Whatever twists and turns this season's Six Nations championships take, let BBC Sport be your guide with alerts direct to your phone. 

The latest news, views, reaction and action from the heart of the tournament will be delivered straight to your phone so you are always first to know. 

Whichever team you are supporting, it is the best way to stay one step ahead of your rivals. 

Simply head over to the notifications section in the BBC Sport app menu, tap through sports news and add rugby union. And...that's it. You are locked, loaded and ready to rumble. 

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Sonja McLaughlin has nabbed Vern Cotter for one of his famously jovial pre-match chats.

Catch that one shortly on BBC One.

Image source, .

Warren Gatland - Lions coach - is in the BBC One crow's nest at Murrayfield.

Turn in on the telly or via the online.

John Inverdale has just asked him how many names are pencilled in already for his touring squad to face New Zealand in the summer.

"There are quite a few," says Gatland, highlighting Ireland's autumn win over New Zealand in particular.

He put a figure on it, saying "15 to 20 names" could easily be slotted into his squad of 37 or 38 players.

Jim Telfer threw a Lions XV together for us as well.

A pretty punchy unit by my estimation.

Image source, BBC Sport

But I'm sure you will spot a few areas where the big man has gone wrong.

No Robbie Henshaw in the centres?

No Leigh Halfpenny off the tee?

No Billy Vunipola rumbling off the back?

Hit me with your pre-Six Nations Lions selections on #bbcsixnations on Twitter, , external81111 on text or on the BBC Sport Facebook., external

And we won't hold you to it when you want to rip it up and start again in six weeks' time.

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"This is your Everest boys. Very few, in rugby terms, get a chance to get to Everest boys. Being picked is the easy bit, to win a Test for the Lions is the ultimate."

Jim Telfer - a man who could turn the Dalai Lama into a seething ball of brawling aggression.

It is almost 20 years since the Scot sat down the Lions pack in a Cape Town hotel and issued his immortal speech.

I could listen to the man all day. Tom English was the BBC man who got the gig though and after three hours in Telfer's living room earlier this week he returned with a clutch of gems.

Eddie Jones? "A bit like Donald Trump."

Twickenham? "A concrete jungle"

England fans? "They think they're superior and a lot of them will come from the south-east, bags of money and bags of this and bags of that. They don't really appreciate the other team."

Plenty more where that came from as well.

Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer on BBC Radio 5 live

Scotland historically do not start well, if they lose today their third match is at Twickenham - they haven't won there since Margaret Thatcher's first term as prime minister, 1983.

They have a relatively shallow squad below a good first team, by that stage they could be players down as well.

Image source, BBC Sport

Flags are fluttering in a damp and bitter breeze for the Six Nations opener here at Murrayfield. In days gone by such conditions would have suited Scotland better, but today they may play more into the hands of Ireland.  

The home side's strength lies with their backs while the Irish front and back rows look like giving them a significant edge up front.  

Nevertheless there is palpable optimism in these parts that Scotland can make a rare winning start against an Irish team who boast autumn wins over New Zealand and Australia. It should be a cracking start to the championship.

Roman Poite is the man in the middle today at Murrayfield and, depending on how heavily he polices the new high tackle guidance, could be a busy man.

The Guardian

Image source, The Guardian

The Six Nations is splashed across seven-eighths of the Guardian sport section.

Robert Kitson is pumped.

"There is more potential intrigue than at any time since Italy's entry made it a hexagonal ball game at the turn of the century and a fresh sense of purpose in almost every dressing room."

Six Nations, One Winner say the Guardian.

But who?

You can have your say on the right-hand side of this page where there is a vote in progress.

So far more people have plumped for Italy than France as winners. Another nail in the coffin of democracy?

Image source, Getty Images

When Prime Minister Theresa May headed over to the United States, she went bearing a quaich - a traditional Scottish loving cup - as a gift for President Trump.

There is going to be a whole lot less diplomacy and hand-holding as Scotland and Ireland wrestle over the Centenary Quaich.

Kick-off is a little under an hour away.

Image source, Rex Features

BBC One

Right then, BBC One has got a whole feast of rugby union for you to tuck into this weekend, starting with the Six Nations preview show (which you can see at the top of this page), followed by Scotland v Ireland.

Sunday's offering is over on BBC Two, with a Six Nations Special at 18:00 GMT, with highlights of the Women's Six Nations at 22:45.

I'm not going to bang on about 5 live much longer.

I'll let these fine gentlemen do it.

Alan Dymock is the features editor for Rugby World and a nominee for rugby journalist of the year at the British Sports Journalism awards.

David Flatman is a former England and Bath prop, turned broadcaster.

Paul Cully is a contributor to Sydney Morning Herald's rugby coverage.

Image source, Twitter

BBC Radio 5 live

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Still more than three and a half hours to kick-off and Matt Dawson and Paul Grayson are already in place at their 5 live perch at Twickenham.

Some serious layers being deployed there as well.

Someone told me recently that the key to keeping warm in the stands is to slip a newspaper under your shoes to prevent the concrete chilling your bone marrow.

Any other tips?

BBC Radio 5 live

There is only one place to be to get every hit, kick and half-time orange from this season's Six Nations.

5 live and 5 live sports extra are all over the tournament like a Springbok's studs on an exposed opposition back.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra is where to turn your antennae towards for Scotland v Ireland, with a quick twizzle on the dial to BBC Radio 5 live for England v France.

Tomorrow Italy v Wales are on 5 live.

Everyone got that? Don't worry, I won't let you forget.  

Image source, Rex

Less hyperbole, more information.

The opening weekend goes down like this.

Saturday

Scotland v Ireland; 14:25 GMT

England v France; 16:50 GMT

Sunday

Italy v Wales; 14:00 GMT

Double-parked, with panda mitts. We might have already seem the most extraordinary moment of this year's Six Nations and the first whistle has not even been blown.

Image source, Reuters

It is time to write another chapter and christen new heroes.

Who will plaster their name across billboards and set social media churning? Who will write stories that their proud grandchildren will retell in decades to come?

Six Nations class of 2017? The hour is here.

Bill Beaumont chaired from the pitch like a Saxon king

Image source, Rex Features

Brian O'Driscoll weaving magic in the Parisian spring.

Image source, Getty Images

Scott Gibbs bullocking across Wembley's fresh pastures.

Image source, Getty Images

David Sole's slow walk of defiance.

Image source, Getty Images