Six Nations 2026: Records, Milestones & Mayhem

  • March 16, 2026

The Six Nations championship, widely praised as the finest in its history, concluded with a decisive final play in the ultimate match, executed by France’s Thomas Ramos, a sportsman renowned for his record-setting achievements.

Ramos, consistently dependable, along with his usual back-three colleagues, wingers Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Theo Attissogbe, participated in every moment of their triumphant campaign, despite Ramos having to fill in at fly-half for the injured Matthieu Jalibert during the Italy fixture for one full game.

Consistently finding the scoreboard, Ramos achieved double-digit points in every round, amassing a total of 74 points. This tally placed him 21 points ahead of his closest competitor, Finn Russell, and his goal-kicking accuracy stood at an impressive 87.5%, leading the tournament.

For the fourth consecutive championship, Ramos secured the top spot for points scored in the Six Nations, a unique accomplishment. He previously led with 71 points in 2025, complementing his 84 points in 2023 and 63 in 2024. Ronan O’Gara had previously managed this feat for three consecutive tournaments from 2005 to 2007.

However, Ramos was not the sole individual setting new benchmarks. Numerous individual, team, and match records were broken during a championship that saw its duration shortened from seven to six weeks, commencing with the inaugural match, which notably took place on a Thursday evening.

France’s 36-14 home victory against Ireland, marking Fabien Galthie’s 50th win as coach, was, from a statistical perspective, arguably less noteworthy. Yet, by establishing a 22-0 lead by halftime, Les Bleus (referring to the dark kit, distinct from the lighter blue that led to confusion on the concluding night) subjected Ireland to their largest half-time points difference in twenty years of championship play.

Next, the action moved to Rome, where Scotland appeared overwhelmed amidst torrential weather. Italy secured an 18-15 victory, marking their initial win in the tournament’s opening round since 2013.

England’s commanding 48-7 triumph over Wales, representing their largest opening-round score in 22 years, was largely anticipated considering both teams’ recent performances. However, it was unforeseen that Wales would incur four sin-bins (Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Ben Thomas, and Taine Plumtree), matching the highest number of cards ever issued to a single team in a Six Nations match (a record previously set by Italy against France in 2002).

During that encounter, Henry Arundell achieved a Six Nations hat-trick for England, becoming their youngest player to do so. Only Brian O’Driscoll, George North, and Blair Kinghorn had accomplished this feat at a younger age than Arundell’s 23 years and 91 days.

In the second round, Italy traveled to Dublin aiming for consecutive championship victories, a feat only achieved twice before (in 2007 and 2024), and to break their poor record in the Irish capital. They appeared poised for their inaugural Six Nations away win against Ireland, holding a 10-5 lead at halftime, marking their first-ever interval advantage against the “men in green” in championship history.

Unfortunately for the Azzurri, their hopes were dashed as Ireland mounted a comeback, outscoring them 15 points to three in the latter half. Ireland’s 20-13 success represented their narrowest winning margin against Italy at the Aviva Stadium, noting that their 16-11 triumph in 2008 took place at Croke Park.

Scotland reclaimed the Calcutta Cup from England, securing a 31-20 win at Murrayfield. This result marked the seventh consecutive fixture between the two nations to conclude with a margin of fewer than ten points.

Achieving their most significant winning total against England in Six Nations history provided a fitting commemoration for Gregor Townsend’s 100th Test match as Scotland’s head coach, making him the sole British-born coach to reach this milestone.

With his two tries, Huw Jones surpassed all previous Scottish players to become the leading try-scorer in the Men’s Six Nations, accumulating 18 tries.

Experiencing their initial Six Nations second-round loss since 2009, England’s impressive twelve-game winning streak was abruptly terminated.

Round two concluded in Cardiff, where Wales’ struggles persisted with a 54-12 loss to France. This represented Les Bleus’ highest-ever score against Wales, exceeding their 51-0 triumph at Wembley in 1998.

The third round commenced with a pair of away victories: Ireland’s dominant 42-21 success against England, and Scotland’s narrower 26-23 win over Wales. Ireland’s triumph at Twickenham marked their most substantial victory margin against England at that venue, surpassing their 17-point lead from 2022.

France, on the other hand, benefited from a somewhat generous 33-8 scoreline against Italy in Lille the subsequent day.

The opening try of the game came from French speedster Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who, by seizing Antoine Dupont’s kick, became the first competitor to score in eight consecutive championship rounds. This impressive streak would later grow to ten, with additional tries against Scotland and England in the fourth and fifth rounds.

The fourth round commenced on Friday evening with Ireland’s 27-17 victory against Wales. This outcome was largely ordinary, save for the notable achievement of Wales’ loose-head prop, Rhys Carre, who sprinted 30 meters to score, thereby becoming the first prop in Six Nations history, and only the fifth in overall Test match rugby, to cross the try-line in three successive rounds.

The subsequent event was truly extraordinary. Scotland’s 50-40 triumph over previously undefeated France represented their highest-ever points tally against Les Bleus, significantly surpassing the prior record of 36 set in 1999.

Darcy Graham initiated Scotland’s strong start, scoring the opening try within five minutes. This marked his 36th try for Scotland, positioning him above Duhan van der Merwe as the national team’s all-time leading try-scorer, a record he further extended with another score.

Furthermore, this contest, which became the fixture’s highest-scoring match in history, marked the first instance France had fallen behind on the scoreboard in the championship.

Italy subsequently defeated England 23-18 in Rome, achieving their inaugural victory against England in 33 encounters, thereby concluding an extraordinary day of Six Nations rugby. Leonardo Marin’s decisive score in the 72nd minute was Italy’s first second-half match-winner four games into the tournament.

Super Saturday commenced with the Triple Crown showdown in Dublin between Ireland and Scotland. The home side extended their consecutive victories against their Celtic rivals to 12 matches with a 43-21 win. This achievement marked Ireland’s 15th Triple Crown overall and their ninth within the Six Nations period.

Wales’ sequence of 15 consecutive Six Nations defeats, spanning 1,099 days, concluded with their 31-17 triumph over Italy in Cardiff, after establishing an early 31-0 advantage.

To cap off the preceding events, England managed to accumulate more points against France on French soil than in any prior encounter, yet still succumbed to their fourth consecutive defeat, an unprecedented losing streak for them in the Six Nations period.

In the frenetic 48-46 victory for France, the tournament’s overall try-scoring record was surpassed for the second consecutive year, concluding with a total of 111 tries. France was responsible for 30 of these, matching their own record from 2025.

Among the six tries France secured against England was a penalty try, awarded after Ellis Genge unlawfully collapsed a driving maul early in the second half. Consequently, Genge received a yellow card from referee Nika Amashukeli, marking England’s ninth card of the championship and equalling the Italian record from 2002.

Remarkably, Bielle-Biarrey once more garnered significant attention, this time surpassing his own prior achievements by becoming the first French player since World War Two to score four tries in a single game.

This performance propelled him past his teammate, Attissogbe, to conclude the tournament as the leading try-scorer with nine, thereby surpassing the record of eight he had established the preceding year.

While France commemorated their third Six Nations title in five years, Steve Borthwick’s team faced the reality of a fifth-place finish in the 2026 standings, an outcome that replicated their lowest positions from 2018 and 2021.