England 2025/26

[OllyM97]

OK then, here’s my take on the coming year for England:

6 Nations - Definitely think we’ll finish top two. Heart says 5/5 and a Grand Slam, head says 4/5 and a close loss in Paris. We’ll beat Wales and Italy. Scotland at Murrayfield could go either way but I’d have us narrow favourites. Ireland at Twickenham will be tricky but I think we win by 8-10 points with home advantage. We’re definitely capable of beating France away but if they handle the pressure (I think they’ll be 4/4 going into the last game as well) and their big names turn up, then I think their ceiling at the moment is a bit higher than ours, especially with home advantage. 1st or 2nd, but runners up more likely IMO.

Nations Championship - This one is a bit up in the air because you don’t know how some teams will approach it but, bar SA away, I expect us to win all the other fixtures. Argentina away will be tough but we’ve got an excellent record against them over the last 15 years or so. It’s a shame we’re not playing Fiji in Suva, that would have been a different challenge. As for our home matches in November, 3 wins are on the cards. I think the fixtures fall our way in terms of topping the Northern Hemisphere section. I’m going for an England v SA final, and for England to upset the World Champs at home with a big crowd behind them and win a tournament that ultimately has very little bearing on the RWC.

 

[BPM]

I’d be very happy with that.

Feels like we’re pretty much on the same page.

Building a winning mentality is important but I don’t think that is solely defined by winning the Six Nations or the Nations Championship. Both are very challenging competitions and I don’t think the format of this year’s fixtures favours us with the two toughest games being away from home. As I said in my previous post, I could accept losing to France in the 6 Nations if we’ve picked up good wins against Scotland and Ireland. Very few teams win in SA, so if we don’t win there it won’t be a disaster. As always, it’s about performance. If we play well in those games but come out on the wrong side of a tight game, I’m OK with it.

Ultimately, it’s about peaking at the right time and I see this year as part of the climb towards that peak rather than the peak itself. I feel like we’re going in the right direction and a good 2026 is about continuing to build upon the positivity of 2025.

Let’s put it this way - I’d much prefer a RWC win in 2027 to a Grand Slam or Nations Championship in 2026.

If this year continues on the current trajectory, I will be a lot more bullish about next year.

 

[Ddanno]

Getting a win over SA this year would be immense, but I neither expect it, nor in some weird way particularly want it, because I'd rather we had the desire for vengeance (instead of them) if we clash at the WC.

Other than that, I think France and the ABs will have a very good shot at turning us over as well, but reckon we'll have another good year. I'm looking forward to it whatever happens.

Kudos to Sriracha'd Bigwick, he's got me believing in the side again after a few torrid years

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I'd agree with all of the above but more than anything I just want us to put in a bloody convincing game against the Scots for once. There is something about that fixture where we just go to pieces and the Scots treat it as their world cup final. For the love of God can we just actually turn up for that game and put in a proper performance?

 

[Ddanno]

I'd agree with all of the above but more than anything I just want us to put in a bloody convincing game against the Scots for once. There is something about that fixture where we just go to pieces and the Scots treat it as their world cup final. For the love of God can we just actually turn up for that game and put in a proper performance?

Amen. If we can smack them in Edinburgh, and not by just one point I'll grin like Jiffy in 2013.

 

[Reiser99]

In terms of expectations I'm not sure. My heart says we should do well, but my head says it's too early to say we should be winning games against others in the top 4/5. Despite winning 11/12 and being on an 11 game winning run, only France and New Zealand were against top opposition. I think we're at a point where we're competing well against any in the top 2-5, with only S.A being the team to beat. However, I feel were evens against the rest and certainly should not be complacent at all.

I think this year will be a better indication of where we are at and show if last year was a false dawn, if we're in the mix or even if we're on a continuing upward trajectory. If we lose the 4 games against Ireland, France, NZ and SA then it was a bit of a false dawn. If we win say 2 and compete well in the others then we're in the mix. Winning the 6Ns or Nations championship would definitely be a statement.

 

[BPM]

Absolutely.

February is a big month for us. My hope is that we thrash Wales and then beat Scotland and Ireland convincingly with no bandwidth for those wins to be considered undeserved, lucky or influenced by a controversial decision.

If we can do that and back it up with a good win in Rome, we’d be going to Paris looking for a GS.

In some respects, the opening game of the 6N in Paris sets the tone without us being involved. For the first time, there’s a bit of pressure on Andy Farrell and if Ireland lose, that will only ratchet up ahead of facing us in round 3.

OTOH, if Ireland can win in Paris, it probably gives us the better route to winning the tournament/a possible GS.

Going to be an interesting February anyway.

 

[BPM]

In terms of expectations I'm not sure. My heart says we should do well, but my head says it's too early to say we should be winning games against others in the top 4/5. Despite winning 11/12 and being on an 11 game winning run, only France and New Zealand were against top opposition. I think we're at a point where we're competing well against any in the top 2-5, with only S.A being the team to beat. However, I feel were evens against the rest and certainly should not be complacent at all.

I think this year will be a better indication of where we are at and show if last year was a false dawn, if we're in the mix or even if we're on a continuing upward trajectory. If we lose the 4 games against Ireland, France, NZ and SA then it was a bit of a false dawn. If we win say 2 and compete well in the others then we're in the mix. Winning the 6Ns or Nations championship would definitely be a statement.

Sure, but that’s where the fixture list comes in to play. I feel like Ireland are past their peak and we’re playing them at home. It’s too early to say we should win it, but I do think we’ve reached the stage where we are confident of winning most of our home games.

However as I said above, rounds 1 and 2 could significantly influence the mood going into that game. It’s not inconceivable that Ireland lose to France and we lose to Scotland which would put a very different complexion on the round 3 game.

Murrayfield is the first real challenge. Again, I don’t think we’re at the stage where we can be totally confident of a win, but I do believe we are a better side than Scotland and it’s about time we started winning up there.

My prediction is that France beat Ireland in R1 and we beat Scotland in R2. If that happens, I feel like we will have the momentum we need to beat Ireland at home.*

*To complete the picture I definitely expect to beat Wales in R1 and for Ireland to beat Italy in R2.