England U18s fly-half Henry Slade is congratulated after scoring against Italy U19s at Sixways on Sunday © Getty Images

What with the compelling nature of this year's Six Nations battle and England's charge for the Grand Slam you could be forgiven for missing the next generation taking their latest steps towards the big stage.

England U18s swept Italy U19s aside in emphatic style at Worcester's Sixways Stadium on Sunday - running in nine tries on their way to a 64-0 victory.

The likes of Dominic Barrow, Tom Jubb, Mark Jennings and Henry Slade - amongst those that powered the hosts to victory - may not be household names but using history as your guide you should perhaps mark your card as many of them will no doubt be stars of the future with the 2015 Rugby World Cup looming large for all involved.

Fans of Ask John will need little reminding of the bountiful nature of the England age-grade set-up. In his latest Q&A for our site resident historian John Griffiths highlights the outstanding class of 1997.

That year the U18 group swept to a Grand Slam of their own - their third in four years - boasting future England internationals such as Jonny Wilkinson, Iain Balshaw, Mike Tindall, Tom May, David Flatman, Lee Mears, Andrew Sheridan, Steve Borthwick and Alex Sanderson. Add in familiar names such as Tony Roques, Simon Amor and James Grindal and you have a talented bunch that have helped shape English rugby in the decade or so since.

But as star-studded that group turned out to be, it was not the only fertile year in terms of development. Many came before and others have followed since with current stand out Courtney Lawes and rising star George Ford two of the more recent names to have graced the U18 group - the latter when he was aged just 15.

The injection of youth has propelled the current England senior squad to the brink of great things - with Ben Youngs, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Dan Cole leading the way - and it looks as though they will not be the last to roll off a well-worn production line.

England fullback ben Foden had a lonely ride home following his side's Six Nations opener in Cardiff © Getty Images

Back by popular demand (OK, a couple of people asked what had happened to it) is our semi-regular look at what rugby's leading names are saying on the social networking phenomenon that is Twitter.

There appears to be no stopping the growth of the micro-blogging site and it continues to hit the headlines following Wales' decision to impose a Twitter ban during this year's Six Nations. Thankfully there is still plenty of banter going on out there but sadly it crosses the line on occasion.

Former England hooker and BBC commentator Brian Moore pulled the plug on his account (@brianmoorerugby) this week having had enough personal abuse aimed his way in the wake of the Six Nations opener in Cardiff. Love or loathe his style of delivery, his Tweets were often insightful and his concise analysis will be missed.

He's not the only one threatening to down tools in the face of some out-of-hand banter with former England star and ESPN analyst Austin Healey - never one to shy away from a verbal exchange - pondering his next move going by his latest post.

"@brianmoorerugby I think I'm going to just go back to abusing people in person has a much better feel don't you think"

He's still around, for now, and crops up again in our pick of what rugby's Twitterati have been Tweeting about of late:

"Home sweet home! Good journey with just @dannycare9 and myself on the team bus back home! Nursing a small but very worthwhile hangover!"
England's Ben Foden - aka the Most Unpopular Man in Wales - reveals that the rest of the England squad were lost in Cardiff - but they left their share of the beer.

"Back across the bridge...don't know where all the lads are there's only myself and @ben_foden on the coach! Weekend off to chill!!"
Danny Care was Tweeting on the way home too - great conversationalists obviously.

"Looking forward to a trip to Rome tomorrow for the BBC team along side Keith Wood. Any words you wanna see if I can squeeze in??"
Sidelined by injury, Ireland's Tommy Bowe gets his kicks as a pundit for his side's game against Italy - but my not get invited back.

"You always get the impression watching the French that if they cared a lot, all the time, they could literally do what they like #skills"
Bath's Oly Barkley was amongst those impressed by France's opening Six Nations victory over Scotland.

"Pulling into Paris plenty of traveling jocks(not in 1st of course) loads of banter 6 nations is great isn't it"
Former England interntional and ESPN analyst Austin Healey does his bit for Anglo-Scottish relations.

"@IamAustinHealey: If hartley snaps in cardiff and kills someone gatlands fault?"Bit of sledging never hurt anyone! you should know that"
Wales legend Jonathan Davies weighs in on the verbal jousting that preceded England's victory over Wales in Cardiff with this question to Healey.

"Let's take a breath, we won. Tomorrow we'll look at it closer, let's not shoot off out mouths now"
Injured Ireland No.8 Jamie Heaslip urges his followers not to make any rash judgements about his side's far-from-impressive opening victory against Italy in Rome.

"Can someone send me the words to the Welsh National anthem? Keen to join in. What a cracking song!!!"
Former England international and Sky Sports pundit Will Greenwood gets a little swept up in the emotion of Friday night's Six Nations opener in Cardiff.

"Wow! The history, the emotion, the brilliance of those who have gone before. It is the 6 Nations. Love it. Here's to a great Championship..."
Former England captain Will Carling auditions for a return to the pundits pool with one of many updates to his tens of thousands of followers during the Millennium Stadium clash.

Who will lift the Six Nations Championship silverware in 2011? © Getty Images

1. The collective might of the Six Nations are playing catch-up rugby and have been doing so since last year's Tri-Nations (although some may argue since 2003) when the southern hemisphere giants showed how to concoct a hypnotic blend of power, speed and precision week after week. The Six Nations' leading lights have struggled to keep pace and have shown precious little flair in comparison. Failure to deliver a warning shot across the Tri-Nations' bow in the coming weeks will only further the opinion of many that Europe's finest are playing for third place at best when the World Cup rolls around later in the year.

2. The International Rugby Board may claim to have taken a major step in improving the ugly spectacle that is the current workings of the scrum but don't expect miracles just yet. The governing body's attempts to refine the game have had mixed results ranging from the mess that was the ELVs to the water-into-wine-like miracle performed this time last year with the tackle law. The success of the latter was down to the strict officiating and we can only hope that a similar strict approach is adhered to this time. But even the afore mentioned success required a bedding in period so don't hold your breath. All eyes on that first scrum...

3. Twitter will hit the headlines - again. Banter has long been part of the rugby fabric and the emergence of Twitter has allowed players to take their put-downs global. Wales' leading players may have opted for a Twitter silence for the course of the Championship (perhaps due to the previous headline-grabbing Tweets by Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Thomas) but that leaves them as sitting ducks for their title rivals. Certain players will not be able to resist the lure of their phone so expect a plenty of word games - some of which might be funny - and the odd photo - except not of Andy Powell in a golf buggy.

4. Coaches and players may treat the words World Cup with the kind of disdain that theatrical types reserve for "the Scottish play" but don't buy a word of it. This is a World Cup year and everything else is secondary to the battle for Bill. Of course the PR types wouldn't accept any bad-mouthing of the Six Nations so you will not hear anything on the record but make no mistake this year's Championship is a stepping stone - the final chance to fine tune things before the big one in the kind of intense atmosphere that will await them all in New Zealand. The world is watching...

5. The Six Nations means rugby on the BBC - yes, the BBC. You could be forgiven for thinking that the Beeb had given up the ghost when it comes to rugby union thanks to the land-grabbing efforts in the UK of Sky Sports and ESPN and the Corporation's fascination with second division darts and bowls. But this time of year they dust off the rugby talent and take the game to the masses and do a grand job in the main - and will continue to do so until at least 2013. We'll forgive the likes of Brian Moore and Eddie Butler getting carried away once in a while but you get enough sense out of Jonathan Davies and Lawrence Dallaglio to make it worthwhile. Of note this year the BBC will have the honour of whetting the nation's appetite for the World Cup - which will be aired on rival ITV. One day the Six Nations will surely be lost to terrestrial TV (but perhaps not until Sky realise there's rugby outside of England?) so make the most of it. And for those in the States - check out BBC America.

6. The title race really is wide open. For the first time in what seems like years there is no clear favourite for the Six Nations crown. Coaches will often play down talk of favouritism but there was an air of sincerity emanating from the official launch last month when the leading figures talked up the chances of all those involved (OK, not Italy). Injuries and patchy form have done their best to level the playing field and while England remain favourites with the bookies there is a strong case for France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to dominate over the coming weeks. A Grand Slam is highly unlikely. Who's your money on?

7. The Six Nations is all about the fans. Thankfully the Friday night lights experiment will draw to a close on the opening weekend in Cardiff and very few will lament its demise. Fans will no longer have to answer the conundrum of how to escape work and cross the continent in time for a Six Nations fix. It was an acceptable novelty the first year but it was wearing thin last year and officials have seen sense despite bumper TV figures. Now, what can we do about Sunday fixtures? Never under estimate the power of the fans and the magical element they bring to games - be that the colour they bring or the excitement they share that helps to cement the Six Nations' place in the sporting calendar.

8. Prepare to drown in statistics. Whether it is the amount of tackles by France's Thierry Dusautoir, Dan Parks' kicking percentage for Scotland, Wales' losing run, the pints of Guinness drunk at Twickenham on match days or the amount of people following England's James Haskell on Twitter. Stats drive so much of the Six Nations coverage from our unrivalled Statsguru to the grim on-screen figures underlining how much time is lost at what used to be called the scrum - it makes you wonder what we did without them.

9. Form is temporary - class is permanent. With the Rugby World Cup looming there is precious little time for a new name to explode onto the international stage and make their name. That means the focus falls on the established names who know how to deliver when it matters most. Step forward the likes of O'Driscoll, Parisse, Moody, Dusautoir, Jones and Barclay - some may be honoured with the captaincy of their sides but all lead by example on the field.

10. England may be favourites for the title but there is one battle they will never win - the anthems. God Save The Queen may stir emotion if you happen to have a red rose on your chest or if you find yourself at Twickenham all the better for a few pints but when it comes to melodic motivation it falls some way short of its Six Nations rivals. Leading the way on that front are Wales whose supporters have been known to raise the roof with Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and Italy who would blow the roof off the Stadio Flaminio with a rousing rendition of Il Canto degli Italiani if it had one. Hard on their heels are France whose temperamental fans are at least always committed to La Marseillaise and then there is Ireland who may yet inspire a roar from the new Lansdowne Road with Ireland's Call. A packed Murrayfield belting out Scotland's Flower of Scotland will trigger more than the odd goose bump with England's God Save The Queen bringing up the rear on this occasion. But can we please drop the act - who ever it may be - and just leave the singing to the fans and the players?