France vs Ireland Preview & Prediction | 2026 Six Nations Championship | Round 1
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The last two winners of the Six Nations lock horns in an unusual Thursday-night opener in the northern hemisphere's flagship competition.
Start date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – ITV / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – ITVX / USA – Peacock
France form: Reigning champions
France come into the Six Nations as tournament favourites after claiming the title last year, and there is the possibility that the outcome of this opener could even end up being the deciding factor in who claims the glory this time around.
Les Bleus were brought back down to earth last summer when they lost all three games in their series with New Zealand, while defeat to South Africa in November showed that they are still a little behind the southern hemisphere's best.
Last five: LLLWW
Ireland form: Key contenders
Ireland won four of their five games in last year's competition but ended up in third place - two points adrift of the winners. Their only defeat came at the hands of France, when they were humbled 27-42 in Dublin.
Like their opponents, Ireland lost to both New Zealand and South Africa in 2025, but did comfortably defeat Australia in their most recent contest in November.
Last five: WLWWL
France team news: Dupoint returns but Lucu out
Squad: Thomas Ramos; Theo Attissogbe; Yoram Moefana, Nicolas Depoortere; Louis Beille-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont (capt); Jean-Baptiste Grod, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri; Charles Ollivon, Mickael Guillard; Francois Cros, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch
Replacements: Peato Mayvaka, Rodrigue Neti, Regis Montagne, Hugo Auradou, Emmanual Meafou, Lenni Nouchi, Baptiste Serrin, Kalvin Gourgues
Ireland team news: Key absentees
Squad: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O'Brien; Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey; Jacob Stockdale; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne; Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt)
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Michael Milne, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Nick Timoney, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley
France vs Ireland prediction
The 2026 Six Nations starts with a bang on Thursday as France begin the defence of their title against who are likely to be one of their fiercest opponents over the next couple of months.
Les Bleus will be massively boosted by the return of the influential Antoine Dupont from injury, with the scrum-half having sustained an ACL injury in the corresponding Six Nations fixture against Ireland last year.
Contrastingly, Andy Farrell is somewhat limited when it comes to selection, with Ireland missing some key men for this opener, namely Bundee Aki (suspension), Hugo Keenan and Andrew Porter (both injury).
These personnel issues will hinder their cause in Paris, and we're expecting the hosts to kick off their Six Nations campaign with an important victory.
France vs Ireland tip: France to win
