Men’s Six Nations 2026: Full match schedule and everything you need to know about the competition

The Men’s Six Nations is back for another season of hard-hitting, lightning-paced rugby brilliance – and the competition is going to be intense from the very start, as the 2026 event kicks off with a massive clash.

The Stade de France is the venue for France v Ireland, a meeting between the teams who have won two Six Nations crowns each over the past four years and are among the favourites this time around. The opener is set to be a high-quality match-up, with class sprinkled liberally throughout both XVs – but although it could have a big influence on the outcome of this year’s championship, it certainly won’t be all done and dusted after that first 80 minutes. England in particular look ready to mount a strong challenge, and the other three teams will all believe they can have an impact.

It’s shaping up to be a great Six Nations – and it’s all live on ITV1, BBC One and S4C on Virgin TV, as well as streaming in Apps > ITVX and Apps > BBC iPlayer. And don’t forget, you can follow all the live action wherever you are in the UK, as long as there’s WiFi, 3G or 4G, thanks to Virgin TV Go. Simply download the free app, which is free to all Virgin TV customers and is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows 10 and PC/Mac. Download the Virgin TV Go app.

The action begins on Thursday 5 February at 7.20pm on ITV1 HD (CH 103), the first time a Six Nations match has taken place on a Thursday, scheduled to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games on Friday. Here are all the fixtures on the first weekend – scroll down to see every team’s fixture list.

France v Ireland
Thursday 5 February, 7.20pm, ITV1 HD (CH 103)

Italy v Scotland
Saturday 7 February, 1pm, BBC One HD (CH 101)

England v Wales
Saturday 7 February, 3.45pm, ITV1 HD (CH 103) + 4pm, S4C HD (CH 104/164) + Apps > BBC iPlayer

So what can we expect from this hotly anticipated season of top-class international rugby union? Read on as we answer the big questions.

The bookmakers have made France the favourites, based on their impressive championship victory last year, their equally outstanding autumn with victories over South Africa, Fiji and Australia, and the huge talent pool available to them including all-time great Antoine Dupont. France do have an awesome team. There’s a big “but” coming. Despite his team’s recent success, coach Fabien Galthié has decided he needs to build for the future, and left out experienced players including Gaël Fickou, Gregory Alldritt and Damian Penaud – a trio with 215 caps between them – and called up 14 men with two caps or fewer (of which 10 are uncapped).

There’s no doubting the quality in French rugby, but will this callow squad prove strong and cohesive enough to defend the title they won so convincingly in 2025? Their backs are renowned for being able to conjure up try-scoring chances at any time, but the new generation are a largely unknown quantity.  

“Resurgent” is the word people keep using about Steve Borthwick’s England side. They put the rest of the northern hemisphere teams on notice with their hard-fought 33-19 win over the All Blacks in November. That was their 10th consecutive victory and came amid a supremely successful autumn programme that produced four wins in four games, with fly-half George Ford in sparkling form.

The tweaks to the game’s laws allowing fairer contests for high balls has made kicking more of an attacking threat and played into England’s hands, with the likes of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman the perfect personnel to grab possession and launch attacks. And above all England have serious depth, with class and grit among their leaders like Ford, Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge, and stars like Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith and Henry Pollock able to make a devastating impact.

There’s a sense that this Ireland team, as high-calibre as it is, may have peaked. They fell short in their attempt to make it three Six Nations titles in a row last year, they’re missing key players like wing Mack Hansen and back-row Ryan Baird through injury, and the removal of Bundee Aki from the squad for disciplinary reasons doesn’t bode well (although some will say their reliance on a 35-year-old centre is troublesome in itself). Don’t count them out, because they’ve still got top Lions stars like Tadhg Beirne and James Lowe plus Andy Farrell as their coach, and can cause damage to their rivals. But we suspect another title might be beyond this squad.

Scotland fans have had a frustrating time recently. In the autumn internationals they were in good positions against both New Zealand and Argentina but ended up losing to both. In the 2025 Six Nations, they lost out agonisingly by a single point to England; that came after they beat England to the Calcutta Cup in 2024, but lost by one point to Wales. They’ve been fourth in five of the past six Men’s Six Nations: can they push on and crack the top three? Coach Gregor Townsend has stuck with the players who have promised much but delivered disappointment, despite the presence of Bath’s Premiership-winning points machine Finn Russell. Their first task? To beat Italy in Rome, which they failed to do on their previous visit.

From champions in 2021 to last place in 2024 and 2025, it’s been a Six Nations rollercoaster for Wales’s men. And they won’t have been helped by domestic turmoil, with the axe hanging over Ospreys – who have seven players in the Welsh squad including captain Dewi Lake – as the campaign to save the club intensifies. New coach Steve Tandy’s results so far include a crushing 73-0 defeat to South Africa in autumn. But they’ll be boosted by the return of Louis Rees-Zammit, back from his NFL adventure and in fine form for Bristol Bears, while winger Ellis Mee and lock Dafydd Jenkins are outstanding young players. They play Italy in the final round of fixtures at the Principality Stadium. If they don’t improve, it could be a straight shoot-out to avoid coming rock bottom.