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.<\/p>\n
The Red Rose will go into 2026\u2019s Championship in a confident mood as they finished last year\u2019s international campaign occupying third position in World Rugby\u2019s official rankings list, behind the Springboks and All Blacks.<\/p>\n
This, after England<\/a> won 11 out of their 12 Tests played in 2025 with their only defeat registered against Ireland in their Six Nations<\/a> opener in Dublin last year.<\/p>\n England in fine form ahead of the Six Nations<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n France<\/a>, who are the Six Nations\u2019 defending champions, are set to take on England in the final game of this year\u2019s Championship in Paris on Saturday, March 14.<\/p>\n Despite Les Bleus having home ground advantage, Quinlan<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI think England can win a Grand Slam. When I went through all the fixtures \u2013 I do this every year with the Six Nations \u2013 I mapped out who is going to win which games,\u201d he told BOYLE Sports<\/a>, who offer the latest Six Nations odds.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the way the Six Nations is set with France vs England being the last game on the last day, I think it\u2019s set up to be a Grand Slam decider.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n However, with Quinlan expecting England to extend their winning streak to 15 successive Tests by the time they meet France, he feels Steve Borthwick\u2019s troops are on the right track and will have too much firepower for their hosts.<\/p>\n Ex-Ireland star issues warning to \u2018maverick\u2019 Henry Pollock and hails the \u2018catalyst for England\u2019s success\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor France, having Dupont back makes a huge difference. But for England, particularly what they did in November against New Zealand\u2026 After starting the game slowly, they were utterly dominant physically.<\/p>\n \u2018They seem to have a really good balance\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe set-piece was really powerful. They seem to have a really good balance.<\/p>\n \u201cAre 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThen you have Northampton, Bath, and Saracens \u2013 a lot of the English players come from those three clubs and are playing at a consistent, dominant level.\u201d<\/p>\n Quinlan also pointed to the Six Nations draw which he thinks will work in the Red Rose\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n \u201cIt bodes well for England. They start at home to Wales. I see them getting to round five with four wins,\u201d said the 51-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cYou 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThen they go to Murrayfield, where they haven\u2019t had a good record in recent years, but it\u2019s very obvious that they\u2019re at a higher level than they have been for the last number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n