Fin Smith suffers major injury blow ahead of 2026 Six Nations
Rugby NewsThursday, 15 January 2026 at 12:55
Northampton Saints fly-half Fin Smith is dealing with a calf strain that could rule him out of England’s Six Nations opener against Wales on 7 February.
The 23-year-old missed Saints’ clash with Bordeaux-Bègles on Sunday and is awaiting a scan to determine the extent of the injury. Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson said:
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"We're still waiting to see how long that is from a scan point of view. It's probably a minimum of two weeks, but with a muscle injury it's hard to give a timeline beyond that. It's not months and months, and he's not back this weekend, so somewhere in between."
England are set to name their Six Nations squad next week. After facing Wales, they travel to Scotland on 14 February and host Ireland at Twickenham on 21 February before the rest week.
Smith featured off the bench in last year’s Six Nations opener against Ireland and started the remaining four games of England’s campaign. Despite a strong showing in a second-place finish, his British & Irish Lions tour of Australia was less successful, with Smith unable to displace Finn Russell in the Test side.
Meanwhile, George Ford impressed in England’s autumn Tests, starting at 10 in wins over Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina, leaving Smith limited to a win over Fiji and squad appearances. Reflecting on losing the England 10 shirt, Smith told BBC Radio Northampton in December:
"I have absolutely loved how good it feels to wear the England 10 shirt; having that taken away from you does hurt."
EDITORS PICKS:
Full 2026 Six Nations Fixtures
ROUND 1
Thursday 5th February 2026
Saturday 7th February 2026
ROUND 2
Saturday 14th February 2026
- Ireland v Italy – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – 2:10pm
- Scotland v England – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh – 4:40pm
Sunday 15th February 2026
- Wales v France – Principality Stadium, Cardiff – 3:10pm
ROUND 3
Saturday 21st February 2026
- England v Ireland – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – 2:10pm
- Wales v Scotland – Principality Stadium, Cardiff – 4:40pm
Sunday 22nd February 2026
- France v Italy – Decathlon Arena, Lille – 3:10pm
ROUND 4
Friday 6th March 2026
- Ireland v Wales – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – 8:10pm
Saturday 7th March 2026
- Scotland v France – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh – 2:10pm
- Italy v England – Stadio Olimpico, Rome – 4:40pm
ROUND 5
Saturday 14th March 2026
- Ireland v Scotland – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – 2:10pm
- Wales v Italy – Principality Stadium, Cardiff – 4:40pm
- France v England – Stade de France, Paris – 8:10pm
Can you name every Six Nations-winning captain?
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