As the new year begins, France’s leagues start the second half of their season and the national sides prepare for Six Nations campaigns. Here is what to look out for in 2026.
France begin the defence of their Six Nations title on February 5 at home to Ireland — a Thursday-night fixture, so as not to clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. They then face Wales in Cardiff, Italy in Lille, Scotland at Murrayfield and finish by hosting England in Paris on March 14.
Results since last season’s championship have been subpar. A squad lacking most of the Toulouse and Bordeaux Bègles players lost 3-0 in New Zealand, albeit they came close to winning the opener, and the full-strength team lost to South Africa (mostly with 14 men) before beating Fiji and Australia in the autumn. There is a funk to break out of.
Can France get the best out of both Dupont and Jalibert?
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I say full strength, but of course Antoine Dupont had not yet returned from his long-term knee injury. The scrum half is more pivotal to France than to Toulouse. He elevates all around him: the forwards in front, and Romain Ntamack as his wingman.
Who exactly is around him is unclear. Matthieu Jalibert has continued to be Europe’s most thrilling fly half, but Dupont’s familiarity with Ntamack has made them France’s most repeated half-back pairing, even though they have hardly been seen together for three seasons in Test rugby. Is it possible to combine Dupont and Jalibert to the sum of their parts?
Elsewhere, there is uncertainty over the first-choice props, Grégory Alldritt oscillated between captaincy and being dropped during the autumn at No8, and a midfield pairing must discover cohesion. Gaël Fickou continues to plug away, but Nicolas Depoortère, the returning Yoram Moefana and Kalvin Gourgues, the 20-year-old Toulousain, are all in the mix.
After the Six Nations, who knows how France will approach the summer portion of the new Nations Championship? They have been drawn to play in New Zealand the weekend after the Top 14 final, like in 2025, casting further doubt over who will be available. After that they face Australia and Japan.
Four in a row for Toulouse?
Toulouse won the Bouclier de Brennus last season without Dupont, so his extraterrestrial performances since returning have only added to the likelihood of the aristocrats making it four Top 14 titles in a row. It is a feat only they have achieved before, between 1994 and 1997. They have worn the Jaminet affair — a two-point deduction for the circumstances around the transfer of Melvyn Jaminet from Perpignan in 2022 — and will again be looking for the double (even if defeat by Glasgow Warriors was a huge shock).
Arfeuil is one of a number of exciting young backs in the Pau squad
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Their main rivals thus far are Pau. La Section have been national champions three times in total, most recently in 1964, but find themselves second in the table. In Grégoire Arfeuil, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Clément Mondinat, Théo Attissogbe (absent since September) and Émilien Gailleton, all 22 or younger, they have some of the best young backs in the country.
Bordeaux, losers of the past two Top 14 finals, are fifth in the standings but remain in contention. They are also defending their European crown and may go full La Rochelle: continental champions before they have ever been national champions, and twice in a row at that. Most teams in the league retain play-off aspirations, because Clermont Auvergne (11th) are only three points behind Stade Français (fourth).
Montauban and Perpignan were quickly cut adrift at the bottom and have no hope of climbing above 13th, to such an extent that there has been talk of a Top 12 (good for international freshness, bad for revenue in the league). The Catalans won their first league match of the season on December 20 and are two points behind Perpignan, boosting their chances of avoiding automatic relegation as the bottom side and contesting a play-off against the Pro D2 runners-up — a match they have won three times in the past four seasons.
Who are the heirs to Montauban?
Montauban’s struggles are no surprise seeing as they were far from the best team in the second tier last season. They snuck into the play-offs and won all three games to secure a shock promotion. With Brive and Grenoble, last season’s giants who have endured coaching upheaval, down in ninth and tenth, you cannot rule anyone out of Pro D2.
Montauban have found life tough in the Top 14 after being promoted from Pro D2, losing 61-16 to Racing 92 last week
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Vannes are set up best for promotion, having experienced the Top 14 for the first time in 2024-25, and are top of Pro D2. They have won every home match at Stade de La Rabine, and sold out Roazhon Park in Rennes for the win over Grenoble.
As Grenoble have proven with their series of play-off heartbreaks, promotion has to be earned the hard way, and there are a variety of teams still in the mix: Colomiers, a suburb of Toulouse, have been outside the top flight since 2004; for Valence Romans it would be new territory since the merger of 2016, and Provence Rugby and Nevers are also seeking new territory.
At the other end, a points deduction has landed Dax towards the bottom, level on points with Carcassonne. Béziers and Biarritz are not safe either. Albi — a Top 14 side in 2009-10, in a city rediscovering its rugby mojo — and Narbonne are leading the way in Nationale for two places in Pro D2.
A blue thorn for Red Roses
Can France trouble the Red Roses’ hegemony of women’s rugby? England have won 33 Tests in a row and are World Cup champions, beating France 35-17 in the semi-final, and have not lost the Six Nations since 2018.
England beat France to claim the Women’s Six Nations title once again
THE TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND
France have not kicked on in recent years, but they approach the campaign with a new head coach in François Ratier, promoted from Stade Bordelais and a former Canada Women head coach, with the aim of winning the 2029 World Cup in Australia. All eyes inevitably turn to the final round of the Six Nations: the usual grand-slam decider, in France, on May 17.
And rugby à treize?
There are two French clubs in Super League once more. Toulouse Olympique, playing out of Stade Ernest-Wallon like the union side, have returned to the top flight for the first time since 2022 following the expansion of the league to 14 teams. They open their season on February 14 away to Wakefield Trinity, and will face Catalans Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus on April 4.