Wynne Gray: Six Nations pointer for tips on Lions

Ireland's Sean O'Brien is a likely Lions pick. Picture / Photosport

Confession time. Not because Christmas is looming or I've decided on a change of faith with visits to the curtained booths.

Nothing like that at all, more an admission that watching Six Nations rugby was never high on my priority sports-watching calendar.

It fitted into the 'if nothing else is on' category. I've had my fill of rugby by the end of the year and it's then a struggle to get through the early months of Super Rugby especially if the New Zealand cricket side has found some form or there's no golf, surfing or other available choices.

Like many I enjoy watching rugby live as I did on the All Blacks' recent tour of America and Europe. If that's not possible, My Sky has been an invaluable ally.

Rarely for the Six Nations though, unless that competition comes down to a must-see decider or is being shown on one of the standard Sky channels.

Getting up in the middle of the night on the off-chance I might see some decent footy from Europe is not on my list of sporting gambles.

Next year will be different and the grapevine tells me the tournament will be available on a standard sports package frequency. I'm in, I'm prepared to give it a crack for a few weeks and see how we go.

My change of heart is all about the visit from the British and Irish Lions next year and to get a gauge on the talent available to coach Warren Gatland and his selectors.

Already I'm fascinated about how Gatland and his experienced sidekicks Rob Howley and Andy Farrell are thinking and how they want to structure their squad, try various styles and use a range of combinations on the tour.

Will Gatland and Howley retain many of the Welsh squad who were such key components in the series success in Australia in 2013?

Sam Warburton was captain on the openside but injuries have nobbled his production as the competition rises. Ireland's Sean O'Brien is a massive pile of energy while England prefer to use Chris Robshaw or James Haskell as multi-layered flankers rather than ball-winning poachers.

CJ Stander or Jordi Murphy have risen to the top of the pile with Ireland, Hamish Watson or John Barclay are in similar fettle with Scotland and there will be other options.

It depends on how Gatland sees the game and what style he wants the Lions to impose.

He knows Warburton and has his trust as a proven leader of disparate groups and Gatland is also astute enough to know that association can also be a blind-spot.

The Lions cannot afford to carry a captain as previous sides have in New Zealand and there are others like Alun Wyn-Jones and Dylan Hartley, amongst the deep player pool, who can lead the side.

Who is the best five eighths, will George North recover from concussion, are the Vunipola brothers the real deal, is Stuart Hogg the star fullback?

Reports we get on the Six Nations and players' contributions are often slanted towards an audience and if you compare some with your own assessment, there is a wide disparity. Grain of salt, poetic licence, deliberately provocative... there are many strands but next year I'm tuning in to make my own judgments.