One title, four teams contending strongly, and all four intending to go out and win it by attacking. That is the happy prospect for the remainder of the RBS Six Nations Championship, 2008. It is almost unheard of for as many teams still to have the crown within reach after three rounds, and even now only the bravest would invest on the eventual winner.

And given the reputation of the tournament for power, defence and attrition rather than attacking flair, it is also well worthy of celebration that the four teams at the top are in the process of revitalising their attacking options and all attack in different ways, and that the top team at the end of the championship could yet be the team playing widest and boldest.

This is not to say that we are bound to be served an attacking feast next week when England go to Murrayfield, France enter tain Italy and, in the match most likely to decide the whole thing, flying Wales go to Dublin to play an apparently revitalised Ireland at Croke Park. The weather, nerves and the grip of conservatism can strike. But, as our graphic shows, all four of the teams have new attacking plays and new weaponry.

England, perennially, are the team most castigated for a lack of attacking invention and intent, and it is true that their change of emphasis is not as yet overt. Wales, France and (latterly) Ireland are still attacking better. It is also true that neither of the England tries last week in Paris came from devilish attacking play, whether from building their own attacks or counter-attacking. Paul Sackey touched down after a misguided French attack went horribly wrong and new scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth scored after ceaseless battering by the England forwards around the fringes. As an attacking unit, fly-half Jonny Wilkinson and the threequarters hardly registered.

But this hides a significant new approach by England. They went in search of quick ball, the heavenly manna of ball-in-hand rugby. They were not always successful but they were so much more competitive, so much more brutal at the breakdown compared to their supine recent selves. If they keep that brutality then Messrs Wilkinson and company may be left with no excuse in Edinburgh for poor attacking.

So much of the England play at the breakdown in recent seasons has been apologetic. As recently as the Italy game they tended to carefully station arriving forwards above the ball, securing it but almost freezing it to the spot, and merely repelling the opposition forwards. As the ball lay dead under his nose, and confronted only by the stationary backsides of his own players, Andy Gomarsall would be organising fringe forwards to drive and blunder the ball ponderously round the fringes.

Last Saturday, however, the French forwards trying to contest the breakdown were not being repelled. They were being removed. Blasted. The two props, Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery, took an heroic lead, carrying the ball hard at the heart of France. When they were stopped and laid the ball back, a blasting wave of Englishmen, usually featuring Simon Shaw, Nick Easter, Michael Lipman and also some of the backs, smashed Frenchmen backwards. As they arrived at rucks for the clear-out, they often targeted individual French players. It was aggression at the breakdown of the highest order and it produced possession with a life of its own.

It was not perfect; England will surely be demanding ever more urgency and physicality at the breakdown next week. But in Paris, Wigglesworth at scrum-half was the ideal style of player at the ideal career stage. It was his first Test start and he did not feel the need to be the Boss of the Fringes, as did his predecessor, the more experienced Gomarsall. Wigglesworth is a smooth link player, so he contented himself with whipping the ball away. Bearing all this in mind, it is disappointing that England did not achieve more, but compared to their recent efforts and their devotion to slow ball, it was rather encouraging.

We wait to see how Brian Ash-ton will revitalise his attack. He will demand more from the New-castle inside backs, Wilkinson and Toby Flood, and it will be staggering, and flying in the face of evidence and fairness to others, if he does not drop both Iain Balshaw and Lesley Vainikolo.

The former is playing without confidence and penetration, the latter is not playing at all and it is beyond preposterous to pretend otherwise. England, because of their beasting forwards, will have a strong attacking platform at Murrayfield, and this time they must act on it.

At least Scotland will not lack focus. There is no reason for them to expect to win in Rome against Italy in their final game, so they probably have one chance to rescue their grim season, and it comes on Saturday at Murrayfield. Do they have the devil? Can Chris Paterson inspire them? If he cannot, England must secretly fancy their chances of taking their oldest rugby enemy to the cleaners.

Ireland are, for me, around 10-point favourites to beat Wales in Dublin. In terms of the relative development of the teams, Wales could be around 15 points better this time next year. But away with the future. The improvement in Ireland’s front-five play has been exaggerated as only one team in the tournament (England) can scrummage and Ireland haven’t met them yet. But with Paul O’Connell probably restored, Ireland will be hard-nosed, crafty, steely and at home.

Yet while they will stress their experience, they themselves have a brand new attacking energy, brought by some bright new players. It would be self-serving in the extreme for Eddie O’Sullivan to claim credit for these changes since most were caused by injury, but Rob Kear-ney and Tommy Bowe and, if chosen, Geordan Murphy give Ireland a talent in the back three that they have lacked for a decade, and with Luke Fitzgerald waiting in the wings, they may be on the verge of an almost unIrish like stylishness. It also seems that Andrew Trimble’s extra power in midfield can clear out more Welshmen than the less fronton and, these days, inconsistent skills of Gordon D’Arcy, who is injured.

Yet the brightest new force is up front. Jamie Heaslip, the Leinster No 8, has added significantly to Ireland’s armoury. The most graphic example is the easy try Ireland scored against Scotland last week when Heaslip picked up, drifted wide and dextrously put David Wallace over for a try that gave the Scotland defensive coach apoplexy.

For years, Ireland’s No 8s have been worthy bangers – Anthony Foley and Denis Leamy. Both have been strong runners but Heaslip has extra elements – he has more pace and vision, better handling skills, he breaks wider to open up the play on both sides and, at least until the defensive coaches legislate for this new bolter, he can be highly influential in dragging Ireland on to the front foot. Tries will not come so easily as they did against Scotland, but Heaslip can have a major say in the rest of the tournament for his sheer dynamism.

Wales are also changing. Their fate in Dublin probably depends on the mental strength of the inner Welshman and also on the

Welshmen in the air, because the Wales lineout is fallible. But it is also true that if Wales gain a fair share of quality possession, they can definitely win.

They have also boosted their attacking play and they have boosted it by not attacking so much. Under Warren Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Rob How-ley, the old lateral Welsh Way is consigned, utterly unloved, to history. The signature of their attack is the interventions of Shane Williams, but at the heart is their sheer talent in midfield, where Gavin Henson and, especially, Tom Shanklin are in prime form. Wales are trying to penetrate up the middle, trying to get behind the opposition defensive line.

Shanklin has long been the most underrated player in the championship and is still making teams pay. He is big, but is also quick and he can step. He will try to draw two Irish defenders and use his strength to stand up in the tackle to find the likes of Williams, Henson, Lee Byrne or, more likely, the splendid flanker Martyn Williams with the pop pass. One soft delivery and Wales are in behind the opposition and the attacking vibrancy of Shane Williams can make further inroads. It is no longer lateral, but far more effective.

France have the least testing assignment, at home to Italy a week today. Aggravatingly, coach Marc Lièvremont has again insulted the championship by making a host of willy-nilly changes. Again, France will play their wide game, challenging and without reference points, but often dangerous to themselves as well as the opposition. Against Ireland, they often whizzed the ball wide in old-fashioned style, with no initial forward driving, and they scored one brilliant try through Vincent Clerc down the left. They went for roughly the same move against England last week, sending the ball along the line way behind the original set-piece, and came a cropper after Jamie Noon’s crash tackle and Sackey’s finishing burst. All heady, often too risky, but never boring.

Wales are just favourites for the title, provided their points difference is not badly damaged in Dublin, because they can beat France at home. Ireland will need to win at Twickenham to become champions. England cannot lose again. So many permutations and possibilities. And who knows, even fun to watch.

ST writers honoured

Stephen Jones and Brian Doogan both made the Specialist Correspondent shortlist at the 2008 Sports Journalism Awards. David Walsh is nominated for Sports Feature Writer and Paul Kimmage for Sports Interviewer. We also made the Sports Team shortlist for our Tour de France coverage