Some big changes have been made to the championship this year

France kicked off last year’s tournament against Wales on a Friday night(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

The 2026 Six Nations is nearly upon us, with just one week to go until the tournament gets underway.

Title holders France will kick off the championship as they host Ireland in an exciting opening week showdown in Paris. Not only is it a mouthwatering curtain-raiser between two of the world’s best teams, the match will also make Six Nations history as the first ever fixture to be played on a Thursday, with tournament organisers breaking from tradition this year.

Matches have historically taken place on Saturday and Sunday, while Friday night matches were introduced in 2009. However, only France and Wales have hosted Friday night fixtures since their introduction, with no games ever played earlier in the week – until now.

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The decision to change the tournament scheduling has been made to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which is being held at the San Siro in Milan on Friday evening.

With broadcasters keen to avoid splitting the audience, France and Ireland will take to the field on Thursday night in a first for the Six Nations.

It is not the only change to this year’s tournament, with the length of the competition cut by a week in a move that has sparked concerns about player welfare.

While there has traditionally been two fallow weeks, one has now been removed due to the inaugural Nations Championship, which kicks off later this year. The new tournament will feature four rounds of fixtures in the autumn, but the traditional Test window only accounts for three, meaning the Six Nations has been shortened by a week.

As a result, there will be three consecutive weeks of fixtures in February, with teams given a week off before two back-to-back weekends of matches to conclude the championship.

Wales will also play a Friday night match in Dublin for the first time when they face Ireland on March 6. Andy Farrell’s side hosted Friday fixtures at the Aviva Stadium when they faced New Zealand and Argentina in the autumn, but this will be the first time they have done so in the Six Nations.

The full fixture details can be found below, with all kick-off times GMT.

Six Nations 2026 fixtures in full

Round 1

France v Ireland – Thursday 5 February – 8.10pm.

Italy v Scotland – Saturday 7 February – 2.10pm.

England v Wales – Saturday 7 February – 4.40pm.

Round 2

Ireland v Italy – Saturday 14 February – 2.10pm.

Scotland v England – Saturday 14 February – 4.40pm.

Wales v France – Sunday 15 February – 3.10pm.

Round 3

England v Ireland – Saturday 21 February – 2.10pm.

Wales v Scotland – Saturday 21 February – 4.40pm.

France v Italy – Sunday 22 February – 3.10pm.

Round 4

Ireland v Wales – Friday 6 March – 8.10pm.

Scotland v France – Saturday 7 March – 2.10pm.

Italy v England – Saturday 7 March – 4.40pm.

Round 5

Ireland v Scotland – Saturday 14 March – 2.10pm.

Wales v Italy – Saturday 14 March – 4.40pm.

France v England – Saturday 14 March – 8.10pm.

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