Champions France to host Ireland in opening match of truncated 2026 Six Nations
The schedule for the 2026 Six Nations is the first to feature only one fallow week rather than the customary two.
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง'๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฑ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๏ธ๐#GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/ej2ArJsG93
โ Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) May 19, 2025
First announced in 2023, the removal of one break week is to assist with the alignment of the new global rugby calendar.
The first three rounds will be played on consecutive weekends, there will be no games on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1, before the competition closes with back-to-back matches.
In another significant break with tradition, the Six Nations starts on a Thursday evening rather than the customary Friday or Saturday slots to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 6.
England finished runners-up this year and their bid to go one better will begin against Wales at Allianz Stadium on February 7.
They face a Valentine's Day appointment with Scotland at Murrayfield, collide with Ireland at home on February 21 and finish with away trips to Italy and France, with 'Le Crunch' closing out Super Saturday on March 14.
All Six Nations matches will be shown free to air after a new rights deal lasting until 2029 was struck with ITV and BBC in March.
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Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info England have gone out to Argentina, one of the top sides in the world right now, and with a squad decimated by Lions inclusions and have gone to their back yard and beaten them quite comfortably. It shows the strength in depth England have, and it's sadly in stark contrast to what's going on here in Wales. We've gone to Japan, pretty much full strength really barring two Lions players. Obviously Tomos Williams is out for the Lions now, and was very unfortunate. Had he been fit, I think it was probably his position to lose, the way he started the tour out there. Then there's Jac Morgan, who was outstanding in his last game. If you're picking a Test side on the basis of that performance, he'd be the first name on the teamsheet. Given he's starting on Saturday, let's hope hope he puts in a top performance and nails himself down as a Lions starter. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia. He obviously didn't play on Wednesday, which is very sad as it's the first time in many years we've had a Lions matchday squad without a single Welshman. But that just highlights where we are I suppose. I went out to referee in Japan before the World Cup and they were a good side then. They'd obviously beaten South Africa in 2015 and then reached the quarter-finals in the World Cup in Japan itself. They were a good side. A lot of sides going to Japan would have found it difficult to beat them. But they're not the side they once were. This was probably a mediocre Japan team in comparison and it really puts into perspective just how profoundly we've fallen. There were probably quite a few reasons for the defeat itself. 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