While England faces its Grand Slam nemesis first up, it could still trip up, with its final game scheduled in Ireland. Two years ago, Ireland ended England's Grand Slam bid, but because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic, the competition took six months to complete.
Ireland, last season's third-place finisher, and fourth-placed Scotland both had confidence-boosting wins over southern hemisphere sides last November. The Irish upset world champion Australia, while the Scots beat South Africa for the first time in 33 years.
Scotland has lost center Ben Hinshelwood for the tournament with a broken leg, while former captain Budge Pountney retired, unhappy at the way the team is run.
Captain Bryan Redpath said Scotland had to build on its 21-6 defeat of South Africa in November.
"The need to use our heads was a vital lesson that we learned from the South Africa game," Redpath said. "If we don't learn from it, then we'll struggle against Ireland, France and England."
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