Head Coach – Eddie Jones
Jones set the bar high in his first calendar year in charge with a first Grand Slam in 13 years, a whitewash against the Wallabies down under and 13 wins on the spin.
It will be hard for the Aussie to repeat such heroics, especially due to the tough trip to Ireland on the final weekend of the Six Nations.
Captain – Dylan Hartley
The combative hooker had lengthy suspensions on his rap-sheet for eye-gouging, biting, punching and elbowing when Eddie Jones named him skipper in December 2015.
However, with Hartley as captain, England won all of their matches in 2016 to climb from eighth to second in the world rankings, claiming a Six Nations Grand Slam and a whitewash series victory against the Wallabies in the process.
The hooker impressively managed to keep his cool all year in the England shirt but let himself down in December when he was sent off for his club side Northampton.
What channel are England on?
Saturday, February 4th: England v France (ITV, 4:50pm kick-off)
Saturday, February 11th: Wales v England (BBC, 4:50pm)
Sunday, February 26th: Italy v England (ITV, 3pm)
Saturday, March 11th: England v Scotland (ITV, 4pm)
Saturday, March 18th: Ireland v England (ITV, 5pm)
For the full Six Nations fixture list, CLICK HERE
Stadium – Twickenham Stadium
As the world’s largest dedicated rugby union stadium, there is no more fitting venue for the reigning Grand Slam champions to defend their title.
Capacity: 81,605
Did you know? The first game played at the ground was between local clubs Harlequins and Richmond in 1909, two years after it was bought by the RFU.
Rugby history It staged the 1991 and 2015 Rugby World Cup final
Key Player – Owen Farrell
2016 will be looked back on as the year that Farrell became undoubtedly the world’s best goalkicker while also making real strides both in attack and defence.
The fly-half/inside-centre tasted club success with Saracens, guiding them to the Premiership title and a first Champions Cup victory, while playing a key role in England’s run to an unbeaten year.
He’s also really grown and matured as a player, improving his defence and discipline.
Rising Star – Maro Itoje
Believe it or not, the imperious Itoje is still only 22-year-old.
To add even more buzz, the lock was given the title of the World Rugby Breakthrough and European Player for the year in 2016, and many are saying he could become England or even British & Irish Lions captain in the near future.
Maro Itoje’s 2016:
Champions Cup
Grand Slam
Premiership
European POTY
Whitewash in Australia
31-game winning streak
World Breakthrough POTY pic.twitter.com/xlubHFhhR8— BigSport (@BigSportGB) November 14, 2016
Social Media Favourite
With England we’d usually point you in the direction of James Haskell or Joe Marler but fellow loosehead Ellis Genge can be quite terrific on the old Twitter.
I have never found a Christmas hat to fit on my head 😞
— Gengey (@EllisGenge) 25 December 2016