France vs Ireland LIVE: 2026 Six Nations kicks off in Paris

Thursday, 05 February 2026 at 18:28

byRugby Rucker

France's Ireland LIVE: The 2026 Six Nations begins in Paris with a matchup that needs no sell: the winners of the last four championships, colliding under the lights. And yet, for all the pedigree on show, the build-up has felt strangely muted.

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Paris has been chic and sunlit, but conspicuously calm—more reminiscent of the quiet aftermath of the 2023 World Cup here, when both sides bowed out on the same quarter-final weekend, than the opening night of a new campaign.

There have been nods to occasion. The Irish embassy unveiled the new Solidarity Trophy, the Six Nations ticked through its media duties, and the narrative boxes have all been duly filled.

Still, a TV-led Thursday night opener has a habit of dulling the sense of ceremony. That calm won’t last long. Once the whistle goes, subtlety will give way to something far more familiar when these two meet.

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Follow all the live action from the Stade de France below: