Despite giving England a good chance to win their first title for five years, Care has France down as favourites to claim the trophy in March.

The return of star scrum-half Antoine Dupont is key to that prediction.

The 28-year-old is back as captain after representing France at their home Olympics last year, helping them win the gold medal in the men’s rugby sevens, scoring two tries in the final.

“I think people forget he didn’t play [in the Six Nations] last year,” said Care, who won the tournament with England in 2011, 2016 and 2017.

“Having him back this year, I have France down as my favourites for the tournament for that reason. He’s that good, he’s consistently brilliant.

“[Ireland] are right up there, they really are. It’s remarkable to be going for your third in a row, never been done before.

“I know how hard it is to win one, we managed to back it up [with a second] one year, but to do three in a row [would be] unbelievable.

“In England and Scotland you’ve got two teams who feel like if they get things right they could win it. And then you’ve got Wales and Italy who will go, ‘well, we think we can probably beat anyone on our day’.

“That’s why I think the tournament is so unbelievably special. For me it’s the most special tournament in the world.”