It’s time for the greatest rugby nations in the Northern Hemisphere to collide once more, as the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend.
A monster collision between reigning champions Ireland and England is Saturday’s centrepiece, following the opening round tie between Scotland and Italy at Murrayfield.
And it begins under the Friday night lights in Paris, when France mount their bid to go one better than last year with their opening fixture against 2024 wooden spoon holders Wales.
France vs Wales – Friday 31 January
It doesn’t get much better than the Stade de France on a Friday night, as the 2025 Guinness Six Nations kicks off with the clash between the French and Wales.
The opening match of this year’s edition of the tournament pits the hosts, looking to go one better than last year’s second-placed finish behind Ireland, against a visiting side that lost five from five in a miserable campaign.
And Les Bleus have the added bonus of captain fantastic’s return, as Antoine Dupont makes his competition comeback having sat out in 2024 to tune up for winning gold with the French rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympics.
So the Stade de France carries even more special memories, then, which could spell yet more trouble for veteran Welsh coach Warren Gatland and his charges.
Last year’s reverse fixture at the Principality Stadium proves ominous, too, with France running away with a 45-24 victory in Cardiff.
Dupont leads his side in the number nine jersey and is joined in the half backs by the familiar figure of Romain Ntamack.
Damian Penaud and Gael Fickou are among those unavailable to coach Fabien Galthie, however, replaced by Theo Attissogbe and Pierre-Louis Barassi respectively for the opening night.
Gatland’s unlikely mission to avoid a 13th Test rugby defeat in a row begins with Jac Morgan named as his captain.
Josh Adams and Liam Williams bring much-needed experience to the visitors’ run-on side.
But there’s plenty at the other end of a daunting spectrum, as Evan Lloyd and Henry Thomas make their debuts in the front row, while Tom Rogers, Freddie Thomas, Blair Murray and Dan Edwards are all set to feature for the first time.
France Starting XV: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Alexandre Roumant, 3Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka,1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Hugo Auradou,20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Emilien Gailleton.
Wales Starting XV: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Ben Thomas, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Blair Murray.
Scotland vs Italy – Saturday 1 February
The 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship continues its opening weekend with a battle between two nations with a point to prove, as Scotland host Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Round one is the perfect chance to lay down a marker as the Italians eye an upset, while the hosts launch their latest attempt to shrug off the ‘nearly-men’ tag following a frustrating 2024 campaign.
Gregor Townsend’s side yet again chalked up a famous victory over England, while also pushing leading duo Ireland and France all the way.
But they slumped to a damaging defeat to the Azzurri and only just squeaked past a callow Wales that scooped up the wooden spoon, leaving plenty of head scratching to do in the far north of the United Kingdom.
The Italians are on the rise, albeit from a distinctly humble base, with that Scottish success doubled up by an emotional win over the Welsh in Cardiff to haul themselves off the Six Nations canvas a quarter of a century after joining the competition.
The Azzurri’s growing reputation now means the pressure is on, though, with games such as these becoming targets for more sustained success.
Scotland have dug deep to pluck the lesser-spotted Dave Cherry and Jonny Grey from the international wilderness.
Neither has donned a blue jersey in over two years, but return to a team co-captained by Rory Darge and the mercurial Finn Russell.
Gonzalo Quesada has a team at his disposal stacked with experience for the trip to Edinburgh.
Tommaso Allan directs the traffic from full back, with Paolo Garbisi starting at fly half under the charge of captain Michele Lamaro.
Scotland Starting XV: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (co-captain), 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (co-captain), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe.
Italy Starting XV: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Matin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Niccolo Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Simone Gesi.
Ireland vs England – Saturday 1 February
What a contest we have to polish off the opening round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship on Saturday, as Ireland and England collide in Dublin for a classic contest.
It’s a fixture that sees the reigning champions face off against the Red Rose, for whom the expectations are never anything less than sky high.
But they’ve taken a buffeting in recent years, despite a run to the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-finals where they were cruelly edged out by South Africa’s all-conquering Springboks.
The Irish would kill to go that far in the global showpiece that remains their nemesis.
But they’ve battled it out with the Boks at the top of the World Rugby rankings for several years now, with back-to-back Six Nations titles and the Grand Slam in 2023 to boot.
They must make do this time around without coach Andy Farrell, who takes his leave to focus on the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, with trusty Simon Easterby taking the Englishman’s place.
He hands a tournament debut to young fly half Sam Prendergast, while Garry Ringrose gets the nod in the midfield ahead of Robbie Henshaw alongside Bundee Aki.
The injury absence of Tadhg Furlong from the front row means a start for Finlay Bealham with Andrew Porter, either side of hooker Ronan Kelleher as Dan Sheehan edges his way back as far as the bench.
It’s a momentous day for Maro Itoje, who will lead out the English as captain for the first time after being promoted by coach Steve Borthwick.
And there’s twin trouble for the Irish on the flanks, as brothers Tom and Ben Curry start together for the first time, while Cadan Murley makes his debut on the wing.
Ireland Starting XV: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley , 23 Robbie Henshaw.
England Starting XV: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith.
| Team 1 | Win % 1 | Win % 2 | Team 2 | Predicted margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 92.4% | 7.6% | Wales | 21 |
| Scotland | 92.8% | 7.2% | Italy | 21 |
| Ireland | 82.7% | 17.3% | England |