Ireland will bid to write their name into the record books by becoming the first team to win three consecutive Six Nations Rugby Championships in 2025.
Fans will be eager to secure Six Nations rugby tickets for the prestigious tournament, which is scheduled to be staged from January 31 to March 16.
France and England are expected to be Ireland’s closest challengers, with Scotland, Wales and Italy unlikely to possess the necessary quality to topple the big three.
Read on as we look at the fixtures for the 2025 Six Nations before assessing how the title favourites are shaping up ahead of the tournament.
Six Nations 2025 – Fixtures
Round One
- France vs Wales – Stade de France, Paris – Friday, January 31 – 8.15 pm#
- Scotland vs Italy – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh – Saturday, February 1 – 2.15 pm
- Ireland vs England – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Saturday, February 1 – 4.45 pm
Round Two
- Italy vs Wales – Olympic Stadium, Rome – Saturday, February 8 – 2.15 pm
- England vs France – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Saturday, February 8 – 4.45 pm
- Scotland vs Ireland – Murrayfield Stadium, Scotland – Sunday, February 9 – 3.00 pm
Round Three
- Wales vs Ireland – Principality Stadium, Cardiff – Saturday, February 22 – 2.15 pm
- England vs Scotland – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Saturday, February 22 – 4.45 pm
- Italy vs France – Olympic Stadium, Rome – Sunday, February 23 – 3.00 pm
Round Four
- Ireland vs France – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Saturday, March 8 – 2.15 pm
- Scotland vs Wales – Murrayfield Stadium, Scotland – Saturday, March 8 – 4.45 pm
- England vs Italy – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Sunday, March 9 – 3.00 pm
Round Five
- Italy vs Ireland – Olympic Stadium, Rome – Saturday, March 16 – 2.15 pm
- Wales vs England – Principality Stadium, Cardiff – Saturday, March 16 – 4.45 pm
- France vs Scotland – Stade de France, Paris – Saturday, March 16 – 8.00 pm
Six Nations 2025 – Betting
- Ireland – 11/10
- France – 9/4
- England 7/2
- Scotland – 10/1
- Wales – 40/1
- Italy – 150/1
Ireland are the Early Six Nations Favourites
Ireland are the bookmakers’ favourites to win the title for the third time and it would be a brave move to back against them achieving the feat.
The fixture list is in their favour, with England and France both scheduled to visit the Emerald Isle during the tournament.
However, if their recent performances are anything to go by, Ireland must improve to complete a historic three-peat in 2025.
They were defeated 23-13 at home by New Zealand in the Autumn Nations Series before bouncing back with a narrow 22-19 victory over Argentina.
A lack of discipline was Ireland’s undoing against the Kiwis and their performance in the Argentina game was thoroughly unconvincing.
Head coach Andy Farrell acknowledged that Ireland must improve their discipline if they are to have any chance of retaining the Six Nations title.
“It’s something that we’ve been outstanding on over the last ten years, actually,” Farrell said.
“But, certainly, in that amount of time you’re saying there (the past three games), it’s not done out of players going out there to be ill-disciplined. It’s coming from the right place, if that may sound stupid.
“All they’re trying to do is do the right thing by their team. They just need to be a little more patient individually and trust the team and what they’re about.”
France Could Capitalise if Ireland Don’t Improve
While Ireland still have plenty of work to do in the run-up to the Six Nations, France laid down a sizeable marker with a thrilling 30-29 victory over the All Blacks.
Les Bleus battled back from a 14-3 deficit to claim a noteworthy scalp and the result will give them a massive confidence boost for the upcoming tournament.
France were defeated by 33-25 by Argentina in July, but have looked much improved in their subsequent victories over Japan and New Zealand.
Beating the Kiwis by a single point was partial compensation for France’s heartbreaking 29-28 defeat against South Africa, which ended their hopes of winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup on home soil.
France head coach Fabien Galthie said: “It was a special Test for us. Winning by a single point reminds us of last year. One point is nothing but it can also mean a lot.
“The scenario was awful at the beginning. But at half-time we found the solution, being better on the impact points. I’m very proud because we’ve now hosted them three times, and we’ve beaten them three times in a row.
“It gives us a lot of confidence. Even if they’re this formidable All Blacks side, they can be fragile and have weaknesses, which we exploit pretty well when they come here.”
Odds of 9/4 could be a tempting proposition if France can replicate this performance during the Six Nations, and they are a massive threat to Ireland’s hopes of success.
England Hurtling Towards a Crisis
Five successive defeats against New Zealand (x3), Australia and South Africa have raised questions about England’s chances of winning the Six Nations.
They have developed a penchant for losing tight games, which television pundits Ugo Monye and Courtney Lawes believe has England in danger of descending into a full-blown crisis.
While head coach Steve Borthwick’s position is reportedly safe, he desperately needs his team to show signs of improvement during the Six Nations.
Three games on home soil should potentially help their cause, but punters are unlikely to be rushing to back them to win the title for the first time since 2020.
Despite his team’s error-strewn performance against South Africa, Borthwick insists he retains the full support of the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
“I’m not going to talk about private conversations, but what’s more important is the feeling that I get, and the feeling that I get from the RFU is absolute support and absolute belief that this team is going in the right direction,” Borthwick said.
Given that England have won just four out of ten matches this year, Borthwick’s comments will do little to convince the fans that Six Nations success is just around the corner.
Scotland, Wales and Italy will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of facing this underachieving England side, and their chances of winning the title look remote.
