2026 Six Nations: Week One Preview

The much anticipated 2026 iteration of the annual Six Nations is finally set to get underway this week, with the first game of the Championship taking place on Thursday evening.

Rugby fans have been counting down the days until the start of the Six Nations Championship for 2026, and it is finally getting underway this week for the first of five weeks of enthralling international rugby action involving some of the best players and national teams in the world, who will all be competing for glory.

The first game will see the reigning Champions of the Six Nations, France, come face to face with 6 time winners Ireland. This, the opening game of the tournament will be played at the iconic and historic Stade de France in the French capital city of Paris on Thursday 5th February 2026, with the kick-off taking place at 20:10pm in the evening.

This will then be followed by Italy against Scotland at the Stadio Olimpico in the first match of the day on Saturday, 7th February, taking place in the heart of Rome in what is going to be a 14:10pm kick-off. In the previous championship last year, Gregor Townsend’s Scotland side came in 4th place with 11 points from 5 matches, whilst their opponents, Italy, finished a place below them in 5th place on 5 points. Scotland will be one of the sides looking to finish higher in the final standings in 2026.

Next up on Saturday afternoon will be Steve Borthwick’s England taking on rivals Wales at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in what is going to be a 16:40pm kick-off. Seven-time winners England will be looking to get off to the best possible start as they look to lift the Six Nations title for the first time since last doing so in 2020.

They will be looking to go one better than their 2nd place finish in 2025, where they got 20 points accumulated from their 5 matches, just one less than France. Meanwhile, Wales will be looking for a surprise victory as they look to better their 6th place finish in the most recent Six Nations Championship. Wales are, of course, 6-time winners of this championship themselves, last winning it in 2021.

Now, we are going to be looking at each of the Round One 2026 Six Nations Championship matches this week in even more detail.

France vs. Ireland (Thursday, 5^th February, Stade de France – 20:10 KO)

As previously mentioned, the fixture between holders France and 6 time winners Ireland will be taking place in Paris at the Stade de France on the evening of Thursday, 5th February in a 20:10 kick-off.

There has already been team news for this fixture. Below is the matchday squad announced by Ireland as they look to secure a statement victory against the 2025 winners.

Starting XV: Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (Captain).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Michael Milne, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Nick Timoney, Craig Casey, and Jack Crowley.

As for France, below is their squad to take on Ireland.

Starting XV: Jean-Baptiste Gros, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri, Charles Ollivon, Mickaël Guillard, François Cros, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch, Antoine Dupont (Captain), Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Nicolas Depoortere, Théo Attissogbe, and Thomas Ramos.

Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Rodrigue Neti, Régis Montagne, Hugo Auradou, Emmanuel Meafou, Lenni Nouchi, Baptiste Serin, and Kalvin Gourgues.

When they met at the last Six Nations in 2025, it was a deserved 27 – 42 triumph for France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Tries for Ireland came from the likes of Dan Sheehan, Cian Healy, and Jack Conan, whilst they also got three conversions, all thanks to Sam Prendergast, who also scored both of Ireland’s penalties.

Meanwhile, France’s tries came from Louis Bielle-Biarry (2), Paul Boudehent, Oscar Jegou, and Damian Penaud. They got a four conversions, all through Thomas Ramos, who also scored 3 penalties for his side.

Ireland, led by Head Coach Andy Farrell, will be seeking revenge for this defeat in the last Six Nations by securing the win at the Stade de France on Thursday evening in the French Capital.

Italy vs. Scotland (Saturday 7^th February, Stadio Olimpico – 14:10 KO)

As of the time of writing, neither Italy or Scotland have unveiled their squads to go head to head in this game during the 2026 Six Nations at the iconic and historic Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. It will be played early in the afternoon on Saturday 7^th February 2026, with kick-off taking place at 14:10pm.

When they last met in the Six Nations back in 2025, it was at the famous Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was indeed the hosts who ended up emerging victorious thanks to a deserved 31 – 19 win.

The tries for Scotland arrived thanks to the efforts of Rory Darge and Huw Jones, with the latter getting a hat-trick. Meanwhile, Finn Russell also had a crucial contribution, with him scoring three conversions on the day.

As for Italy, their only try came from Juan-Ignacio Brex, whilst they scored four penalties, all thanks to Tommaso Allan, who also got a conversion for this side on that particular day.

Gregor Townsend’s side will be looking to repeat this outcome in their 2026 encounter in the Six Nations at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.

England vs. Wales (Saturday, 7^th February, Allianz Stadium – 16:40 KO)

Steve Borthwick’s England and Steve Tandy’s Wales are going head to head at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on the afternoon of Saturday 7^th February 2026, with kick-off set to take place at 16:40 in the English capital.

England have unveiled their team to face rivals Wales on Saturday, and it is as followed:

Starting XV: Freddie Steward, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell, George Ford (Vice Captain), Alex Mitchell, Ellis Genge (Vice Captain), Jamie George (Captain), Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, Ollie Chessum, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, and Ben Earl.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, and Marcus Smith.

As for Wales, they are yet to unveil their squad to face England on Saturday afternoon, as of the time of writing.

The last time that these two nations went toe to toe in the Six Nations was back in 2025, when England were emphatic 14 – 68 winners at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Welsh Capital.

In this game, England’s incredible total of ten tries came from the likes of Maro Itoje, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Chandler Cunningham-South (2), Will Stuart, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock (2), and Joe Heyes. There were also six conversions, all from Fin Smith, whilst Marcus Smith got a hat-trick of conversions himself that day.

As for Wales, their tries in this game both came from Ben Thomas (2), whilst they got conversions thanks to the likes of Gareth Anscombe and Jarrod Evans, who got one each overall.

Excitement is building rapidly ahead of the start of the 2026 edition of the annual and highly prestigious Six Nations Championship, with the best players in the world compete to win the iconic trophy for their respective nations this year.

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