Ireland lost their Six Nations title to France in 2025 and look like a team in decline. Will they be able to prove people wrong?
Ireland had a disappointing year overall. After clinching the Triple Crown and winning their first three Championship games against England, Scotland and Wales, Ireland ended their unprecedented 142-year chance to win a third consecutive Six Nations with a 42-27 victory over France in Dublin.
Victories over Georgia and Portugal in the summer served as a secondary to the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia, followed by a loss to New Zealand in November and bookend wins over Japan and Australia in South Africa.
In 2026, Ireland will play home Tests against Italy, Wales and Scotland, as well as France and England. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Ireland v France’s opener in Paris…
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Sky Sports News’ James Green outlines what has changed for the 2026 Six Nations.
equipment
France – Stade de France – Thursday 5th February – 8:10pm (GMT) Italy – Aviva Stadium – Saturday 14th February – 2:10pm (GMT) England – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Saturday 21st February – 2:10pm (GMT) Wales – Aviva Stadium – Friday 6th March – 8:10pm (GMT) Scotland – Aviva Stadium – Saturday 14th March – 2:10pm (GMT)
What has changed?
Ireland bid farewell to three strong players in 2025, with Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy all retiring.
The Men in Green also surrendered the Six Nations title for the first time since 2022 as France arrived in Dublin to suffer a one-sided blow on their way to lifting the trophy.
Peter O’Mahony captained Ireland to the 2024 Six Nations title but retired in 2025
Ireland won the Triple Crown in 2025 by defeating England, Scotland and Wales, but missed out on the title with a no-show against Les Bleus.
The consistency, form and discipline of this Irish side has also undergone a major change. Ireland performed as the best team in the world in 2023, but now they look a little removed from the top of the table.
The difference in discipline in Ireland is stark. Between the summer of 2021 and the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Ireland were shown three yellow cards in 29 tests, the highest of any team in the world. Since the 2023 World Cup, Ireland have been shown 22 cards in 22 Tests, only South Africa have been shown more.
Ireland went from being the most disciplined team in world rugby in terms of cards to being the worst, with players like Joe McCarthy becoming repeat offenders.
There has been a huge change in style, with possession dropping to 50% across Ireland’s five Six Nations games, with 54% in their own territory. France scored 30 tries and England scored 25 tries, scoring just 17 tries and scoring the fewest points from turnovers (just 1 try) of any team.
Ireland ranked second from bottom for meters completed and turnovers gained, dropped to fourth for carries, offloads and line breaks, but were bottom for defenders lost, tackle breaks and kicks at goal (66.7 per cent, just 59 per cent successful tries) and top for ‘bad passes’ in Opta’s statistical terminology (61).
Ireland has changed from a team that values the ball to a team that competes by kicking.
Ireland lost at home to France, and in the autumn they lost 26-13 to New Zealand in Chicago and 24-13 to South Africa in Dublin.
Another big change is the return of Andy Farrell, who missed the 2025 Six Nations due to his secondment as head coach of the British Irish Lions.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will miss the 2025 Six Nations due to his secondment as head coach of the British and Irish Lions.
Farrell led the Lions to a 2-1 series victory over Australia in the summer, and a number of Irish players made the Lions squad.
What’s hot?
A big plus for Ireland is the return of head coach Farrell to the field.
The 50-year-old is undoubtedly a galvanizing influence on the Irish squad, runs the attack, has a history as the sport’s leading defense coach and is a huge standard setter.
Despite the tough schedule in 2026, Farrell’s return should be a big plus for Ireland.
Ireland have a number of talented players, many of whom gained Test Lions experience in the back-to-back series against the Wallabies in the summer.
Players like Dan Sheehan, Tajig Beirne, Tajig Furlong, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and potentially the aging Bundy Aki would still grace most teams in world rugby, but the pool of such talent appears to be dwindling.
In total, 18 Irish players took part in the Lions’ tour of Australia, including late call-ups, as did Ireland coaches Simon Easterby (defense), Andrew Goodman (attack), Johnny Sexton (kicking) and John Fogarty (scrum).
The IRFU and Farrell sincerely hope this experience will help the Green Men return to form this Six Nations.
Irish hooker Dan Sheehan remains one of the best players in the world
What is not?
At the moment, there are quite a lot. Indeed, it is hard to imagine the current squad challenging for the 2026 title with such problems, especially with tough trips to Paris and Twickenham on the agenda.
As previously detailed, with Sam Prendergast moving into the wing at fly-half, Ireland moved to an out-of-possession, kick-based game style, but things didn’t go well and the scrum became a horror show.
In November’s defeat to South Africa, props Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy were sin-binned for scrum issues, and Ireland were repeatedly forced into the back and pressured by missed set-pieces.
During the 2025 Six Nations, Ireland finished the worst of any team in terms of successful scrums, tackles and dominant tackles. They also had the worst maul numbers of any team, scoring the fewest points per game, but only Scotland lost more lineouts.
There is no doubt that France and England will be targeting Ireland’s scrums and lineouts hard in 2026.
Ireland’s scrum was destroyed by South Africa in November, resulting in another penalty and two yellow cards.
Another negative factor for Ireland, which is not new, but is increasingly worrying, is the aging of the squad in some areas, which is starting to show.
James Rowe, a 33-year-old winger who was previously a key player for Ireland, is playing the worst rugby of his career. Scrum-half Jamison-Gibson-Park and center Aki will turn 34 and 36 respectively in the coming months, but lack consistency at their peak.
Back-rowers Jack Connan and Josh van der Flier are 33 and 34 years old, tightheads Finlay Bealham and Furlong are 34 and 33 years old, and centers Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose are 32 and 30 years old, all of whom have racked up huge Test miles.
At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a conveyor belt of talent ready to step up and take over, or if there is, they haven’t been given the opportunity yet.
In connection with the above, injured persons are also at risk. Mack Hansen, Porter, McCarthy, Henshaw, Ryan Baird, Cormac Izuchukwu, Jimmy O’Brien and Calvin Nash were all ruled out.
Mack Hansen (left) misses out on the Irish national team’s championship due to a big hit, while James Rowe (right) is struggling due to lack of form.
Full-back Hugo Keenan (hip) has not played since the Lions tour and Jamie Osborne (shoulder) has not played since November. Furlong, Tommy O’Brien and Craig Casey have also hobbled in games recently.
Finally, Ireland’s major selection issues and issues remain in 10th place. Munster’s Jack Crowley led Ireland to the 2024 Six Nations title, but Farrell is clearly not a fan of the 26-year-old’s attacking style, as his good performances have not been rewarded with continued starting appearances.
But Prendergast’s clear favorites of Farrell, Easterby and Sexton still have major deficiencies both defensively and in terms of running the attack system.
Jack Crowley doesn’t seem to like Farrell, but Sam Prendergast remains a flawed player
Harry Byrne came in from the cold at Leinster and overshadowed Prendergast – perhaps he will be Ireland’s starter?
Harry Byrne has outperformed Prendergast for Leinster this season and appears to be in a strong position to start for Ireland.
Winning record
Six Nations since 2000: 6 wins (2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2024)
Total: 16 titles (1894, 1896, 1899, 1935, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1974, 1982, 1985, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2024)
The 37 players who will represent Ireland in the 2026 Six Nations are as follows:
Forward (20): Tom Ahearn (Munster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Jack Boyle (Leinster), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), Jack Connan (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster, captain), Edwin Edogbo (Munster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Jeremy Rahman (Munster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Michael Milne (Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), James Ryan (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ulster), Nick Timane (Ulster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster).
Bucks (17): Bundy Aki (Connacht), Robert Balcoon (Ulster), Harry Byrne (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster), Nathan Doak (Ulster), Tom Farrell (Munster), Ciaran Frawley (Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinth) Hugo Keenan (Leinster), James Rowe (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Tommy O’Brien (Leinster), Jamie Osborne (Leinster), Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster).
