead in the final Ashes Test, raising hopes of a series-levelling win at The Oval. Follow the action live with Sportsmail.

England set the stage for a series-levelling victory after setting a total of 399 for Australia to chase on the fourth day of the fifth and final Ashes Test. Follow the action live with Sportsmail.

Real estate agent Emma McCarthy, 27, shared a photo with the smiling spin bowler captioned: 'Keeping the urn, so proud of you.' Steve Smith was seen sharing a kiss with wife Dani Willis.

Channel Nine is reportedly 'unsatisfied' with Sunrise host Edwina Bartholomew's apology after she 'defamed' journalist Seb Costello in a since-deleted Twitter post.

Donald Butler's daughter Nicolle, 27, had recently passed away, with family staying nearby in Tampa, Florida, for the funeral when his truck disappeared with his daughter's urn inside.

Joe Root has declared his desire to continue as England Test captain despite a failure to win back the Ashes from Australia after a drawn series.

He had a disastrous time at the Ashes in England, scoring just a measly 95 runs. 

Cricketer Nathan Lyon, 31, and his girlfriend Emma McCarthy couldn't take their eyes off each other as they touched down in Australia on Wednesday evening. 

A man's body has been found in the ashes of a suburban Melbourne home which had been subject to a council clean-up order to clear towering piles of junk.

Stokes struck an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand on the way to England's maiden World Cup title and then crashed a barely-believable 135 not out to keep the Ashes alive at Headingley.

Candice and David Warner have been enjoying plenty of family time since their return from England following The Ashes series.

Karen Twilley, from Hertfordshire, wishes to be buried alongside her son Ted, when she dies. His ashes were buried in consecrated ground by mistake at Cheshunt Cemetery in 2004.

Ms McCarthy travelled to England to support the off spin bowler as he represented Australia in the Cricket World Cup and Ashes between May and September.

Ten of the UK's most iconic oaks, sycamores and pines have been shortlisted for the 2019 Tree of the Year award. One on the Isle of Wight, that is shaped like a dragon, was listed.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Sam Curran is something of an anomaly in the England side who will take to the Bay Oval for the first Test against New Zealand.