Warren Gatland is back in charge of Wales' Six Nations rugby team after missing last year's tournament because of his British and Irish Lions commitments, and he's aiming to lead the side to an unprecedented third successive outright title.
Speaking at the official Six Nations launch, the 50-year-old former All Blacks hooker said he was wary off the hangover left by Lions tours, reminding his audience that the Six Nations tournaments which have followed the last four Lions tours have all been won by France.
Wales open their title defence with two home games, against Italy on the 1st of February
Meanwhile, the Welsh captain Sam Warburton, who has not played rugby since suffering a shoulder injury in November, hopes to be fit to lead his country's Six Nations defence.
Warburton suffered nerve damage in their 30-26 defeat by Australia, but said at the tournament's launch he hopes to be available for the first match against Italy in Cardiff.
Several teams have won two successive championship titles then taken a share of a third - before points difference was introduced to split teams finishing level - but nobody has completed an outright hat-trick.
The bookmakers are as unsure as anyone, with Wales the tightest of favourites at 2/1 ahead of England and France.
Their challenge takes place, again, against a backdrop of political in-fighting with the regional teams at loggerheads with the Welsh Rugby Union while also involved in constant negotiations about the future of the Heineken Cup.
Warburton, however, says the national players won't be unaffected by the increasingly fractious arguments.
