France have stormed to an early lead in the 2026 Six Nations, dispatching Ireland with ease in the curtain-raiser to lay down the gauntlet for title hopefuls England.
They nipped out to an early lead through Louis Bielle-Barrey and scarcely looked back, though it was not quite a perfect outing. The reigning champions shipped two second-half tries to take the final score to 36-14 in their favour.
Steve Borthwick’s men arrive in fine form, though, having pieced together 11 straight wins last year, and will fancy their chances of breaking the recent stranglehold held on this tournament by Ireland and current holders France, who meet in Paris for a star-studded opener on Thursday.
It is new-look Wales up first for England and while Super Saturday features two potential title deciders, the early rounds of this year’s condensed competition also bring their fair share of eye-catching match-ups.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has high hopes for his side, too, and the fixtures have aligned well for a talented group desperate to hoist the Six Nations trophy for the first time.
Position | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | B | Pts |
1 | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 14 | +22 | 1 | 4 |
2 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5 | Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 36 | -22 | 0 | 0 |
Six Nations fixtures and results
Ireland vs Italy (2:10pm, Aviva Stadium, ITV1)
Scotland vs England (4:40pm, Murrayfield, ITV1)
Wales vs France (3:10pm, Principality Stadium, BBC One)
England vs Ireland (2:10pm, Allianz Stadium, ITV1)
Wales vs Scotland (4:40pm, Principality Stadium, BBC One)
France vs Italy (3:10pm, Stade Pierre Mauroy, ITV1)
Ireland vs Wales (8:10pm, Aviva Stadium, ITV1)
Scotland vs France (2:10pm, Murrayfield, BBC One)
Italy vs England (4:40pm, Stadio Olimpico, ITV1)
Ireland vs Scotland (2:10pm, Aviva Stadium, ITV1)
Wales vs Italy (4:40pm, Principality Stadium, BBC One)
France vs England (8:10pm, Stade de France, ITV1)
