By Gareth Charles BBC Wales Rugby Correspondent

Warren Gatland's assertion that Wales may have slipped under the radar going into this year's Six Nations tournament has been blown slightly off course by the "subgate" episode.

The furore surrounding Lee Byrne's two week ban and subsequent appeal have catapulted Wales into the spotlight - a spotlight made all the brighter by Gatland's revelation that James Hook has been carrying a shoulder injury since Boxing Day.

All in all it is hardly ideal preparation for a game that will go a long way towards defining Wales' championship and possibly season.

It is a complication Gatland could have done without at a time when several key players, particularly Byrne himself and Adam Jones, were returning to fitness and form.

Their contribution to the Ospreys' success underlines how much they were missed by Wales in the autumn series.

And Wales need to move on a step or two from what was, on the whole, a disappointing autumn.

The basic Gatland blueprint may not need major surgery but it does need minor adjustment as opposition seem to find it increasingly comfortable to defend against and tries seem to be increasingly difficult to come by.

But they seem to be an even greater problem for Wales' first opponents England who had a pretty woeful autumn. Theirs seems to be a crisis of confidence in which style to adopt.

Does Martin Johnson return to the tried and tested that proved so successful in his playing days with Leicester and England or does he give the players freer rein to release undoubted talents like Rikki Flutey and Delon Armitage?

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The answer may to a certain extent be out of their hands. Injuries amongst the front five in particular may not give them the kind of platform to which they have been accustomed but they still have big game players in the likes of the evergreen Simon Shaw and Lewis Moody.

England aren't the only enigma in the Six Nations. France are a perennial puzzle. Not only how do they play but who do they play?

Marc Lieveremont has scoured the Championat over the last few seasons to produce as many raised eyebrows from the other nations as they have gallic shrugs of explanation from within the French camp.

Four French Heineken Cup quarter-finalists this season and a win in New Zealand last season is sufficient evidence they are potential champions.

Ireland are right up there with France - though back-to-back championship wins are notoriously difficult. For years labelled as an "ageing" team, Ireland defied the tag to claim their first Grand Slam in over 60 years with Brian O'Driscoll more out of this world than over the hill.

The form player of the moment, Osprey Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney, Keith Earls and Jonathan Sexton or Ronan O'Gara are potential match winners in their own right.

A nice gentle introduction will also help against a hapless Italy missing one of the few world class players they have, Sergio Parisse.

Not even finding a "colourful" Aussie rugby league convert in Craig Gower to fill the fly-half gap still vacated by Diego Dominguez can change their fortunes.

But Scotland can well expect a change of fortunes under Andy Robinson.

It may not have been obvious in the autumn with just nine points scored against Australia and Argentina but a return to open rugby from quick release ball is what Robinson wants.

With Glasgow and Edinburgh in the Magners League top three, confidence shouldn't be in short supply. Their opening fixture at home to France is key - win and watch out for the marauding Scots at the Millennium Stadium!

All in all it should be a championship as close as any in recent years.

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