Former Ireland loose forward Alan Quinlan is backing England to be crowned Six Nations champions this year and believes their encounter against France will be a Grand Slam decider.
The Red Rose will go into 2026’s Championship in a confident mood as they finished last year’s international campaign occupying third position in World Rugby’s official rankings list, behind the Springboks and All Blacks.
This, after England won 11 out of their 12 Tests played in 2025 with their only defeat registered against Ireland in their Six Nations opener in Dublin last year.
England in fine form ahead of the Six Nations
They then went on an 11-match winning streak which means they finished the year with the best win ratio (92%) of all the Tier One Test nations, while the world champion Boks were next best after winning 86% of their matches.
France, who are the Six Nations’ defending champions, are set to take on England in the final game of this year’s Championship in Paris on Saturday, March 14.
Despite Les Bleus having home ground advantage, Quinlan feels the Red Rose can beat their hosts and, in doing so, win the Six Nations for the first time since 2020 and their first Championship Grand Slam since 2016.
“I think England can win a Grand Slam. When I went through all the fixtures – I do this every year with the Six Nations – I mapped out who is going to win which games,” he told BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Six Nations odds.
“Obviously, the way the Six Nations is set with France vs England being the last game on the last day, I think it’s set up to be a Grand Slam decider.”
Quinlan, who made 27 Test appearances for Ireland between 1999 and 2008, believes France will not be easy to beat especially with their talismanic captain Antoine Dupont set to return to international action after recovering from a serious knee injury sustained against Ireland in Dublin last year.
However, with Quinlan expecting England to extend their winning streak to 15 successive Tests by the time they meet France, he feels Steve Borthwick’s troops are on the right track and will have too much firepower for their hosts.
“I just think England are the form team. France and England are the two favourites for the Six Nations, and rightly so. Just at a higher level,” he said.
“For France, having Dupont back makes a huge difference. But for England, particularly what they did in November against New Zealand… After starting the game slowly, they were utterly dominant physically.
‘They seem to have a really good balance’
“The set-piece was really powerful. They seem to have a really good balance.
“Are they playing the most attractive rugby? Probably not, but they have power, a real abrasiveness, and a lot of athletic, powerful players who are playing at a very high level.
“Then you have Northampton, Bath, and Saracens – a lot of the English players come from those three clubs and are playing at a consistent, dominant level.”
Quinlan also pointed to the Six Nations draw which he thinks will work in the Red Rose’s favour.
“It bodes well for England. They start at home to Wales. I see them getting to round five with four wins,” said the 51-year-old.
“You never know, the Six Nations has a life of its own, but for England, the comfort of having a home game at the start helps.
“Then they go to Murrayfield, where they haven’t had a good record in recent years, but it’s very obvious that they’re at a higher level than they have been for the last number of years.”
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