A decade on from Wales’ first Six Nations victory in 2005, this year’s campaign starts exactly the way, against England, underneath the lights.
Ten years ago, Gavin Henson put his name in the history books with a late long range penalty to beat the old enemy.
That result put Wales on the road to their first Grand Slam in 27 Years, and if Leigh Halfpenny does repeats the feat this Friday night then Wales will set their eyes on another.
Wales are in a privileged position with very few injuries; barring a slight knock to centre Jon Davies Wales will field their strongest line up this Friday.
This is more than can be said for England and Ireland who have already been struck down by a swath of injuries.
With the experience in the squad Wales go in as one of the favourites, although it would be a brave man who bets against the Irish.
Ireland will have to come to Cardiff to play Wales in the final weeks of the Championship in what could become the Championship decider.
The squad is youthful but still with bags of experience. This current crop of Welsh players is still young but the majority have been involved in at least two Six Nations wins.
Warren Gatland has omitted two of his most experienced men from his squad; James Hook and Adam Jones have both been left out of the squad.
Jones has since retired from international duty; the tight head has been a go to man for Wales over the last decade and leaves the international stage a legend of the game.
At the other of their careers, there are four uncapped men named in the squad, including the controversial call up of Gareth Anscombe.
Kristian Dacey, Rob Evans, Tyler Morgan and Anscombe may all gain their first cap in this years Championship.
Anscombe is likely to have the biggest role in the campaign, he looks set to fill the utility back berth on the bench as he covers both outside half and full back.
With all the blues away, trips to Italy and Scotland could prove to be potential banana skins along the way.
The trip to France will be very difficult, despite their poor form over the last few years, the French are on the up.
They had a good autumn series and as anyone with a passing interest in the Top 14 will know that teams perform far better at home than they do away.
There are huge challenges for all the teams in this year’s Six Nations and as always it will come down to momentum.
Look back ten years and Wales picked up an incredible amount of momentum with that win against England.
The difference between the upcoming campaign and the Grand Slam in 2005 is that Wales now have the experience of winning Six Nations titles; the 2005 win came out of nowhere.
With four Six Nations trophies in the last ten years, adding a record 27th title to the cabinet would not be a shock, in fact for fans, the Welsh Six Nations expectancy has begun.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
