Captains and coaches, representing each of the six competing nations in this year’s Guinness Six Nations attended the tournament launch in London today.

You will see plenty of stories of Johnny Sexton talking about tackling, Gregor Townsend talking about Ben Healy and pretty much everyone trying to ignore Eddie Jones.

The first round of games get underway on Saturday, 4th February, when Wales host Ireland in the first head-to-head of the series, before England host their Scottish rivals in a battle for the Calcutta Cup and France get their defence of the Championship up and running against Italy.

The tournament will conclude with Ireland vs England, taking place in Dublin, during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Sponsors Guinness will be dialling up the promotion of Guinness 0.0 which will be available on draught at the Aviva Stadium and in pubs and grounds across the competing countries.

It is once again opening the popular Guinness Giveaway, giving Guinness and rugby fans alike an opportunity to get their hands on match tickets and other money-can’t-buy experiences across the jam-packed rugby calendar.

“We are delighted to continue our title partnership with Six Nations,” said Alan McAleenan, Marketing Director GUINNESS, Diageo Ireland.

“As a long-time supporter of this game, we, at Guinness, believe that rugby has the power to connect people of all backgrounds from around the world. As a significant year of rugby looms, we’re excited to see rugby back on our screens, as well as fans back in the pubs to enjoy the games.”

“We are thrilled that Guinness 0.0 will be available on draught in bars within the Aviva Stadium, so that fans of the game can enjoy the excellent taste of Guinness, without any of the alcohol.”

“We wish all the teams the best of luck and look forward to sharing a pint of the black stuff with supporters across the nation.”

With in-venue promotional regulations having changed in Ireland since the last renewal, there will be different branding in the Aviva Stadium, as there will be at the Stade de France, with a ban on the promotion of alcohol brands within the pitch area.

It will not impact on advertising around the ground but it will be interesting to see what the pitch markings will look like.