The essential Six Nations preview

By Ben Coles
Nice problems. That might be the best way to sum up any issues Steve Borthwick’s England face heading into this Six Nations, buoyant on a run of 11 Test wins in a row.

They would undoubtedly prefer to not have three frontline props on the sidelines, with confirmation this week of Fin Baxter’s impending foot operation following earlier blows to Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour. Still, absence leads to opportunity. For two uncapped props in Emmanuel Iyogun and Billy Sela and for two capped props who would like to win some more in Bevan Rodd and Trevor Davison.

This is a Six Nations championship that England simply must win. It is now six years since they last won a Six Nations title, and an entire decade since their last Grand Slam.

They have reached one World Cup final and finished within a whisker of making another in that time. Given the depth of England’s resources and talent, that feels unacceptable.

“We have got too many second places and too many third places,” Jamie George said this week, standing in for the captain Maro Itoje at the Six Nations launch. As is often the case when George speaks, he was on the money.

England would like to see more of Tommy Freeman at 13, and the race to be his centre partner seems to be wide open between Fraser Dingwall, Max Ojomoh and Seb Atkinson. Dingwall might be the sensible choice, but the player to watch is Ojomoh, with a passing range that can take England’s attack to the next level.

Borthwick has been candid about England’s expectations, with a potential finale away against France. “We want England fans flooding across the Channel to Paris to come and watch the team in a massive encounter,” he said. They have the form, and talent, to make it happen.

By Raphaël Jucobin

Less than two years out from the World Cup, predicting the squad that Fabien Galthié will take to Australia seems to be an increasingly difficult task. For this year’s Six Nations, the 56-year-old has opted to leave out vice-captain Grégory Alldritt, all-time top try-scorer Damian Penaud, and near-centurion Gaël Fickou. Other absences will have been beyond the former scrum-half’s control. Uini Atonio was forced to bring his career with Les Bleus to an abrupt end on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack.

Sidelining some of the familiar faces of his six years in charge could backfire on Galthié, whose cut-throat squad management has been an angle of criticism. But it may also benefit France to move towards a squad which no longer has a squandered home World Cup to atone for.

Once the selection debates are put to one side though, the spotlight will invariably fall on one man. After almost a year out of international rugby, Antoine Dupont will hope to play out his first full Six Nations campaign since 2023. France expects its captain, now fully recovered from injury, to steady the ship after the team’s mixed bag of autumn performances.

With Romain Ntamack out of action, the Olympic champion will play alongside Matthieu Jalibert, in a rare but enticing charnière (hinge) pairing. Despite his rocky relationship with Galthié, the Bordeaux fly-half’s electric form will have been difficult for the head coach to ignore.

France’s favourable schedule and a cohort of new talent are enough to position the holders as favourites. Avenging last year’s defeat at Twickenham by sealing a Grand Slam against England would also provide Galthié with a definitive answer to his critics. A note of caution: Les Bleus have rarely fully delivered when entering a tournament as favourites.

By Michael Sadlier
There is more than just an air of unease about Ireland. The memory of being beaten up by South Africa last November lingers and there are growing doubts about whether Andy Farrell possesses the alchemy to pull something from a squad which though experienced does need refreshing.

But there are other problems. The concerns are deeply worrying over loosehead prop, with Andrew Porter missing and back-ups Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle facing long-term absences. It doesn’t end there, with Hugo Keenan’s hoped-for comeback having stalled and Mack Hansen not around when it comes to full-back.

Then there is who to go with at 10, sticking with Sam Prendergast or going for the currently steadier-looking Harry Byrne with Jack Crowley somewhere in the mix.

Meanwhile, centre Bundee Aki is banned for the first three games.

There is yet more to trouble Farrell. Ireland have struggled to shake off their longer-standing issues at lineouts. Then there is the decline in discipline and the continuing concern at the lack of back-up for Josh van der Flier.

Farrell’s squad have arguably been stagnating for some time, with gradual signs of inconsistency showing themselves more often.

It hasn’t been helped by the fact that bulk suppliers Leinster don’t seem to be quite what they were, and the knock-on effect looks bound to be felt by Farrell, who is facing a horrible-looking opener in Paris and then England away in round three.

The background noise that this squad peaked some time ago doesn’t mean that Ireland are without hope, it’s just that it feels that they have vacated their seat at the top table now occupied by only France and England.

By Marcello Cossali-Francis

Italian rugby is at its peak. On the back of a strong autumn campaign in which they beat Australia (again) and pushed back-to-back world champions South Africa to their limits, Gonazalo Quesada’s men will be targeting yet more scalps in this year’s Six Nations.

The Argentinian has a young but hungry squad at his disposal, fuelled by stars plying their trade in the French Top 14 and England’s Prem. The recent big-money moves for Tommaso Menoncello and Nacho Brex are further evidence of the growing reputation of Italian names across Europe, while the likes of Stephen Varney and potential debutant Edoardo Todardo have enjoyed brilliant seasons for Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints respectively.

However, it is a squad that has already been hampered by injury. First team shoe-ins Ange Capuozzo, Seb Negri and Ross Vintcent have all been left out of the 33-man squad, with Tommaso Allan, Gianmaco Lucchesi and, more recently, Marco Riccioni also ruled out.

Despite the injuries, morale is high in the camp. Italy begin their campaign at home to Scotland in a game that will most likely shape their tournament.

Win here, who knows where they could finish. Tougher trips follow but the days of zero belief when playing France and Ireland are over.

There is now an expectation that Italy, at the very least, are competitive. Italy were unplayable at points in the 2025 championship; running rings around the English defence in the first half at Twickenham and against Ireland in the final quarter in Rome. Yet this is often followed by spells of ill-discipline where points are leaked.

This Italian side have no ceiling, but consistency remains the challenge. A third-placed finish is not out of the question and quietly, that will be the goal.

By Graeme Macpherson

If Scotland have found themselves burdened by the weight of expectation ahead of previous Six Nations championships, then it is not something they will need to worry about unduly this time.

Only the most fervent of tartan-clad supporters will view Gregor Townsend’s squad as possible contenders, a stance hardened by a hugely disappointing autumn international series and years of bitter experience.

This is Townsend’s ninth Six Nations campaign as head coach and neither he nor his players look any closer to conjuring up an elusive first title. Townsend insisted in October that Scotland were in the “best position we’ve been in” since he took charge in 2017, only for his players to make him look foolish a few weeks later by throwing away a 21-0 lead at home to Argentina.

Such was the shock at that tame capitulation that even the usually reserved Murrayfield crowd were moved to boo the players from the field. Patience and goodwill had already been eroded by the news that Townsend had taken on a second job as an advisor for Red Bull, a development that has not gone down well with supporters.

Most infuriating, though, is the fact that this is a Scotland squad that should be good enough to compete. Twenty of them have been selected from the Glasgow Warriors side cutting a swathe through the Champions Cup, bolstered by the irrepressible Finn Russell at fly-half and Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn at full-back.

Unlike last year’s Six Nations when injury deprived Townsend of his captain Sione Tuipulotu, his key players are available. It is hard, though, to envisage anything better than another mid-table struggle for Scotland who could well find themselves drawn into a scrap to avoid the wooden spoon.

By Andrew Baldock

The fact that Wales are favourites for a third successive Six Nations wooden spoon and 100-1 title no-hopers says everything about a country struggling on the pitch and engulfed by turmoil off it.

Since securing a sixth championship crown in 2021 – only England and France have won more Six Nations titles – their tournament record is abysmal, with just two victories, and none at all for almost three years. And if new head coach Steve Tandy did not have enough on his plate trying to slow a demise of runaway rollercoaster proportions – it is 21 defeats from the last 23 Tests against all opponents – he has been hit by another full-blown Welsh rugby crisis.

The Ospreys, Welsh rugby’s most successful team, face a fight for survival, with the Welsh Rugby Union aiming to reduce its professional sides from four to three.

History shows that Wales often perform best when backs are against the wall, but an away opener against England followed by France at home will test that theory like never before.

Wales supporters will be encouraged by Louis Rees-Zammit’s Six Nations return, potentially at full-back, Dan Edwards set for opportunities to continue his fly-half development and a sometimes underrated pack given added streetwise presence by experienced prop Tomas Francis.

Home wins against Scotland and Italy as an overall return would at least partially lift some of the gloom, even it that represents a tall order for Tandy’s squad in the current climate.

Many Welsh fans are already voting with their feet. All three Cardiff clashes - France, Scotland and Italy - have varying numbers of tickets left, which is perhaps the biggest statement of all to sum up voter apathy.

Photograph by Steve Bardens/The RFU Collection/Getty Images