Six new faces to watch in Six Nations

Who will seize the Six Nations stage and make a name for themselves over the next six weeks?

The son of hard-hitting former Tonga international Keni Fisilau, number eight Greg has been a key part of Exeter’s revival this season. His ball-carrying, which combines nimble footwork and raw go-forward power has helped the 22-year-old to five Prem tries so far in this campaign.

On the other side of the ball, Greg’s father didn’t allow him to play touch rugby as a youngster, concerned he would pick up bad habits of trying to stop runners with his hands, rather than his shoulder.

It looks like it paid off as Plymouth-born Fisilau has made the eighth highest number of tackles in the English top flight.

But for injury, Edogbo could easily have featured in this list for a previous Six Nations.

The 23-year-old second row spent nearly two years on the sidelines with Achilles tendon tears, but is now up to speed and could add heft to an Ireland pack that has, on occasions, looked lightweight against the very best.

Standing 6ft 5in tall and weighing 20 stone, he has scored three tries in nine games this season for Munster.

Edogbo was a relatively late convert to rugby, only picking up a ball as a 13-year-old after his younger brother Sean – a promising back row prospect himself – took it up.

Away from the pitch, he is in the final year of an economics degree at University College Cork.

It took only seven minutes of Kalvin Gourgues’ Test debut last November for the hype train to gather even more steam.

The 20-year-old, coming on as a late replacement for Gael Fickou, received the ball on his own 22-metre line and ghosted through the heart of Australia’s midfield before casually slinging a dart of a pass out for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to score.

With Fickou left out of defending champions France’s initial Six Nations squad, Gourgues’ time seems to be coming fast.

His versatility is another string to his bow. As well as covering both midfield spots, he has previously played full-back and started at 10 for Toulouse recently.

Coach Fabien Galthie has trusted him as the backline replacement in a six-two bench for the opening game against Ireland on Thursday.

Gourgues’ prodigious rise is all the more impressive considering he spent nearly a year out of the game recently to fix a circulation problem that could ultimately have cost him his leg.

Gregor Townsend’s faith is Freddy Douglas is clear. The Scotland coach handed Douglas, then 19, a Test debut before he had even made a top-level club appearance for Edinburgh.

In taking the pitch for the final 15 minutes of a 59-21 win over Portugal in November 2024, Douglas became the youngest man to represent Scotland in more than 60 years.

It wasn’t all straightforward from there, though, as an ankle injury sidelined him shortly afterwards and he was frustrated to be overlooked for the autumn internationals.

However Douglas’ low-slung jackalling ability, aided by yoga stretching that he has done since he was a teenager, has impressed this season and delivered a fistful of turnovers. He has also bulked up to do more of the heavy-duty ball-carrying on the gainline.

You could understand Welsh fans getting nervous when one of their age-grade prospects goes west.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, like Hennessey, was a Cardiff Schools star and Wales age-grade regular, who headed to England to combine university studies with professional rugby.

But while Feyi-Waboso switched to represent England at senior level, Hennessey is staying firmly on track.

A classy centre, with physicality, quick feet and playmaking ability, he has also turned out on the wing for English champions Bath. And he has come into form at the right time.

Italy’s plans have been disrupted by injuries. As well as star back Ange Capuozzo’s broken finger, they are missing back-row stalwarts Ross Vintcent and Sebastian Negri.

The latter pair’s absence may provide a route into the team for the uncapped 24-year-old Samuele Locatelli, who has been in fine form.

He was voted player of the year in the Italian top flight while playing for Viadana and has risen to impress in the United Rugby Championship with Zebre.