The competition gets underway with Ireland against Italy at Croke Park, with the 2009 Grand Slam winners hoping to start this year's campaign with a resounding victory.

Ireland
With the in-form fly-half Jonathan Sexton ruled out through injury, Ronan O'Gara regains the number 10 shirt for his 94th international cap. Andrew Trimble comes in on the wing, while lock Leo Cullen was promoted to the starting XV after Donncha O'Callaghan withdrew on Thursday.

Italy
Meanwhile, Italy stick to the same side that achieved a morale-boosting victory against Samoa in November. Fly-half Craig Gower has recovered from a knee injury, with Alessandro Zanni again deputising for injured captain Sergio Parisse in the back row.

Ireland: Kearney, Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Trimble, O'Gara, O'Leary, Healy, Flannery, Hayes, Cullen, O'Connell, McLaughlin, D Wallace, Heaslip.

Replacements: Best, Court, Ryan, O'Brien, Reddan, P Wallace, Earls.

Italy: McLean, Robertson, Canale, Garcia, Mi Bergamasco, Gower, Tebaldi, Perugini, Ghiraldini, Castrogiovanni, Del Fava, Geldenhuys, Sole, Ma Bergamasco, Zanni.

Replacements: Ongaro, Aguero, Bortolami, Derbyshire, Picone, Bocchino, Masi.

Kicking off at 17:00 GMT is England versus Wales at Twickenham.

England
Coach Martin Johnson is confident that his England squad is the best he has ever assembled. However, Ricky Flutey suffered a thigh injury in training, so Toby Flood plays in the unfamiliar role of inside centre. The boot of Jonny Wilkinson will be pivotal to England's chances, while Steve Borthwick retains the captaincy.

Wales
Wales have also been hit by a late blow after Gethin Jenkins failed a late fitness test on Thursday, and his place in the side is taken by Paul James. With Gavin Henson on indefinite leave from the game, James Hook joins Jamie Roberts at centre. Gareth Cooper gets a chance at scrum-half due to injuries to Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel.

England: D Armitage, Cueto, Tait, Flood, Monye, Wilkinson, Care, Payne, Hartley, Wilson, Shaw, Borthwick, Haskell, Moody, Easter.

Replacements: Thompson, Cole, Deacon, S Armitage, Hodgson, Hape, Foden.

Wales: Byrne, T James, Roberts, Hook, S Williams, S Jones, Cooper, P James, G Williams, A Jones, AW Jones, Charteris, R Jones, M Williams, Powell.

Replacements: Bennett, Gill, Davies, Thomas, R Rees, Bishop, Halfpenny.

Finally, France travel to Scotland on Sunday for a potentially tricky fixture at Murrayfield.

Scotland
Record points scorer Chris Paterson has been restored to the Scotland side for his 99th cap and will fight out kicking duties with fly-half Phil Godman. Paterson will ply his trade at full-back, with Max Evans edging out Alex Grove for a place at centre.

France
French scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde has been forced to forfeit his place on the substitutes bench after suffering a calf injury in training and has been replaced in the squad by the experienced figure of Frederik Michalak. Indeed, this is the latest of a long line of injury problems for Les Blues, with Fabien Barcella, Sebastien Chabal, Romain Millo-Chluski, Dimitri Yachvili and Damien Traille all unavailable for selection.

Scotland: Paterson, T Evans, M Evans, Morrison, S Lamont, Godman, Cusiter, Dickinson, Ford, Low, Hines, Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie.

Replacements: S Lawson, Jacobsen, R Gray, MacDonald, R Lawson, Grove, Southwell.

France: Poitrenaud, Fall, Bastareaud, Jauzion, Rougerie, Trinh-Duc, Parra, Domingo, Servat, Mas, Nallet, Pape, Dusautoir, Ouedraogo, Harinordoquy.

Replacements: Szarzewski, Ducalcon, Pierre, Bonnaire, Michalak, Marty, Clerc.

The United States will play host to the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament and Fan Festival on President’s Day Weekend. Las Vegas, Nevada is the fourth stop on the International Rugby Board's (IRB) Sevens World Series, which has already held tournaments in Dubai and South Africa. Play continues in Wellington New Zealand on February 5 and 6 before coming to the United States.

National teams from sixteen countries will compete in a round robin tournament consisting of 44 total matches over two days. The tournament begins on Saturday February 13 at Sam Boyd Stadium with 24 pool matches to determine the table for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals on Sunday.

Countries participating in this year’s Sevens World Series are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, England, Fiji, France, Guyana, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, USA, and Wales.

Two Colorado ruggers, Lenard Peters from the Gentlemen of Aspen Rugby Football Club and Mark Bokhoven of the Denver Barbarians Rugby (RSL) are in the lineup for Wellington and Las Vegas.

Rugby Sevens is a sprinter’s game played in two seven-minute halves with a one-minute halftime. Played on a standard size rugby pitch, a rugby sevens side fields seven players (hence the name) rather than the usual 15 players found in rugby union.

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Friday 29 Jan
1445 Heineken European Cup: Edinburgh vs Stade Francais

Saturday 30 Jan
2215 Anglo-Welsh Cup: London Wasps vs Llanelli Saints (Same Day Coverage)

Monday 01 Feb
1445 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: Ireland vs France

Tuesday 02 Feb
0015 Anglo Welsh Cup: London Wasps vs Llanelli Scarlets
2015 Magners Celtic League Highlights

Wednesday 03 Feb
0230 Anglo-Welsh Cup: London Wasps vs Llanelli Scarlets

Thursday 04 Feb
0045 Anglo-Welsh Cup: London Wasps vs Llanelli Scarlets
1445 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: Scotland vs Ireland
1645 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: France vs Wales
1830 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: Ireland vs England
2015 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: England vs France
2200 Six Nations '09 - Grand Slam Glory: Wales vs Ireland

Thanks to Janeen Isaacs

This weekend's rugby: At Winton Rugby Centre

3:00pm - Buccaneers v Cuckoos - Nassau Cup

Cuckoos World
Freeport Rugby and Football
Buccaneers Rugby Club

This weekend's rugby: At Winton Rugby Centre

3:00pm - Baillou vs. Buccaneers - Bahamas Cup

Cuckoos World
Freeport Rugby and Football
Buccaneers Rugby Club