Six Nations Game Week One rugby tips and predictions – Copybet
The 2026 Six Nations kicks off on Thursday evening as France host Ireland in a meeting between the countries that have shared the last four titles.
That fixture is the first of 15 played over five rounds of action. Here are our expert's best tips and predictions for the upcoming games in Paris, Rome and Twickenham.
France vs Ireland
France (2022 and 2025) and Ireland (2023 and 2024) have shared the last four Six Nations titles but appear to be heading in different directions.
Both lost in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and Ireland looked to have recovered better when they beat France 38-17 in the 2024 tournament opener.
However, the Irish have since struggled to gain momentum, with injury and age catching up with some of their key players.
They have again selected Sam Prendergast to run the team from fly-half, while opposite Matthieu Jalibert starts at number 10 for France.
However, it is the player inside Jalibert, Antoine Dupont, who is attracting most of the attention, as this is the scrum-half's first international appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in his country's 42-27 victory in Dublin in March last year.
Dupont has scored tries on both previous occasions he has faced Ireland at the Stade De France and his gradual improvement since returning from injury suggests he could star on opening night.
Italy vs Scotland
Scotland and Italy met in the opening round of the 2025 Six Nations, the Scots running out 31-19 winners at Murrayfield.
Centre Huw Jones scored a hat-trick and is expected to feature for the Scots after recovering from the injury that ruled him out of the autumn internationals.
Jones is part of a Glasgow side that has impressed this season and should form the backbone of a Scotland team that look set to be tested in Rome.
They lost 31-29 at the Stadio Olimpico in 2024 and the last five meetings have been decided by between two and 12 points.
Scotland have won four of those but Italy are improving all the time. However, the Scots' starting XV is laced with quality and they should be able to overcome their awkward opening fixture.
England vs Wales
England's 68-14 win last year in Cardiff was victory number four in their current run of 11 on the bounce.
They will expect to make a winning start against a Welsh side whose only triumphs since the 2023 Rugby World Cup have come against Japan.
The Welsh showed some attacking improvement under new boss Steve Tandy in the autumn, but they struggled in defence after conceding 52 points to New Zealand and 73 without reply against South Africa in November.
England have been slow starters in this tournament but are playing with greater confidence than before.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has also picked an extremely attacking team and although a repeat of last year's 54-point victory feels unlikely, they should still have way too much for their opponents at Twickenham.