Six Nations predictions 2025: Winners, top try-scorer and players to watch
The Six Nations begins on Friday under the lights in Paris, drawing back the curtain on the most exciting six weeks of rugby action the northern hemisphere has to offer.
Here, Telegraph Sport experts stare into their respective crystal balls to predict what we will see.
You can vote for your winner at the bottom and join the debate in the comments section.
Ireland
France
England
Scotland
Wales
Italy
Saturday, March 8 looks to be the crunch day for the Six Nations title when France travel to Dublin. France go into the championship as many people’s favourites, given the stunning performances of the Top 14 sides, but you have to go back to 2022 for their last victory over Ireland, and in Dublin, Simon Easterby’s side will hold the edge.
In the past, French club form has not always transferred to the national side. Ireland’s form may have dipped during the autumn but the Leinster-based side were undercooked then. The Irish province have been in menacing form since then and Ireland are seeking what will be a historic third successive Six Nations title.
That France have to also go to Twickenham diminishes their chances, while England’s hopes appear to rest on round one. Beat Ireland in Dublin and the frustrations of last year will be buried. Otherwise rounds two and three (France and Scotland both at Twickenham) suddenly look daunting.
Scotland’s championship will also be defined by rounds two and three – Ireland at Murrayfield and England. As for Wales, a return of two wins would be regarded as a major success given where they are coming from.
Player of the tournament
Antoine Dupont (France)
It would be a surprise if anyone comes close. A player for the ages.
Top try-scorer
Damian Penaud (France)
France’s scoring threats are multi-fold and the wing misses the first outing against Wales, but Penaud is in irresistible form and will return as soon as he is fit
Breakout player
Sam Prendergast (Ireland)
The Ireland rookie fly-half is set to be handed the No 10 jersey, having only made his debut last autumn, sparking an Irish fly-half debate reminiscent of the great tussles between Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell and David Humphreys and Ronan O’Gara. The 21-year-old is regarded as a special talent and, if he blossoms during the championship, could force himself into Lions contention.
Most looking forward to...
Ireland v France
This game two years ago was one of the Six Nations classics. It will not be for the faint of heart.
France
Ireland
England
Scotland
Italy
Wales
There are three injuries that significantly change the title equation – Sione Tuipulotu for Scotland, Tadhg Furlong for Ireland and Gaël Fickou for France. Tuipulotu, as their captain and talisman, feels the most grievous for Scotland, with the loss of Scott Cummings acting as a secondary hammer blow.
Fickou is France’s defensive captain but no player is more integral to their team’s prospects than Furlong. His absence is meant to be short term, but he has so little rugby under his belt it is difficult to see him firing on all cylinders.
All this is a long way of saying I think France will be champions but will lose in Dublin. England will be in the mix and desperately need another statement performance.
Player of the tournament
Antoine Dupont (France)
On the basis that France are champions then it is not a giant leap to nominate Dupont, which if we have any luck will set off another tedious debate about whether he is truly the best player in the world (yes, he is, by a distance).
Top try-scorer
Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
Is this a Lions year? Yes. Are Scotland playing England? Yes. Then Duhan van der Merwe will be flying high in the try-scoring charts.
Breakout player
Sam Prendergast (Ireland)
There is this little-known French scrum-half who I think might turn a few heads this year. I kid, I kid. Prendergast is probably an equally unoriginal answer, but the fifth version of “the second coming of Johnny Sexton” looks like the real deal this time.
Most looking forward to...
To quote every England player I have spoken to in the last year, I cannot look beyond my next game: Ireland v England in Dublin will tell us a lot about both teams. Have this Ireland team already peaked? Can England find a new and innovative way to throw the game away at the death?
Ireland
France
England
Scotland
Italy
Wales
Before injuries to Tuipulotu and Cummings, I would have backed Scotland to turn over Ireland at Murrayfield in round two and mount a serious bid for the championship. As it happens, I think Ireland have enough to edge that encounter and should stave off England and France in Dublin as well. That would land them a third consecutive outright title.
Below that, I expect France to have plenty of hot patches, with Dupont to the fore. While England need to convince me of their composure and clarity, they should finally take back the Calcutta Cup at home.
Italy have three home fixtures to lean upon and my hopes are not particularly high for Wales.
Player of the tournament
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
Having recently turned 33, Beirne is among the elder statesmen of a grizzled Ireland team. But he has been in fine form for Munster of late and blends immensely disruptive, crafty defence with subtle skills in attack.
Top try-scorer
Darcy Graham (Scotland)
Picking one of the France fliers is the obvious choice, but Graham is such a live-wire who goes looking for touches. Watch out for him close to breakdowns, aiming to capitalise on the new laws protecting scrum-halves – or acting scrum-halves.
Breakout player
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (England)
Renowned by fellow professionals as a supremely strong athlete, Opoku-Fordjour possesses a sense of swagger and seems refreshingly obsessive about scrummaging. He may have to oust Joe Heyes to earn England game time, but more caps are surely coming.
Most looking forward to...
New regulations
How the crackdowns on “escorting” and box-kick blockers, as well as countdown clocks for scrums and line-outs, open up Test matches. The most innovative coaches will adapt quickly.
France
Ireland
England
Scotland
Italy
Wales
France to win the championship without a Grand Slam, with Ireland winning that mouth-watering meeting in Dublin. Should England defeat the Irish on the opening weekend – and stranger things have happened – then they might have a shot, but I do not see a way past Les Bleus at Twickenham, especially with the ghosts of the 2023 obliteration still lingering.
Steve Borthwick’s side should win their other two home games and victory in Cardiff will secure third place. Italy to defeat Wales in Rome and, unfortunately, leave Warren Gatland’s side with back-to-back wooden spoons.
Player of the tournament
Antoine Dupont (France)
At this stage, it is a case of “who else?” I have backed France for the title and so it makes sense to predict that their captain and talisman, the world’s greatest, will be at the helm.
Top try-scorer
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
Again, if France are my victors, then it would be foolish to not pick one of their wondrous back three as top try-scorer. Bielle-Biarrey, in two years, has exploded from a promising under-20 to a World XV shoo-in at senior level. His blend of explosive acceleration, devilish instinct and raw pace has been a sight to behold at club level for Bordeaux this season. Teams will think twice about giving him the chance of a foot race, too, after what he did to the All Blacks in the autumn.
Breakout player
Pierre-Louis Barassi (France)
With injuries to Fickou and Jonathan Danty, Barassi, the 26-year-old Toulouse centre, will line up alongside Yoram Moefana in the French midfield. OK, Barassi already has three caps so perhaps it might be a little disrespectful to label him a potential “breakout”, but he has certainly never made a starting spot his own with Les Bleus, with his last appearance coming on the 2021 tour of Australia. But Barassi has made a spot with Toulouse, who I believe to be the sport’s greatest club side, his own and his mix of pace and power, along with the way he connects with his clubmates at international level, means he could spend the championship troubling defences and making quite the name for himself.
Most looking forward to...
Ireland v France
A probable title decider and the scene of one of the Six Nations’ greatest games two years ago, where Ireland’s fluid and fiery synchronicity triumphed over the individual splendour of Dupont – that tackle on Mack Hansen seems only yesterday – and Penaud, who scored the try of the championship on the Aviva turf.
Ireland
France
Scotland
England
Italy
Wales
This Rugby Football Union target for England to pick up four wins out of five in the Six Nations just feels unhinged, because going into the tournament three sides are clearly in a better position, even Scotland without the excellent Tuipulotu. As has often been the case in recent years, it all hinges on France’s trip to Dublin which is a bit of a coin flip, leading you to side with Ireland at home. One massive caveat; Dupont and Romain Ntamack together can do a lot of crazy things and it would not shock me if they blow that above table up.
Player of the tournament
Andrew Porter (Ireland)
Partly because we need to stop overlooking props for top awards, and partly because Porter is excellent at the day job up front and everything else around the field, too.
Top try-scorer
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
What’s that, Damian Penaud is set to miss out against Wales? Good job France have another ridiculous wing who is possibly faster. Ten tries in 14 Tests so far.
Breakout player
Freddie Thomas (Wales)
The fact that Wales have gone for Thomas on the bench in Paris over Teddy Williams, the top tackler in the United Rugby Championship, shows how highly Wales must rate the young Gloucester lock. He can slot in the back row and showed great athleticism for a try against Bristol earlier in the season, and is now a key cog in the Cherry and Whites pack.
Most looking forward to…
Wales in Rome
The magnitude of it is starting to dawn on everybody. If Wales do not win there, when do they? The Azzurri are a treat to watch.
France (Grand Slam)
England
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Wales
As painfully piecemeal as England’s progress has been, their abundant riches suggest that they must come to the boil soon. And why not now? Having absorbed the agonies of the autumn campaign, with all those avoidable fourth-quarter collapses, Steve Borthwick has the perfect platform at this Six Nations to confound the doubters. Ireland appear to be coming to the end of their dominant cycle, while Scotland are still too prone to folding when the stakes are high. France look the class of the field, by some margin.
Player of the tournament
Antoine Dupont (France)
Perhaps the ultimate team show-piece, the Six Nations is seldom anticipated because of a particular player. Dupont is surely the exception, a freakish shape-shifter whom it is never anything but a privilege to watch. At 28, this is the moment for France’s newly minted Olympic champion.
Top try-scorer
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
The Bordeaux wing has already scored more tries this season for club and country than anybody else called up for Six Nations duty. His unerring ability to spot defensive gaps should be one of France’s key strengths.
Breakout player
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (England)
He had an unmistakable swagger about him when he emerged at Twickenham for his 26 minutes against Japan. The young prop will need to impress quickly to justify the hype, but it is difficult to look past the verdict of Alex Sanderson, his director of rugby at Sale: “He is a tighthead with fast twitch. You just don’t get them.”
Most looking forward to…
It might arrive on only the second weekend, but ‘Le Crunch’ has the potential to be the Grand Slam decider. The memory of England’s shellacking at Twickenham two years ago, when a rampaging Penaud sealed a record 53-10 defeat, remains raw.
France
Ireland
England
Scotland
Italy
Wales
Ireland are the bookmakers’ favourites, given they face France and England at home. But I am not sure how much Champions Cup rugby the oddsmakers have watched this season. Toulouse would probably win the Six Nations. Plus, Ireland did not look to be firing on all cylinders in the autumn and there is also the (no) Andy Farrell factor to consider. If England win in Dublin this weekend that would really put the cat among the pigeons, setting up a tasty ‘Le Crunch’ at Twickenham on February 8. Elsewhere, Scotland remain capable of beating anyone. But I fear for Wales. Friday night in Paris could get ugly, which could impact on the trip to Rome in week two.
Player of the tournament
Romain Ntamack (France)
We can’t all pick Antoine Dupont.
Top try scorer
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
Penaud would have been my first choice, but the fact that he is missing Friday’s opening fixture may well deprive the Bordeaux winger of a few tries. I will go with Bielle-Biarrey.
Breakout player
Tom Willis (England)
Hardly an unknown given he is carving it up in the Premiership, but the 26-year-old has won only one cap for England. How great would it be to see Willis cement the No 8 spot with some barnstorming performances over the next few weeks?
Most looking forward to…
The Ireland v France fixture in Dublin will most likely decide the championship, but either way I am very much looking forward to watching England try to recover some pride after that record 53-10 battering at the hands of France at Twickenham two years ago.
