The Rugby World Cup done and dusted until 2027, attention now turns to this season’s Guinness Six Nations and a battle for European supremacy.
Ireland and France, who meet in the competition’s opening game, are favourites for silverware, while a host of new captains include England hooker Jamie George, Wales lock Dafydd Jenkins and Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some key talking points ahead of the tournament.
No Owen Farrell for new-look England
England will head into the Six Nations without their World Cup captain and fly-half Farrell, who has decided to miss the tournament in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing.
Farrell’s Saracens colleague George takes over leadership duties, heading up a squad that includes Exeter pair Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ethan Roots among seven uncapped players, but experienced forwards Kyle Sinckler and Billy Vunipola have been left out. Italy away and Wales at home suggests England should make an unbeaten start, but life then gets infinitely tougher with Scotland at Murrayfield being followed by Ireland on home soil and France in Lyon.
The World Cup bronze medallists have their work cut out to shake up principal title contenders Ireland and France, but with players like Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade and Tommy Freeman in blistering form for their clubs, Steve Borthwick’s men could make a strong impression if everything clicks.
Big boots to fill for Ireland’s fly-halves
Andy Farrell’s approach with reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland is very much evolution, not revolution following 29 wins from their last 32 fixtures. Farrell has retained 26 of the 33 players he took to the World Cup, with the alterations all enforced due to injuries and retirements.
Yet the major transition facing Farrell is undoubtedly in the most influential position. Johnny Sexton’s departure has left a void at fly-half and is expected to result in Munster’s Jack Crowley being elevated to first choice. The exciting 24-year-old has impressed when selected, but just three of his nine Test outings have come as a starter.
With Ross Byrne out due to an arm issue, Crowley’s rivals – Ciaran Frawley and Harry Byrne – also lack international experience, having won only three caps combined.
All change for Warren Gatland’s Wales
Wales’ player turnaround from World Cup to Six Nations is considerable. International retirements, injuries, unavailability and selection calls mean that head coach Gatland will go into the tournament without 15 of his squad that were on duty in France.
They will be minus the services of players like NFL hopeful Louis Rees-Zammit, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Dewi Lake, Tomas Francis, Jac Morgan and Taulupe Faletau, with Gatland’s group including five uncapped players.
Wales kick off against Scotland in Cardiff, before successive appointments with England, Ireland and France. Gatland frequently weaves his magic and Wales often punch above their weight, but it will be a tall order for them this time around.
Scots need to banish World Cup blues
Scotland are in need of an uplifting Six Nations campaign after having the wind removed from their sails by a deflating World Cup pool-stage exit. The recently-retired Stuart Hogg is the only notable absentee from the side that generally performed well in last year’s championship, finishing as best of the rest behind the big two of Ireland and France.
Most of their pre-tournament injury concerns have cleared up, so they have the personnel to compete strongly, particularly with back quartet Blair Kinghorn, Ben White, Finn Russell and Ali Price all thriving after their recent moves to Toulouse, Toulon, Bath and Edinburgh respectively.
In a tournament where a strong start is often so crucial, much will depend on whether Gregor Townsend’s side can get off on the right foot against Wales in Cardiff, a city in which the Scots have not tasted victory for more than two decades.
Absent friends have left fond memories
While inevitable excitement surrounds the 2024 Six Nations tournament, it will unfold with some notable names missing, highlighted by France World Cup captain Antoine Dupont.
The Toulouse scrum-half will not be part of Les Bleus’ campaign after deciding to push for selection in France’s sevens squad for the Paris Olympics. Dupont is likely to take part in two World Series tournaments while the Six Nations happens, with Maxime Lucu favourite to replace him in the number nine shirt. La Rochelle number eight Gregory Alldritt is the new skipper.
Dupont’s fellow former world player of the year Sexton has retired, with another high-profile playmaker – Wales number 10 Biggar – stepping away from Test rugby, in addition to vastly-experienced England trio Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs and Mako Vunipola.
Top referees Wayne Barnes and Jaco Peyper, meanwhile, have blown the whistle on their careers, and there will also be no Stade de France on this year’s Six Nations schedule as it is being prepared for the Olympics. France’s home games will take place in Marseille, Lille and Lyon.
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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