Thomas Ramos needed 43 metres and the last kick of the championship to settle France's second straight Six Nations Championship. His 83rd-minute penalty sealed a 48-46 win against England in Paris, handing Les Bleus back-to-back titles and denying Ireland at the death, who'd lost 36-14 at the Stade de France on opening night before winning four straight for the Triple Crown. But while that was a thrilling finale, it was far from the sole talking point of the 2026 Six Nations.
Scotland dropped 50 points on France at Murrayfield. Italy beat England for the first time ever at the 33rd time of asking, having already beaten Scotland in Rome. England finished fifth with one win, their worst ever showing, while Wales ended a record 15-match losing run by beating Italy on the final day and still collected a third straight wooden spoon.
In four months, European international rugby's marquee competition gets underway once more. Ireland host England in Dublin on the opening night on February 5th, and it's the Boys in Green that online betting outlets make the biggest threats to France's three-peat attempt. The latest online sports betting odds list the Irish as a 13/5 second-favourite to reclaim the championship, with the defending back-to-back champion France the clear 11/8 favourite. And with a World Cup in Australia set to follow, the stakes couldn't be higher.
So, which players carry the hopes of their nations on their broad shoulders in next winter's showdown? Here are the stars of the show for each of the six teams aiming for glory.
France: Louis Bielle-Biarrey
What does it say about France that their deadliest weapon is still only 23 years old? Since Louis Bielle-Biarrey's debut at Murrayfield in August 2023, the blistering winger has scored 29 tries in 27 Tests, and the last two championships belong to him.
Eight tries in 2025, then a record nine last spring, four of them on Super Saturday; he's the first man to score in ten consecutive Six Nations matches, and his back-to-back Player of the Championship awards echo that of superstar teammate Antoine Dupont. That's 18 championship tries in 14 matches, eight shy of Brian O'Driscoll's record, and not a bad number by any stretch of the imagination. Ten more in the Champions Cup helped Bordeaux-Bègles retain their crown, before he was rested for July.
Trips to Twickenham and Dublin await. France are still favourites, and he, along with the aforementioned Dupont, is one of the main reasons why.
England: Henry Pollock
At 21, Henry Pollock already owns 13 England caps, five for the Lions and a Prem winner's medal. That's a lot of hope to load onto a back-rower whose first Test start came only in February, at No 8, as Ireland won 42-21 at Twickenham.
England had beaten Wales, but their slide began at Murrayfield and ran through Rome and Paris: four straight defeats. July brought no clarity either. A 45-21 hiding to the All Blacks at Ellis Park was followed by a hat-trick off the bench in the 73-8 rout of Fiji, then a scrappy 31-24 win in Argentina days from England's heartbreaking defeat to the same nation in football's World Cup semifinal.
Northampton tied him down in September on a deal reportedly worth £400,000 a year, and if his agent Eddie Hearn's testimony is anything to go by, he could have earned a lot more had he headed to France. Dublin first for Pollock and England, then France at Twickenham. It's a gauntlet from the get-go, and England's main man will have to be at his very best if he is to lead his side back into contention. Fans will be watching him closely to see if he can do it.
Ireland: Stuart McCloskey
How long can Ireland keep leaning on a 34-year-old centre? Long enough, based on last season's evidence. A Test player since 2016 yet still short of three dozen caps, Stuart McCloskey played every minute of the 2026 championship, a distinction shared only with Caelan Doris; he led Ireland for carries with 74 and finished joint-top for try assists and turnovers won.
Andy Farrell said he "should definitely be in the running" for player of the tournament; he made the shortlist, then took Rugby Players Ireland's top award. He was the battering ram in that record win at Twickenham and featured in July's 33-31 victory in Sydney.
Ulster have opened their new campaign with back-to-back draws, with his late try rescuing the second against Munster. With Doris sidelined, Ireland need McCloskey's ballast more than ever.
Scotland: Finn Russell
Scotland's spring was the full Finn Russell experience. An 18-15 defeat in Rome, then a 31-20 Calcutta Cup win, a 26-23 escape in Cardiff, and the 50-40 thriller against France, after which he said a Six Nations title would be the peak of his career. Ireland promptly ended the dream, 43-21, in Dublin.
A calf problem cost him Bath's Prem semi-final and the record 47-38 win in Córdoba, before Scotland were beaten 42-28 in Pretoria. Club form has swung since: a try in the 40-34 win over Exeter, then defeats of 71-48 at Northampton, and 32-14 at home to Montpellier, one of his passes intercepted for a try.
At 34, with a fourth World Cup in view and Ireland visiting Murrayfield in round four, he can still drive a top-two finish. Consistency remains the crucial, occasionally missing, ingredient.
Wales: Jac Morgan
Anyone doubting what Wales missed should look at July. Back from the shoulder injury that cost him the entire championship, Jac Morgan scored twice and was player of the match as Wales beat Fiji 39-24 in Cardiff, their first back-to-back Test wins since the 2023 World Cup. Thumping defeats in San Juan and Durban promptly followed, 35-21 and 43-0.
But the pedigree was never in doubt: a 2022 debut against Scotland, the Wales captaincy, and two Lions Tests in 2025, including the clear-out that freed the series-winning try in Melbourne. Gloucester have felt it too. He scored on his Kingsholm debut in the 48-0 rout of Harlequins and again at Leicester, and they sat top of the Prem after three rounds.
A fit Morgan raises Wales's floor, and avoiding a fourth straight wooden spoon is all that matters next year.
Italy: Tommaso Menoncello
Can Italy cope if their best player isn't fit in time? Tommaso Menoncello scored in the opening win over Scotland, then cut through England in Rome and fed Leonardo Marin for the try that ended 32 straight defeats against the English, finishing among the championship's top three for defenders beaten. Already the 2024 Player of the Championship, he was shortlisted again and made a third successive Team of the Championship.
Even in a July of three defeats, he opened the scoring against the All Blacks in Wellington. His time in Toulouse since has been stop-start: a calf problem, then a shoulder injury six minutes into his Champions Cup debut against Exeter on 18 October.
Italy have ruled him out of November, and reports suggest he could miss three or four months. Fit, he makes three wins plausible. Without him, the bottom beckons.