When are this week's Guinness Six Nations team announcements?

As they prepare to kick off the 2019 Guinness Six Nations on home soil in Paris, France are set to be the first to show their hand this week.

Head coach Jacques Brunel, whose 31-man squad have been honing their skills in a training camp in the French Rugby Federation’s HQ in Marcoussis, will reveal his team for their meeting with Wales at 9am on Wednesday, January 30.

And at 11am, it will be the turn of Wales head coach Warren Gatland to reveal his matchday 23 as he plots to begin this year’s Championship with a win – just like in 2018, when Wales opened up with a 34-7 victory over Scotland in Cardiff.

Having finished third in last year’s Championship, Scotland’s 2019 Guinness Six Nations campaign gets up and running at BT Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon, with Italy the opposition.

With 39 players to choose from, including seven previously uncapped starlets, Gregor Townsend will confirm the 23 that will head into the fray against the Azzurri at 2pm on Thursday, January 31.

At the same time, Italy head coach Conor O’Shea will reveal his team for Saturday’s encounter, with hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini potentially in line for his 100th cap.

Scotland are unbeaten at home in the Championship since 2016, when they were bested by England, and these two teams played out a cracker in the final round last year when a 79th-minute Greig Laidlaw penalty saw Italy defeated 29-27.

The match-up that brought last year’s Championship to a spectacular end saw Ireland clinch a Grand Slam – and the reigning Guinness Six Nations kings and England go head-to-head once again in the final game of Round One late on Saturday afternoon.

Eddie Jones will be first to reveal his starting line-up for this weekend’s showdown at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and one of the main plotlines will be the fitness of captain Owen Farrell, who recently underwent minor surgery on his thumb but is expected to be in full training this week.

England name their side at 11am on Thursday, January 31.

As his team aim to reign supreme in Rugby’s Greatest Championship once again, Ireland chief Joe Schmidt will reveal his side at 1.45pm, with fly-half Jonny Sexton expected to be in the reckoning despite a recent knee problem.