Geoffrey Riddle / 01 February 2010 Free Bet View Market

"On current form Ireland are head and shoulders above the other five sides. Kidney has guided the Emerald Isle to a sparkling run, with just three defeats in the 15 games."

It's worth pointing out that Ireland defended their only other Grand Slam, in 1948, by winning the Championship and the Triple Crown the following year. It could easily be a case of history repeating itself in 2010, because this time around they have three home fixtures. Ireland must play both England and France away though, which is why they trade at [3.7] for the championship and [7.4] for the Grand Slam.

First up at Croke Park are the Italians, who face off with Ireland in Pool C of next year's World Cup. It means that this is the last time the two will meet in Dublin before 2011's encounter in Dunedin.

"It certainly spices things up," said Ireland coach, Declan Kidney. But the softly-spoken Irishman, who won the Grand Slam at his first attempt, is not expecting an easy ride. "The last two home results we have had against Italy were a five point win and a three point win, and in one of those the TMO came to the rescue," he continued. "Last year in Rome, they were 9-0 up on us, but Tommy Bowe got an outrageous interception. If it had got away from Tommy, it was a run-in for Italy and we would have been down 16 points. That's how close it can be."

If you don't buy into Kidney's glass half-empty theories, then you certainly won't be prepared to stomach his assertion that his side are the tournament underdogs. Kidney tried to infer that because he has only three regions to draw his squad from, he was at a considerable disadvantage.

He said: "That's the nature of the Irish team. I had a chuckle during November when England were down something like 28 players. We'd have probably had to call off the fixture if that had happened to us. We have to make our smallness our strength."

Ireland may well have a small squad, but the fact remains that 13 of them went on the Lions tour to South Africa. And what's more, on current form they are head and shoulders above any of the other five sides that they come up against. Kidney has guided the Emerald Isle to a sparkling run of form, with just three defeats in the 15 games. Two of those losses were on summer tour against New Zealand and Australia when he first took the helm from Eddie O'Sullivan in 2008, but since then Ireland have prevented the opposition crossing the tryline in seven of their 13 games.

It's an astonishing achievement, and with just three tries conceded in last year's tournament, how can Kidney eke out any more improvement from his small, but select band of troops?

"We have to work on our performance and break it down into defence and attack," he said. "Our defence went well last year, but you can't depend on it. But maybe on the penalty front we can cut down one or two, but by its nature rugby is about growing as a unit in that way."

In their November fixtures against South Africa and Australia, Ireland conceded fewer penalties than either of their opponents. This highlights how fine an edge Kidney has to sharpen if his side are to scythe through the Six Nations once again.

Ireland's talisman, Brian O'Driscoll, doesn't see it that way, however. The most prolific tryscorer in Six Nations history believes that it is just a matter keeping things ticking over. "Someone said to me that you never defend anything. You just give it back and try to win it again. So our psyche hasn't changed in any shape or form. We just need to go out there with the same attitude."

O'Driscoll, who received his first cap against Australia in 1999, was keen to highlight that his appetite for success had increased. "Certainly after winning silverware, your ambition doesn't wane," said the 2009 player of the championship. "If anything, it probably heightens. Particularly if you are one of the older brigade, and I speak for them now, we want to achieve as much as we can."