France have everything in their favour as they bid for back-to-back Six Nations titles, with Les Bleus having three home fixtures, including key games against Ireland and England .
Not even an injury to superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont could stop Fabien Galthie’s side from topping the table last term. That was only their second outright victory since 2010, so France are sure to be hungry for more success and are hard to oppose at 4/6 in our 2026 Six Nations Championship predictions.
France
Dupont Determined To Delight Partisan Paris Crowd
Les Bleus went on to suffer a 3-0 summer series loss in New Zealand but performed with credit in two of those matches. In the autumn internationals, France recovered from an opening defeat by South Africa to see off Fiji and Australia and are now fully focused on remaining champions of Europe.
“We’re not very happy with our series in November,” said Dupont . “We hope we can be better and be able to play our best rugby. “We’ve got three games at home, so it’s an opportunity to play in front of our fans.
“The atmosphere is very special when we play at home, when we feel the support of the fans - and I hope we will not disappoint them.”
The Contenders
Ireland and England Hit By Injury Woes
Ireland slipped to third place last year following title triumphs in 2023 and 2024 and will have to do it the hard way if they are to get back on top, starting out with a trip to France and facing England at Twickenham in the third round of fixtures.
Andy Farrell is back after temporarily stepping aside to lead the British and Irish Lions’ triumphant tour of Australia , but must negotiate a lengthy injury list and an ongoing transitional phase. Farrell has major front-row concerns after Jack Boyle joined fellow props Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy in the treatment room. Centre Robbie Henshaw will also miss the start of the tournament, while Calvin Nash, Jimmy O’Brien, Ryan Baird, Shayne Bolton, Mack Hansen, Jordan Larmour and Tom Ahern are all sidelined.
With England suffering a prop crisis following injuries to Will Stuart, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, and Fin Baxter , 10/1 for a straight forecast of Scotland to finish second behind France catches the eye from the 2026 Six Nations odds.
Scotland
Townsend Wants Scots To Seize Opportunity
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend i s heartened by the news that all of his key men appear to be fit heading into the championship, along with the fact that almost half of his group is made up of players from in-form Glasgow . Last year, it was a case of what might have been for the Scots , who lost by just one point away to England , played better than the scoreline suggests in a 35-16 defeat by France in Paris and then blew big chances to beat New Zealand and Argentina in November.
“I do believe the way the team played throughout 2025 in some of our biggest games, when I think back to New Zealand, France, England , the players have performed at a really high level,” insisted Townsend . “Even though we had those painful moments of not winning against New Zealand and Argentina , I see that as positive…what we learned can help us when we’re going to have those moments of adversity.”
Wooden Spoon Odds
Beleaguered Wales Tipped To Rally
The battle to avoid the wooden spoon could go right down to the wire, with Wales set to host Italy on the final weekend. Wales finished bottom last term, and their annus horribilis continued with heavy autumn defeats by Argentina , New Zealand and South Africa.
However, turmoil among their domestic clubs could inspire the Welsh players, many of whom will be in the shop window and playing for their futures. Captain Dewi Lake declared, “Having the opportunity to step on the field and represent your country in one of the best competitions in the world is only going to take your mind away from things happening off the field.
“It’s also massive fuel for the fire for us. What’s going on off-field affects everyone in our group. Something like that can only rally your group, make you tighter together.” With that home advantage on March 14, a huge boost for Wales , we prefer 6/5 for Italy to finish bottom in our 2026 Six Nations betting tips.
Top Try Scorer Odds
Sheehan Value To Top Try Chart
Louis Bielle-Biarrey is a firm favourite at 2/1 to be the leading tryscorer again this season following his record haul of eight scores last term. However, with France’s big games being at home, things are not quite set up as well for the winger to make hay against the lesser lights this time around.
Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is a rock-solid alternative at 9/2 after following up his five tries in this competition by touching down in each of the Lions’ first two Tests against Australia. Home matches versus Italy, Wales and Scotland should give the prolific Leinster forward plenty of chances to finish off his country’s trademark rolling mauls close to the line.
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