The Six Nations returned on Feb. 5 with familiar rivalries, fresh storylines and the promise of another epic tournament.
France entered the new campaign as defending champions after reclaiming the title in 2025, but England and Ireland will both believe they have the firepower to mount a serious challenge. And don't count out Scotland, Italy, or a rebounding Wales, either.
From a Thursday-night opener in Paris to a potentially dramatic Saturday finale, the 2026 schedule is once again stacked with marquee clashes in iconic stadiums.
ESPN is on hand to guide you through it all.
- Read ESPN's Six Nations power rankings
Six Nations 2026 schedule, results
All times in GMT
ROUND ONE
Thursday, Feb 5
Saturday, Feb. 7
ROUND TWO
Saturday, Feb. 14
Ireland vs. Italy: Dublin, 2.10 p.m. -- ITV
Scotland vs. England: Edinburgh, 4.40 p.m. -- ITV
Sunday, Feb. 15
Wales vs. France: Cardiff, 3.10 p.m. -- BBC
ROUND THREE
Saturday, Feb. 21
England vs. Ireland: Twickenham, 2.10 p.m. -- ITV
Wales vs. Scotland: Cardiff, 4.40 p.m. -- BBC
Sunday, Feb. 22
France vs Italy: Paris, 3.10 p.m. -- ITV
ROUND FOUR
Friday, March 6
Ireland vs. Wales: Dublin, 8.10 p.m. -- ITV
Saturday, March 7
Scotland vs. France: Edinburgh, 2.10 p.m. -- BBC
Italy vs. England: Rome, 4.40 p.m. -- ITV
ROUND FIVE
Saturday, March 14
Ireland vs. Scotland: Dublin, 2.10 p.m. -- ITV
Wales vs. Italy: Cardiff, 4.40 p.m. -- BBC
France vs England: Paris, 8.40 p.m. -- ITV
Six Nations table
France are looking to defend their crown this year.
How to watch and follow the games
The tournament is being broadcast free-to-air across the BBC and ITV.
ITV will show 10 fixtures -- including all of England's games -- while the BBC have five games in 2026.
You can also watch on TV or online via BBC iPlayer or ITVX.
For those keen to follow the Six Nations from Australia and New Zealand, the tournament will be broadcast on Stan Sport and Sky Sport respectively.
ESPN will also be across all of the action.
Who has made the Six Nations squads?
The initial Six Nations squads for the first round of matches are being confirmed this week.
England
Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Arthur Clark, Alex Coles, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Trevor Davison, Ben Earl, Greg Fisilau , Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje (captain), Emmanuel Iyogun, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Bevan Rodd, Vilikesa Sela, Sam Underhill
Backs: Henry Arundell, Seb Atkinson, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Max Ojomoh, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward, Jack van Poortvliet
France
Forwards: Dorian Aldegheri, Hugo Auradou, Cyril Baille, Georges-Henri Colombe, François Cros, Alexandre Fischer, Thibaud Flament, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mickaël Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch, Maxime Lamothe, Julien Marchand, Temo Matiu, Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Régis Montagne, Rodrigue Neti, Lenni Nouchi, Charles Ollivon, Dany Priso, Alexandre Roumat, Thomas Staniforth, Tevita Tatafu, Cameron Woki
Backs: Grégoire Arfeuil, Théo Attissogbe, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Romain Buros, Thibault Daubagna, Nicolas Depoortere, Gaël Dréan, Antoine Dupont, Kalvin Gourgues, Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Matthieu Jalibert, Yoram Moefana, Noah Nene, Thomas Ramos, Baptiste Serin, Ugo Seunes
Ireland
Forwards: Tom Ahern (Munster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Jack Boyle (Leinster), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster, captain), Edwin Edogbo (Munster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Jeremy Loughman (Munster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Michael Milne (Munster), Tom O'Toole (Ulster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), James Ryan (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ulster), Nick Timoney (Ulster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Robert Baloucoune (Ulster), Harry Byrne (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster), Nathan Doak (Ulster), Tom Farrell (Munster), Ciaran Frawley (Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Hugo Keenan (Leinster), James Lowe (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Tommy O'Brien (Leinster), Jamie Osborne (Leinster), Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster)
Italy
Forwards: Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolo Cannone, Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Pablo Dimicheff, Riccardo Favretto, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro (captain), Samuele Locatelli, Giacomo Nicotera, David Odiase, Marco Riccioni, Federico Ruzza, Mirco Spagnolo, Andrea Zambonin, Manuel Zuliani
Backs: Juan Ignacio Brex, Giacomo da Re, Alessandro Fusco, Matt Gallagher, Paolo Garbisi, Monty Ioane, Louis Lynagh, Leonardo Marin, Damiano Mazza, Tommaso Menoncello, Paolo Odogwu, Martin Page-Relo, Lorenzo Pani, Edoardo Todaro, Stephen Varney
Scotland
Forwards: E Ashman (Edinburgh), J Bayliss (Bath), M Bradbury (Edinburgh), G Brown (Glasgow), D Cherry (Vannes), S Cummings (Glasgow), A Craig (Glasgow), R Darge (Glasgow), J Dempsey (Glasgow), F Douglas (Edinburgh), M Fagerson (Glasgow), Z Fagerson (Glasgow), G Gilchrist (Edinburgh), J Gray (Bordeaux Bègles), N McBeth (Glasgow), L McConnell (Edinburgh), E Millar Mills (Northampton), D Rae (Edinburgh), J Ritchie (Perpignan), P Schoeman (Edinburgh), R Sutherland (Glasgow), G Turner (Harlequins), M Williamson (Glasgow)
Backs: F Burke (Saracens), J Dobie (Glasgow), D Graham (Edinburgh), A Hastings (Glasgow), G Horne ( Glasgow), R Hutchinson (Northampton), H Jones (Glasgow), T Jordan (Bristol), B Kinghorn (Toulouse), S McDowall (Glasgow), F Russell (Bath), K Rowe (Glasgow), O Smith (Glasgow), K Steyn (Glasgow), S Tuipulotu (Glasgow, capt.), D Van der Merwe (Edinburgh), B White (Toulon)
Wales
Forwards: K Assiratti (Cardiff), A Beard (Montpellier), L Belcher (Cardiff), J Botham (Cardiff), R Carre (Saracens), B Carter (Dragons), O Cracknell (Leicester), H Deaves (Ospreys), R Elias (Scarlets), T Francis (Provence), A Griffin (Bath), D Jenkins (Exeter), D Lake (Ospreys, capt.), A Mann (Cardiff), J Macleod (Scarlets), T Plumtree (Scarlets), N Smith (Leicester), G Thomas (Ospreys), F Thomas (Gloucester), A Wainwright (Dragons)
Backs: J Adams (Cardiff), S Costelow (Scarlets), D Edwards (Ospreys), J Evans (Harlequins), M Grady (Cardiff), K Hardy (Ospreys), G Hamer-Webb (Leicester), J Hawkins (Scarlets), L Hennessey (Bath), E James (Scarlets) E Mee (Scarlets), R Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), B Murray (Scarlets), L Rees-Zammit (Bristol), T Rogers (Scarlets), B Thomas (Cardiff), O Watkin (Ospreys), T Williams (Gloucester)
What happened in 2025?
France claimed their first title since 2022 last year -- despite a defeat to England in round two. A 42-27 thrashing of Ireland helped clinched their crown, with Louis Bielle-Biarrey creating Six Nations history by scoring eight tries over the tournament.
Before the France defeat, Ireland previously looked like contenders having claimed the Triple Crown with wins over England, Scotland and Wales, but had to settle for third place after being leapfrogged by England.
The shoots of recovery we are now seeing with Steve Borthwick's England were clear as they won all their games -- including a 68-14 romp over Wales -- after the opening-round defeat.
Scotland's only two victories came against Italy and Wales, while Italy were fifth having beaten Wales in Rome.
Wales, for the second year running, had to settle for the wooden spoon. Five games, five defeats.
Who are the star players to look out for?
France: Antoine Dupont
After rupturing his ACL in the penultimate game of last year's campaign against Ireland, Dupont made his quicker-than-expected return for club side Toulouse in November. The world's best scrum-half (and arguably player) hasn't looked back since and should be raring to go for Les Bleus as they bid to win back-to-back titles.
England: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
England's star winger, he broke back into the team in the November internationals and looked sharp after recovering from a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old will hope to step things up and cement his spots as one of the most dangerous wingers in the game this year.
Ireland: Dan Sheehan
Whether starting or coming off the bench, Sheehan is one to keep an eye on. A big, powerful hooker, Sheehan is an enforcer and plays the game beautifully, albeit in a brutal kind of way. With Ireland going through a period of transition, Sheehan is now also a senior figure who others will to when they're under pressure.
Scotland: Jamie Dobie
Dobie's form in the URC for Glasgow is making him hard to ignore and he'll be putting pressure on both the wing and scrum-half spots for Scotland. A versatile player, the 24-year-old already has 17 caps going into this year's tournament and will want to stamp his mark on this side more in 2026.
Wales: Louis Rees-Zammit
Now settling back into life in rugby following his NFL stint, there will be plenty of eyes on Rees-Zammit this year as he makes his Six Nations return. Don't expect him to turn Welsh fortunes around on his own, but his comeback will breathe some much-needed life back into the game across the country.
Italy: Paolo Garbisi
If Italy are to have success this year, they need Garbisi to be at his best and orchestrating games. Now 25-years-old, Garbisi is getting to the stage in his career where he has some experience behind him (49 caps) and should be looking to dominate matches. There's no doubt in his ability, and while he is a target for opposition sides, he can definitely be a shining light for Italy this year.
What are the different iterations of the Six Nations?
Six Nations (2000-present)
Five Nations (1947-1999)
Home Nations (1932-1939)
Five Nations (1910-1931)
Home Nations (1883-1909)
Which nation has won the most championships?
England: 29 outright championships (10 shared championships)
Wales: 28 outright championships (11 shared championships)
France: 19 outright championships (eight shared championships)
Ireland: 16 outright championships (nine shared championships)
Scotland: 15 outright championships (nine shared championships)
Italy: no championships (joined in 2000)
Six Nations winners (since 2000)
England and France are tied with seven Six Nations titles -- although France and Wales have the most Grand Slams (winning every game), with four each.
2025: France
2024: Ireland
2023: Ireland (grand slam)
2022: France (grand slam)
2021: Wales
2020: England
2019: Wales (grand slam)
2018: Ireland (grand slam)
2017: England
2016: England (grand slam)
2015: Ireland
2014: Ireland
2013: Wales
2012: Wales (grand slam)
2011: England
2010: France (grand slam)
2009: Ireland (grand slam)
2008: Wales (grand slam)
2007: France
2006: France
2005: Wales (grand slam)
2004: France (grand slam)
2003: England (grand slam)
2002: France (grand slam)
2001: England
2000: England