Six Nations 2026

[Pootsy]

Get Right at 'em Ireland!

 

[Bilko]

Why is France v Ireland on a Thursday night ?

 

[blueloon]

Why is France v Ireland on a Thursday night ?

To avoid clash with Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday .
Crazy really , but like football the actual fans who attend games come second to money and tv scheduling.

I used to really love attending 6 Nations matches , had a 20 year old consistent spell but as I’ve got older the travel , getting tickets , hotels etc moved me into the “ can’t be arsed “ phase . But wonderful times mixing with fans of other nations , seeing places etc ( Twickenham was crap though!). A unique sporting tournament for the fans. I’ll be glued to the tv for it.

 

[Wizard]

Make it 24 (years old) and under and a straight knock out competition and get it off the ground.
england vs portugal
France vs Netherlands
Germany vs Spain
Belgium vs Italy
Play it in the years the WC and the Euro's isn't on. 10 day tournament, 'Euro-development cup'. Each of the countries has the stadiums to put it on with. Share it round. Beats doling out hammerings to San Marino, Gibraltar, Faroe isles, Andorra & Luxembourg. Is there room for a B tournament in europe? Swiss, ROI, Scotland, Croatia, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Sweden? overall loser of group A faces winner group B for swapping places.

What do you do with the U21 Euros and equivalent youth tournaments across the different federations? AFCON when it moves to European summer. The Nations League. And the Club World Cup. And the Olympics (we don’t take it seriously from a football point of view as we can’t enter but other countries do). There is way too much football already for the players.

International rugby is so different to international football so they have space for the 6 Nations, the Rugby Championship and the soon to be Nations Championship which is basically their equivalent of the Nations League.

 

[Wizard]

That’s a pretty awesome idea. I think for footy you’d need a B and even C tournament - in fairness the main problem with the 6 nations and Rugby Union in general is how hard it is for Tier 2 or below nations to get anywhere close to matching Tier 1 nations.

This is literally what the Nations League is in football but it spans a tournament cycle rather than a short tournament. But there are way more relatively competent international football teams than rugby teams.

 

[Rita_Poon]

What do you do with the U21 Euros and equivalent youth tournaments across the different federations? AFCON when it moves to European summer. The Nations League. And the Club World Cup. And the Olympics (we don’t take it seriously from a football point of view as we can’t enter but other countries do). There is way too much football already for the players.

International rugby is so different to international football so they have space for the 6 Nations, the Rugby Championship and the soon to be Nations Championship which is basically their equivalent of the Nations League.

u21's can stay.
don't know anything about equivalent tournaments, wouldn't call them high profile.
Afcon goes every 4 years, seniors.
nations league is shh rubbish!
cwc is rubbish*!
olympics is u21 with 3 seniors.

a 24 and under tournament with relegation and promotion could deliver better than what we're getting currently. Germany putting 12 past lichtenstein is not much of a contest. it's raw sewage.

 

[ChesterBlue]

Why is France v Ireland on a Thursday night ?

To give a fair chance of both Ireland and Everton ruining my weekend I think

 

[Rita_Poon]

I reckon France are to strong still and should walk it.

Although I like the speed and passing of league better, the WC was a good spectacle.

 

[Bryan+]

Thought I’d make a thread for this since it begins this weekend - being half Irish and half Welsh I can’t say I’m overly optimistic for this to be an enjoyable one

Wool

 

[dublinbluenose]

I fear France putting 20+ points on us tonight. We've really been hit hard with injuries. We're another injury to a prop away from calling up a prop from the All Ireland League. I know Irish Rugby has a very good structure compared to Wales or Scotland but it cant deal with an injury crisis in the same way France or England can. In any given weekend for example, France will have over 220 French qualified professional rugby players, either playing or on the bench, in the Top 14 (16 man rule) and that is just in the top flight.

 

[ChesterBlue]

Wool

Always a pleasure mate

 

[carlos21]

Always a pleasure mate

Afternoon Chester.

 

[ChesterBlue]

I fear France putting 20+ points on us tonight. We've really been hit hard with injuries. We're another injury to a prop away from calling up a prop from the All Ireland League. I know Irish Rugby has a very good structure compared to Wales or Scotland but it cant deal with an injury crisis in the same way France or England can. In any given weekend for example, France will have over 220 French qualified professional rugby players, either playing or on the bench, in the Top 14 (16 man rule) and that is just in the top flight.

Yeah, my thoughts are that. To a degree blooding in some young players for this level before the World Cup next year isn’t a bad thing

 

[carlos21]

Get Right at 'em Ireland!

Alright kid.

 

[summerisle]