Six players to watch in the Six Nations

The 2022 Six Nations Championship gets underway this weekend with Ireland at home to Wales, Scotland taking on arch-rivals England and favourites France facing Italy in Paris.

Below AFP Sport looks at six players hoping to make a mark this season:

FREDDIE STEWARD (England)

At 6ft 5 ins (1.96 metres) tall, the five-times capped Leicester full-back appears ideally equipped for the role of a Test No 15 given he is generally sound under the high ball, has a solid defence and can attack with ball in hand.

His pace and power were on show during try-scoring displays in England's successive wins over Australia and world champions South Africa at Twickenham in November.

But in an England side beset by injuries, he faces a stern test of his all-round game against Scotland, his Six Nations debut and first away international.

DAMIAN PENAUD (France)

When the 25-year-old wing, who can also feature at centre, was coming through academies at Brive and Clermont, big things were expected from him, mainly due to his father Alain, who won a Grand Slam with Les Bleus and was a European Cup champion with Toulouse at fly-half.

Despite the famous surname, Damian has forged his own path scoring 12 tries in 28 games since making his Test debut in 2017, weeks after winning the Top 14 title with Clermont.

He is now a mainstay in Fabien Galthie's starting line-up and heads into this season's Six Nations with seven tries in 13 club appearances despite his domestic side's inconsistent form this term.

ADAM BEARD (Wales)

With former Ospreys team-mate Dan Biggar standing in for injured regular skipper Alun Wyn Jones, 26-year-old Beard will be his country's vice-captain for the coming campaign. The lock was a wildcard inclusion during last year's British and