STAR RUGBY PREVIEW: Six Nations 2025

It’s Christmas for every rugby fan in Europe, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

The Six Nations begins tonight as France host Wales, kickstarting five weeks of the best rugby the continent has to offer. With Europe’s top sides arguably closer than ever, there’s something for everyone to look forward to ahead of this year’s tournament – if these teams put their best foot forward.

Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship 2025
Friday 31st January – Saturday 15th March
Live on BBC & ITV in UK, S4C in Wales, RTE in Ireland, and France Sport TV in France

Past Six Nations Winners
2024: Ireland
2023: Ireland (Grand Slam winners)
2022: France
2021: Wales
2020: England
2019: Wales (Grand Slam winners)
2018: Ireland (Grand Slam winners)
2017: England
2016: England (Grand Slam winners)
2015: Ireland

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🇫🇷 France – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: Favourites last year, but were taken apart by Ireland, when hampered by Paul Willemse’s sending off at the half-hour mark (and an early yellow for the same man) for all that they were second best. Fluked victory at Murrayfield thanks to a dire TMO mix up and should have lost to Italy at home if not for Paolo Garbisi’s injury-time penalty hitting the post. Were better than Wales in Cardiff and got the better of England in a helter-skelter ending to a disappointing championship.

Have been transformed since, winning 2/3 summer games with a young side and then sweeping their autumn fixtures, including a nail-biting win against New Zealand, when looking much more like the side that had risen to the top of world rugby over the past two years.

Prospects: The signs for this year’s championship are very bright. Les Bleus have outstanding strength in depth for all positions but the return of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntmack at half-back is arguably the biggest boost any side will have during the whole championship. The pair have been outstanding for a Toulouse side that went unbeaten through their Champions Cup pool, finishing off with an 80-12 thumping of a Leicester side that are sitting fourth in the Premiership table.

Toulouse – who are joint top in France along with Bordeaux-Begles – provide eight of the starting fifteen against Wales, including the brilliant fullback Tomas Ramos, in form centre Pierre-Louis Barassi, uber-mobile hooker Peato Mauvaka, and other heavy hitters François Cros, Emmanuel Meafou, and Alexandre Roumat.

A toe injury robs us of seeing the flying Damien Penaud but Louis Bielle-Biarrey will fancy stepping up in his absence and Les Bleus can count on a core of Europe’s most in form sides to spearhead their title charge.

The complication for them is a brutal fixture list: They have to travel to Dublin and Twickenham and will need a victory from at least one, whilst the higher level of the championship means that Italy will test them in Rome at week three – but if they are able to hit their best form then they are capable of winning anywhere.

Fixtures:
Friday, January 31 v Wales (Stade de France, Paris)
Saturday, February 8 v England (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Sunday, February 23 v Italy (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Saturday, March 8 v Ireland (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Saturday, March 15 v Scotland (Stade de France, Paris)

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🇮🇪 Ireland – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: Started with a bang against France and didn’t look back when smashing Italy and Wales over the next two gameweeks, before a last gasp drop-goal from Marcus Smith meant England stopped their Grand Slam hopes with ferocious aggression and a tenacious defensive effort, although they took a deserved title with a tight victory against Scotland.

A hard-fought and hugely creditable 1-1 draw in South Africa followed over the summer, and they did win three of their four Autumn internationals, they underwhelmed against Argentina and Australia sides (albeit with plenty of changes made for the men in green) who were expected to be well dispatched and were very much second best to New Zealand in their opener.

Prospects: There are hopes that they will hit their best form this year, although they will have to do it without Andy Farrell, who has taken a sabbatical to focus on the Lions, with Simon Easterby taking over.

Continuity is Ireland’s strength – Easterby has worked with the side for years, and 11 of Ireland’s starting fifteen, a well-known and rounded unit, come from a Leinster side at the top of the URC and also unbeaten in the Champions Cup, including wins against La Rochelle and Bath.

Easterby has made the big call of giving Sam Prendergast the 10 shirt to start against England over Jack Crowley, who was superb in green last season and has been outstanding domestically for a Munster side beset by injury, but either man is capable of leading the line and Prendergast will know Ireland’s patterns inside out due to his Leinster relationship. Ireland have the joy of strength in depth, with fully stocked centres including Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, elite backrowers Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier, and the return of the world-class Ronan Kelleher giving them an X-Factor for forward carrying.

They also have the huge advantage of facing England and France at home, with the latter fixture a deciding factor two years ago in the destination of the trophy – and Ireland will be in the thick of things once again.

Fixtures:
Saturday, February 1 v England (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Sunday, February 9 v Scotland (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Saturday, February 22 v Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Saturday, March 8 v France (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Saturday, March 15 v Italy (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: A brutal year. England won just two games last year – albeit one that stopped an Irish grand slam – and they came close to wins in New Zealand but lost both their tests. The autumn saw three straight losses to the All Blacks, Wallabies, and Springboks before a rout of Japan to end the year.

Prospects: Based on results England would be considered closer to wooden spoon contenders rather than title prospects, but those who watched England play last season will know that Steve Borthwick’s men are more than capable of getting themselves into winning positions – but struggled badly seeing them out.

England’s three defeats to New Zealand were by seven points or fewer, and their losses to France, South Africa and Australia were all by single-figure margins. They were leading against the All Blacks three times, Australia, and South Africa in the Autumn before being pulled back and if they are able to improve their game management, then as Ireland found out, they will take some pulling back.

Personnel certainly isn’t the issue. England are full of in-form players who have impressed both during the Premiership season and also the Champions Cup, where five English sides have made the round of 16.

That Alex Mitchell is able to beat off a fitness scare to start at scrum-half is a huge boost, and he will create a dynamic half-back pairing with livewire Marcus Smith. Tommy Freeman and Ollie Lawrence have been two of the best backs in Europe, and there’s dynamism by the bucketload in the pack with Ben Earl, Maro Itoje, the Curry brothers and George Martin to boot.

There’s also a dynamic bench – Theo Dan, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Willis, and Fin Smith all catch the eye on the teamsheet against Ireland.

Coaching is going to play a key part in this year’s tournament – as it always does – and this is a huge test for Steve Borthwick. There’s no doubts that the exits of strength and conditioning coach Aled Walters and Felix Jones, the coach behind the blitz defence, impacted England’s autumn. A huge amount rides on Richard Wigglesworth, Kevin Sinfield and Tom Harrison to find a way for England to improve their record in the last 20 – if they do, then the sky’s the limit – and we’ll know an awful lot more in a day or so.

Fixtures:
Saturday, February 1 v Ireland (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Saturday, February 8 v France (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Saturday, February 22 v Scotland (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Sunday, March 9 v Italy (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Saturday, March 15 v Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: So close yet so far in last year’s Six Nations, edging out Wales before being denied what should have been a victory against France by the TMO. Thoroughly deserved winners against England, but lost a thriller to Italy and then couldn’t undo the Irish defence.

A clean sweep of the Americas saw plenty of players develop and they had a successful Autumn, although when South Africa came the Springboks were eventually too good.

Prospects: Strong. Over the last few years, Scotland have been close to the title – the Scots have three wins in five of the nine seasons since 2015, when they picked up the wooden spoon, and their Autumn form also stands up well.

The Glasgow team that supplies five starters and six of the replacements to play Italy won the URC championship last year and qualified second in their Champions Cup pool, whilst Finn Russell and Ben White have impressed at Bath and Toulon respectively.

They lead a backline that is bursting with quality. Darcy Graham and Duhan van Der Merwe are two of the best wingers in world rugby, Blair Kinghorn is one of the best fullbacks in the tournament, and whilst Scotland will miss Sione Tuipulotu hugely, Huw Jones is a top-class centre and he’ll be playing alongside a team-mate in Stafford McDowell.

With Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson upfront Scotland have a strong scrum and they also have more power than in previous years in the back-row, with the likes of Rory Darge, and Matt Fagerson as all-round options.

Their coaching setup is settled, although their fixture list is about as tough as it can get; their two trips are to Twickenham and the Stade de France. Nevertheless, Scotland can consider themselves title contenders.

Fixtures:
Saturday, February 1 v Italy (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Sunday, February 9 v Ireland (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Saturday, February 22 v England (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Saturday, March 8 v Wales (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Saturday, March 15 v France (Stade de France, Paris)

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🇮🇹 Italy – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: Finished their Six Nations in style with wins over Scotland and Wales in tight contests, and should have beaten France if not for a last-minute missed penalty. Inded the only side to beat them by more than 5 points were champions Ireland, and that came in Dublin.

Won two of their three summer tests – the defeat coming at Samoa first up – and were taken apart by Argentina in their autumn opener, ground out a tight win against Georgia, and fronted up to go down 29-11 to New Zealand in their final game. Will be looking to improve and refind last year’s Six Nations form.

Prospects: Bright, according to the form of their players. Benetton – who provide seven of their first starting lineup to face Scotland, including centre-pairing Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello, and the full backrow of Lorenzo Cannone, Michele Lamaro and Sebastian Negri – qualified for the Champions Cup knockout stages including wins against Bath and La Rochelle.

Fly-half Paolo Garbisi has impressed for Toulon, wing Ange Capuozzo is flying for Toulouse, there’s far more experience on the bench than ever before to help them in the second half, and they can still improve under Gonzalo Quesada going forward.

It would be unwise to rule Italy out of any game – and big handicaps are worth looking at on a game by game basis – and three home games gives them a great platform too.

Fixtures:
Saturday, February 1 v Scotland (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Saturday, February 8 v Wales (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Sunday, February 23 v France (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Sunday, March 9 v England (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Saturday, March 15 v Ireland (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales – ? with starsports.bet

2024 in review: As bad as it can get. 12 tests, 12 defeats, some in thrillers but many when miles second best. Absolute trashings at the hands of Australia (52-20 to the Wallabies) and South Africa (45-12 to the Springboks) but the hammer down on a horror show.

Prospects: Not bright on paper, although the Welsh can say hello to some top-class experienced players, Josh Adams, Elliot Dee, Dafydd Jenkins, and Liam Williams are all back and fit again, injecting leadership into a side with many young players alongside Nick Tompkins. Jac Morgan remains a standout backrower for Warren Gatland as well who can keep Welsh hopes alive when things are tough to boot.

Their domestic form – Cardiff and Scarlets are fifth and sixth at the moment in the URC – offers some encouragement, and Ospreys did manage to make the Challenge Cup knockouts, although the strength of France, England and Ireland’s club sides looks intimidating in comparison.

Starting in France this evening is the hardest opening they could have asked for, and trips to Paris, Rome and Murrayfield are daunting given their current form, so success will be hard done by especially given the improvement the Italians have made – but even last year Wales had their moments, so they shouldn’t be counted out individually.

Fixtures:
Friday, January 31 v France (Stade de France, Paris)
Saturday, February 8 v Italy (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Saturday, February 22 v Ireland (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Saturday, March 8 v Scotland (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Saturday, March 15 v England (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)

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Verdict

It’s likely to be tight at the top with so many in form players, and all of France, Ireland, England and Scotland have realistic title chances. Give the way the fixtures are shared between them, a Grand Slam would be a remarkable feat and the 10/11 on no Grand Slam winner looks fair. France would need wins at Twickenham and in Dublin to do so and whilst Ireland host France and England here, their trip to Scotland this year will be testing and they’ll need to find their levels from before the autumn if they’re going to pull off a feat. Likewise, England and Scotland would need to find new levels of game management to pull off five wins in a row, with Italy and Wales perhaps a step behind the best.

For the tournament winner market, France make marginally more appeal than the Irish. The severity of their fixture list is slightly off-putting but the return of their Premier half-back pairing to the fold is a huge boost, they have the bulk of players from two of Europe’s most in form clubs, no end of strength in depth and had the best performances of any northern hemisphere club in the Autumn to boot.

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PROFIT/LOSS (JAN 2025): +15.84 points

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