By Gavin McCleavy (@gavinmcleavy )

After the first weekend of 6 Nations action, I had to go back to drawing board and tried to figure out what might happen this weekend based on the new information from coaches in England and France, plus the adjustments from those who have experienced the tournament before.

Scotland Need to Rebound

Scotland lost to England in their first game and face Wales next, no easy task. The Scots look dangerous if they receive territorial kicks in the middle third of the field. The likes of Hogg, Seymour and Maitland in the back three will take any opportunity to run at an uneven defensive wall scattered from a couple of rucks or a panicked clearance kick.

If those three receive the kicks in their own 22, however, it's a slightly different story as they don't kick as well as some of their international counterparts. Exciting with ball in hand, they have to get ball in the right place to be effective, which doesn't happen nearly enough. 

On the defensive side, Scotland have major issues. I watched in detail time after time as Scottish defenders communicated well but failed to react in time and proved to be indecisive at the moment of truth. Instead of plugging gaps immediately in front of them and pushing their colleagues out a step or two, they would often run around the outside of a pillar and post unnecessarily, wasting energy. It's a rookie mistake, and coupled with taking too long to get up off the floor and getting set in the right place, it appears to be simply a case of poor conditioning and lack of desire.

Wales, Predictable but Proficient

Wales 16-16 tied Ireland last week, mostly a result of hard work and good defense. Lack of inventions and the absence of a playmaker, continue to hound the Welsh. Predictability means that the opposition know where you're going next. Even so, that predictability seems to work for them because the work ethic of Gaitland's men is solid, and it looks like everyone on the team has bought into it. Not pretty to watch, but maybe effective enough to win another 6 Nations title.

Italians Looking for Repeat Performance

Parisse is key. If he is playing well, Italy has a chance. They have a new star in the making with young Canna at fly half, who is as aesthetically pleasing to watch as effective for his team. An aggressive start and high tempo game against France last weekend, shows they can compete. They will always play with gusto and passion, but focusing that passion into effective rugby is difficult.

A couple of calm heads in their midsts would be great as the Forwards Ghiraldini, Castrogiovanni and Parisse are all experienced but have made a living on being passionately aggressive. More attention must be given to common sense. I don't see them winning against England, but a repeat of their opening game performance could make life difficult for 60 minutes.

England Look for Second Win

Dylan Hartley and Eddie Jones must have been pleased coming away from their first day in charge with a win against the old enemy, Scotland. It wasn't spectacular, but the game plan worked. Territorial kicking from Farrell and Ford pinned the Scots back in their half. They put defensive pressure on the opposition and forced mistakes. Subsequently, Farrell punished them with penalties.

As they ground the Scottish defense down, gaps opened up due to fatigue and Nowell capitalized out wide. A defensive base and a quick ruck recycle will get you far in this year's 6 Nations.

France Must Lean on Experience

New coach Guy Noves decided to give youth a chance to prove themselves in the first round by playing a back line that looked like they should still be in school. Indeed, they were schooled by the Italians early on and the French looked a confused by the whole thing. Noves played and coached his entire career to date for Toulouse and expectedly used Bezy the Toulouse scrum half to start this game. He also used him as the first choice kicker, which proved to be too big a stage and too much pressure.

Not an easy first day, however a couple of smart adjustments 10 minutes into the 2nd half and all seemed to be good again. Bringing on Antoni and Poirot to shore the scrum, lineout and rucks worked a treat for France who immediately looked more comfortable going forward. When Plisson took over kicking, France suddenly looked confident again.

A real highlight for me was the introduction of Fiji born Winger Vakatawa. He last played 15 a side club rugby in 2012 for Racing Metro and is currently only contracted to the French 7's team. He made a big impact in several areas of the field with power, speed and a step Fred Astaire would have been proud of. I look forward to seeing what other damage he could do in this competition.

Irish Flow and Fluidity

In terms of continuity, Ireland are already won it hands down. The flow and fluidity of their play is a wonder to watch at the moment. The only real change has been the retirement of Paul O'Connell from the international stage and more recently the club scene too.

They often play without too much communication, which is great because Sexton isn't the biggest talker. The lad is more of a do'er. The voice of Rory Best is a great choice as captain, at least for this tournament and I imagine they are grooming a younger man to take over for the eventual World Cup in 2019 in Japan.

Ireland will be in the hunt by mid March but away to France then away to England will be a big test and they will have to be on top form to win it 3 6 Nations in a row. If France stick with the youth that they had in the Italy game it should be an easy day for Ireland. but they will have to keep an eye on  Vakatawa on the wing.