Six Nations 2026 round 2 predictions: Scotland vs England, Ireland vs Italy and Wales vs France

The opening round of Six Nations fixtures in the 2026 Championship has certainly caused a stir across the international rugby landscape.

Pre-tournament favourites France kicked us off in Paris with a relatively comfortable victory over a new look Ireland side who, hampered by injury and suspension, looked a shadow of their former selves. England are expected to be in with a shot of title glory themselves and were able to lay down an early marker by hammering Wales who now need a response in order to regain some pride after that bruising defeat.

Of course, the biggest result of round one came in Rome where a combination of weather and a far more resilient Italian side saw Scotland deservedly beaten. Gregor Townsend now needs a result not just to kick start their tournament but to try and silence the critics, many of whom are now calling for his resignation or sacking.

Here are our pre match predictions for the three test fixtures in round two of the 2026 Six Nations Championship:

Ireland vs Italy

This looks set to be a far more entertaining spectacle than in previous years where fans would be accustomed to seeing Ireland flex their muscles and demonstrate their strength in depth en route to a comfortable victory. Perhaps not so much this year though.

Andy Farrell may be able to call upon veteran prop Tadgh Furlong, who is back training after missing their opening match, but will still be without many of his previously tried and trusted stalwarts including Bundee Aki who remains suspended. Meanwhile, Italy have recalled the ever dangerous Ange Capuozzo but solid performances from their back three against Scotland last week may only see the Toulouse player selected for a spot amongst the replacements.

Coming across wins has been less uncommon for the Italians than it was at the turn of the decade but back-to-back test match wins in the Six Nations would be something quite special for the Azzurri. This may be there best chance to do that in some time but, although the under dog tag is nothing strange to them, it is still going to take an all time performance from them to leave Dublin victorious.

Prediction: Ireland to win by 14 points or less. A first Italian win in Dublin since the late 1990s is far more probable than it has been for some time. That being said, Ireland are heavy favourites and rightly so with home advantage. A losing bonus point would not be a bad outcome for the visitors here but, whatever happens, expect this to be a much closer affair than we have seen between the two nations in recent years.

Scotland vs England

Gregor Townsend has already been written off by many as Scotland head coach and, to be honest, it’s easy to see why. They have been stagnating for some time now and their defeats to Argentina in the Autumn and Italy in round one suggest a more worrying prospect that they are in fact regressing despite having the strongest available squad in many years.

Scotland can still more than just salvage something from this tournament even if winning the title now seems like a pipe dream. Winning the Triple Crown for the first time since 1990 would be something that would certainly shift the mood around this team and that would also see them beating Ireland in Dublin which would be a real statement with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon.

To achieve that though they need to start off by beating England and that looks to be quite the task at the moment against the form team in international rugby. Steve Borthwick’s side head to Edinburgh high on confidence and will feel more than capable of a first win at Murrayfield since 2020 having lifted the Calcutta Cup last year at Twickenham to prevent the Scots making it five in a row in this fixture.

Prediction: Scotland to win by five points or less. Form goes out the window when the Calcutta Cup is on the line. It’s one match you can almost guarantee that Scotland will be at their best for and anything else doesn’t bear thinking about for Gregor Townsend and his future as national team boss. It’s win or bust for Scotland as far as their 2026 Six Nations is concerned but England are going to make life difficult, be sure of that, so a Scotland win will likely come by the narrowest of margins.

Wales vs France

The dark days continue for Welsh rugby after they were routinely dispatched by England in round one. The result wasn’t a surprise but didn’t sting any less for their proud supporters and players.

Regaining that pride has to be the priority in Cardiff this weekend in front of a passionate home crowd. If the French hand them their own backsides the way South Africa did in the autumn, which Fabien Galthié’s team are more than capable of doing given the chance, then we once again reach a new low for this Welsh team with worries of just how much further down their rock bottom actually is.

A dangerous France team who have their sights set on the Grand Slam will be targeting the bonus point win and anything else will be a disappointment for them. Wales need to try and stop them achieving that and even if they don’t they need to make sure, at the very least, they make this as competitive a test match as they can.

Prediction: France to win by 20 points or more. Going with the head over the heart and the obvious prediction is a routine win for the French who will leave Cardiff with all five points. If Wales could get anything at all from this match, be that a losing bonus point or a try scoring bonus point, then that would be something at last to be somewhat optimistic over. Pride is on the line for the Welsh and these players need to show some fight and make this a contest rather than a French exhibition.

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