The 2026 Six Nations has made history before it has even begun, with this year’s tournament bringing some unprecedented changes to one of the annual rugby calendar’s staple events.
First and foremost, the competition has been compressed to take place over just six weeks, marking a potentially significant tweak to the championship’s decades-old schedule.
Players spoke out against murmurings of such a change back in 2017, but it has now been brought in. There will be just one “fallow” (rest) weekend, between rounds three and four, with the opening three rounds of matches played across three successive weekends.
This year’s edition of the Six Nations is also unique in that the opener, between holders France and perennial challengers Ireland, is being staged on a Thursday night.
It marks the first time in the history of the Six Nations - which has been around in its current format since 2000 - that the tournament will be opened on a Thursday,
This scheduling move, which means the opening match will kick-off in Paris at 9:10pm local time (8:10pm GMT) on Thursday, February 5, has come about so as to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, which is being held in Milan, Italy on Friday night.
Reacting to the latter change, returning France captain Antoine Dupont said he and his side remain “motivated and excited”, despite it being “a bit strange” to play on a Thursday.
"It is always special, and we know everyone will be watching, so we have to be ready for that,” he added.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell described the occasion as a “special” one.
"[The Stade de France] is one of the most iconic places to play in world rugby,” he said.
“To be privileged enough to start off a competition, on an unprecedented Thursday night is always going to be special, so it's exciting for us.”
Technically speaking, there was an opening match of a Five Nations Championship - prior to the introduction of Italy to the tournament - which was played on a Thursday, way back on January 1, 1948.
Also played in Paris between France and Ireland, it saw the visitors triumph by a score of 13-6 and go on to win a Grand Slam that year.
