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Six Nations Championship - Match-winners
18 January 2008, 9:22 am
By PA Sport
PA Sport looks at the big name players likely to make their mark on this year's Six Nations Championship.
ENGLAND - ANDREW SHERIDAN
The destructive force which overpowered all tighthead props into submission as England reached the World Cup final against the odds, Sheridan has redefined the front row forward.
Sheridan is a giant - he stands at 6ft 4in (1.95m) and weighs in at 19st (121kgs) - and now has the Six Nations Championship in his sights after playing in all seven matches as England unexpectedly finished runners-up to South Africa in France.
The 28-year-old, who has 20 caps, is the foundation stone of England's next generation of talent leading to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The performances of tearaway back-row forwards Tom Rees and James Haskell and backs Danny Cipriani and Toby Flood, among others, depend on Sheridan's broad
shoulders at the set-piece; stability and forward momentum at the scrum and the breakdown rely on the muscular presence of the Sale Shark.
His sheer size should see off the smaller tightheads of the Celtic nations, but the likes of Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni, the Leicester tighthead, offer a different proposition.
If Sheridan fires on all cylinders, expect the other squad members, particularly the backs, to take the plaudits.
FRANCE - VINCENT CLERC
France have often been accused of being profligate, but in Vincent Clerc they have a genuine finisher who can ensure their flair has an end product.
His incisive running - often on unstoppable angles off the wing - and blistering pace are capable of tearing apart the best of defences.
Clerc, who at 5ft 10in (1.78m) is against the fashion in the modern era of monster threequarters, burst onto the scene with a try on his debut as France defeated South Africa in November 2002.
The Toulouse winger has a prolific record in internationals - 15 tries in 28 appearances including a heartbreaking late score which saw off Ireland in their
maiden fixture at Croke Park in last year's tournament.
The 26-year-old crossed for five tries in France's opening two World Cup fixtures, including two further scores as Les Bleus contributed to Ireland's early exit.
But France failed to utilise the supreme talents of the Toulouse flyer in the knock-out stages and suffered accordingly, eventually finishing fourth.
After Christophe Dominici's retirement from the international game following 25 tries in 65 appearances, new coach Marc Lievremont will rely on Clerc to convert possession into points - and if given the ammunition, he will not disappoint.
IRELAND - GEORDAN MURPHY
Eddie O'Sullivan's side require a galvanising force to lift them from their World Cup gloom - and they need look no further than Geordan Murphy.
The full-back, who has won five Guinness Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups with Leicester, failed to operate at full throttle during the World Cup as an off-colour Ireland belied their pre-tournament billing as one of the favourites to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy, exiting at the group stages.
The 29-year-old has vied with Girvan Dempsey for the full-back jersey throughout his international career, which is yet to deliver the promise he has shown at Welford Road.
However, Murphy - in his 11th season with Leicester - has made over 200 appearances, scoring close to 600 points in the most successful period in the
Tigers' history.
This record says it all - he is a fabulous player.
Murphy has pace in abundance and he can break a defensive line, but his greatest talent is his pure footballing instinct.
Wherever he plays in Ireland's back three, whether at 15 or on the wing, he has the ability to make a huge impact and even outshine his more illustrious colleagues, including captain Brian O'Driscoll.
ITALY - MARCO BORTOLAMI
Bortolami made his Italy debut as a 20-year-old and became the Azzurri's youngest-ever captain in 2003.
Since then he has firmly established a reputation as one of the greatest forwards in the world game.
The lock has been an integral member of Gloucester's side since arriving from Top 14 side Narbonne in 2006 and will be a key player this season as the Cherry and Whites bid to claim the Guinness Premiership title which has so far proved elusive.
The 27-year-old leads from the front as the main source of ball and his titanic lineout battles with the likes of Ireland's Paul O'Connell, Wales' Alun Wyn Jones and France's Jerome Thion will be intriguing.
Bortolami's capacity to win ball at the lineout will determine if Italy can add to their solitary away victory - at Murrayfield in 2007 - and their four wins in Rome in this season's Championship.
SCOTLAND - CHRIS PATERSON
Scotland's performance at the Six Nations could depend on where Frank Hadden fields his captain, Chris Paterson.
The 29-year-old has played on the wing or at full-back for the majority of his 81 caps, but could yet be given an extended opportunity at fly-half.
The Gloucester number 10, who requires 53 points to surpass Gavin Hastings as Scotland's record point-scorer, has all the attributes required to lead Scotland from the first receiver position.
He has experience, is a first-class distributor of the ball and he has unnerving accuracy with the boot - whether kicking at goal or out of hand - so much so that throughout the World Cup, one French newspaper featured an update on his goalkicking statistics during the tournament.
He had a 100% record of success, 17 out of 17.
Glasgow's Dan Parks and Edinburgh's Phil Godman provide the competition for the starting spot at fly-half so Hadden could opt to continue to utilise the Galashiels native in the back three.
However, if given his chance, Paterson could spark Scotland into life in the same way Juan Martin Hernandez inspired Argentina during the World Cup and they could be the tournament's surprise package.
WALES - RYAN JONES
The Principality have the flair of James Hook and Shane Williams, who may be the ones who take the glory in the scoring charts, but the performance of the returning Ryan Jones will be integral to their chances of success.
The 26-year-old back row's performance at the breakdown will define Wales' Six Nations campaign under new head coach Warren Gatland, who has named the Ospreys ace as his captain.
Wales lost their fire during the World Cup, culminating in a humiliating early exit and the departure of Gareth Jenkins as coach, but British Lion Jones was absent after an injury-ravaged 2007 and therefore escaped the scathing criticism heaped on his international colleagues.
The Osprey has already made a statement of intent despite being in the early stages of his comeback in the Magners League.
``I'm looking to make up for lost time,'' Jones told http://www.wru.co.uk.
``I've been through some dark times when I wondered if I'd ever be in one piece again. But there's no bigger motivation than playing on the biggest stage.
It's like an addiction and you just can't replace it.''
With fellow back-rowers Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams entering the twilight of their careers, the ferocious energy, physicality and raw talent of Jones will be key to Wales' future under Gatland.
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