Six Nations to stage first Thursday match since 1948
The Six Nations will have a match on Thursday for the first time since 1948 after fixtures for the 2026 competition were confirmed on Monday.
Ireland will travel to take on France on Thursday 5 February in the opening match of the 2026 competition as France aim for back-to-back titles.
The shift to a Thursday is understood to be as a result of a potential TV clash with the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which is set to get underway in Milan the following evening.
Playing the Six Nations opener will maximise TV audiences – especially in France and Italy – while allowing one of the Championship’s biggest matches to kick off the competition.
It comes after the BBC and ITV agreed a four-year extension to their free-to-air Six Nations coverage, which will see the two linear broadcasters share the rights through until 2029.
Nearly 130m tuned into the 2025 competition globally, which went down to the final match between France and Scotland, with the 2026 competition the first time the men’s and women’s competition will not group the same three fixtures together for each weekend.
Six Nations order of play
England open their 2026 Six Nations account against Wales at Allianz Stadium, looking to back up their record win at the Principality this year.
They’ll then face Scotland in Edinburgh in the Calcutta Cup before hosting Ireland in round three.
The single rest week, reduced from two in previous years, will take place on the fourth weekend before Steve Borthwick’s men take on Italy in the penultimate week before closing their tournament in Paris against France.
Round four will also see a match on a non-weekend day when Ireland take on Wales on Friday 6 March at the Aviva Stadium – there will be no traditional Sunday fixture on that weekend as a result.