The 2025 Six Nations Championship is now well underway. It’s the start of a period of unadulterated bliss for rugby union fans, with five thrilling rounds of matches crammed into the space of just seven weeks. Reigniting old rivalries annually, the 142-year-old championship remains one of the most popular tournaments in the rugby calendar.
The Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship, which held its inaugural edition back in 1883 between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It was the first-ever international rugby union competition. The tournament then became the Five Nations Championship in 1910 with the addition of France. It was expanded further in 2000, with Italy joining the party, and it became the Six Nations Championship that we know and love today.
England may top both the all-time solo and Six Nations winners’ tables, but they’ve only reigned supreme once (2020) in the past seven years. It’s Ireland that has been the dominant force in recent times. Having worn the Six Nations crown in both 2023 and 2024, the Green Machine are aiming to create history and become the first nation to three-peat as solo winners ever. A small chink of light and hope for Ireland’s title rivals is that with Andy Farrell taking charge of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour, Simon Easterby has had to take over the Irish reins temporarily.
France have tended to be Ireland’s closest rivals recently and with their star man, Antoine Dupont, returning to the Six Nations fold, they are sure to prove themselves strong competition once again. Both England and Scotland produced promising displays during the Autumn Nations Series and will be looking to build on those performances. Even Italy, who picked up two wins and a draw during last year’s Six Nations campaign, have become a competitive outfit under Gonzalo Quesada.
Wales suffered the ignominy of being handed the wooden spoon twelve months ago after finishing bottom of the 2024 Six Nations standings for the first time since 2003. Welsh fans will be hoping that Warren Gatland’s men can finally turn the corner after going on a 12-game losing streak that stretches back to October 2023. They would have hoped for an easier first 2025 Six Nations assignment though, as they travel to the Stade de France to take on Les Bleus in the tournament curtain-raiser.
Let GOAL take you through all the essential information you need before the Six Nations 2025 kicks off, including the full schedule and how to watch and stream every game live.
When does the Six Nations 2025 take place?
Getty ImagesThe Six Nations 2025 runs this year from Friday, January 31, until Saturday, March 15, with 15 games taking place across five rounds/weekends. There are three games per round, with all teams playing during each and every round.
The tournament is played in a league format, with every side playing each other. The team placed at the top of the table at the end of the competition wins the Six Nations. The Grand Slam is achieved if one side wins all five matches during the tournament, as Ireland did in 2023.
How to watch the Six Nations 2025
In many parts of the world, you can watch the Six Nations free of charge. That’s because the Six Nations has been afforded protected status in the countries in which it’s played, meaning it’s shown free-to-air on public broadcasters. Whether it will remain as such in the near future is currently unclear, but for the 2025 Six Nations, extensive free coverage is still available.
| Country | Network & Streaming |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | BBC / ITV / BBC iPlayer / ITVX |
| Ireland | RTE / Virgin Media / RTE Player / Virgin Media Play |
| France | France Télévisions / FranceTV streaming |
| Italy | Sky Sport / TV8 |
| United States | NBC / Peacock / FuboTV |
| Australia | Stan Sport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport NZ |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
How to watch the Six Nations 2025 with a VPN
If Six Nations matches aren't available to watch live in your area or if you're travelling, you can use a VPN to tune into the action from wherever you are. A VPN creates a secure connection to bypass geographical restrictions and access your favourite streaming services from anywhere. We recommend NordVPN if you're unsure which VPN to choose, but you can also check out our in-depth VPN guide to determine which one is best for you.
Six Nations 2025 schedule
| Round | Date | Match | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri Jan 31 | France vs Wales | 9:15 pm (CET) / 8.15 pm (GMT) |
| Sat Feb 1 | Scotland vs Italy | 2:15 pm (GMT) / 3.15 pm (CET) | |
| Ireland vs England | 4:45 pm (GMT) / 5.45 pm (CET) | ||
| 2 | Sat Feb 8 | Italy vs Wales | 3:15 pm (CET) / 2.15 pm (GMT) |
| England vs France | 4:45 pm (GMT) / 5.45 pm (CET) | ||
| Sun Feb 9 | Scotland vs Ireland | 3 pm (GMT) / 4 pm (CET) | |
| 3 | Sat Feb 22 | Wales vs Ireland | 2:15 pm (GMT) / 3.15 pm (CET) |
| England vs Scotland | 4:45 pm (GMT) / 5.45 pm (CET) | ||
| Sun Feb 23 | Italy vs France | 4 pm (CET) / 3 pm (GMT) | |
| 4 | Sat Mar 8 | Ireland vs France | 2:15 pm (GMT) / 3.15 pm (CET) |
| Scotland vs Wales | 4:45 pm (GMT) / 5.45 pm (CET) | ||
| Sun Mar 9 | England vs Italy | 3 pm (GMT) / 4 pm (CET) | |
| 5 | Sat Mar 15 | Italy vs Ireland | 3:15 pm (CET) / 2.15 pm (GMT) |
| Wales vs England | 4:45 pm (GMT) / 5.45 pm (CET) | ||
| France vs Scotland | 9 pm (CET) / 8 pm (GMT) |
Six Nations 2025 squads
Getty ImagesEngland
Forwards: Fin Baxter, Ollie Chessum, Arthur Clark, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Maro Itoje, Curtis Langdon, George Martin, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Henry Pollock, Bevan Rodd, Will Stuart, Tom Willis
Backs: Oscar Beard, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Raffi Quirke, Harry Randall, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward
France
Forwards: Esteban Abadie, Dorian Aldegheri, Gregory Alldritt, Uini Atonio, Hugo Auradou, Cyril Baille, Giorgi Beria, Paul Boudehent, Joshua Brennan, Georges-Henri Colombe, Francois Cros, Thibaud Flament, Marko Gazzotti, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mickaël Guillard, Matthias Halagahu, Oscar Jegou, Maxime Lamothe, Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Dany Priso, Rabah Slimani, Romain Taofifénua
Backs: Theo Attissogbe, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Leo Barre, Nicolas Depoortere, Gael Drean, Antoine Dupont, Antoine Frisch, Emilien Gailleton, Matthieu Jalibert, Nolann le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Noah Nene, Romain Ntamack, Damien Penaud, Thomas Ramos, Killian Tixeront, Gabin Villiere
Italy
Forwards: Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Alessandro Izekor, Dino Lamb, Michele Lamaro, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Sebastian Negri, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Ricconi, Luca Rizzoli, Federico Ruzza, Ross Vintcent, Giosue Zilocchi, Manuel Zuliani
Backs: Tommaso Allan, Juan Ignacio Brex, Ange Capuozzo, Matt Gallagher, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Garbisi, Simone Gesi, Monty Ioane, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Martin Page-Relo, Jacopo Trulla, Stephen Varney
Ireland
Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Boyle, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Cormac Izuchukwu, Rónan Kelleher, Gus McCarthy, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier
Backs: Bundee Aki, Caolin Blade, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose
Scotland
Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Gregor Brown, Dave Cherry, Luke Crosbie, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Patrick Harrison, Will Hurd, Jack Mann, D’Arcy Rae, Dylan Richardson, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Marshall Sykes
Backs: Fergus Burke, Matt Currie, Jamie Dobie, Darcy Graham, George Horne, Rory Hutchinson, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Finn Russell, Kyle Rowe, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White
Wales
Forwards: Keiron Assiratti, James Botham, Elliot Dee, Taulupe Faletau, Dafydd Jenkins, WillGriff John, Evan Lloyd, Kemsley Mathias, Jac Morgan, Sam Parry, Tommy Reffell, Will Rowlands, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Freddie Thomas, Henry Thomas, Christ Tshiunza, Aaron Wainwright, Teddy Williams
Backs: Josh Adams, Ellis Bevan, Dan Edwards, Josh Hathaway, Eddie James, Ellis Mee, Blair Murray, Joe Roberts, Tom Rogers, Ben Thomas, Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Liam Williams, Rhodri Williams, Tomos Williams