Six Nations Team Of The Week: France, Italy And England Set Early Tone

Six Nations Team of the Week from round one as France Italy and England dominate, standout stars shine and early rankings begin to take shape in 2026 today

Feb 9, 2026 by Philip Bendon

Six Nations Team Of The Week: France, Italy And England Set Early Tone

Round 1 of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations is in the books, and with it, so is the first stab at arranging the pecking order for international rugby in 2026.

Currently occupying the winner's circle are France, Italy and England, which notched impressive victories over Ireland, Scotland and Wales, respectively.

Played across three very different sets of conditions, European Rugby’s greatest competition delivered wall-to-wall action, from the unusual Thursday night kickoff in Paris, right through to Saturday afternoon's showdown in London.

Catching the eye on the opening weekend were several notable performers who make up the first of our team of the week for this year’s championship:

1. Danillo Fischetti – Italy

Northampton’s loosehead went to work on Zander Fagerson from the off and never let up in a performance that would bring a tear to any scrum doctor.

Around the park, he had a handful of strong rumbles to get his side to go forward in brutal conditions.

2. Giacomo Nicotera – Italy

Securing a near-perfect return at line-out time in conditions that were more associated with monsoon season in Thailand, Italy’s hooker had arguably his finest outing in the blue shirt to date.

3. Simone Ferrari – Italy

Simply obliterated British and Irish Lions loosehead Pierre Schoeman in a manner that set the standard for his side, securing a 100% win rate on Italian scrums and relegating Scotland to an 83% win rate.

In monsoon conditions, this performance was crucial to his side’s success and rightly earned him the man-of-the-match award.

4. Charles Ollivon – France

Letting slip the opening try as a bounce ball squirted away from him, the Toulon stalwart made no such mistake later in the first half when he raced away for France’s third try.

Alongside Mickael Guillard, Ollivon offered a glimpse of what might become the new French attacking strategy with ultra-mobile tight-five forwards.

5. Ollie Chessum – England

One of the many contenders for player of the match during England’s dismantling of Wales, Chessum was everywhere at Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.

Making 43 meters from seven carries, with 15 tackles and 13 (yes, 13) line-outs won, Chessum was a tormentor for the Welsh in every facet of the game.

6. Guy Pepper – England

Quietly becoming one of England’s best players.

In a world where Henry Pollock dominates the column inches (and for good reason!), Bath’s Pepper has a work rate that would rival the best backrows of all time.

Exceptional in every area of the game, Pepper is a defensive monster, strong carrier and a top-quality line-out option.

7. Oscar Jegou – France

Another of the French pack who can shift to any position in the ‘back five’ of the scrum.

La Rochelle’s Jegou topped the tackle charts for Les Bleus with 17 (including two dominant), won two turnovers and made nine carries.

Still just 22 years old, it is frightening to think what he could become over the next decade.

8. Ben Earl – England

England’s pinball at the back of the scrum bounced from Welsh defender to Welsh defender, rarely, if ever, being stopped fully.

Topping both the carry and tackle charts with 17 in each category, as well as topping the line-breaks stat line with three and a try, Earl was a menace Saturday and just keeps getting better.

9. Antoine Dupont – France

Are you not entertained?!

The king is back, and the game is all the better for it! Albeit, Ireland probably didn’t feel like that Thursday evening.

At times, Les Bleus captain was unplayable. Bouncing off Irish defenders, mixing up his kicking game and, in turn, pulling the Irish backfield defense from pillar to post, it was a virtuoso performance from the French General.

10. Mathieu Jalibert – France

Combining with Dupont, Bordeaux’s red-hot in-form fly-half was a complete mismatch for the Irish defense.

Slipping by Tommy O’Brien and Sam Prendergast for his try was a highlight reel moment.

Away from this score, Jalibert continually probed the Irish defense and brutally exposed their disorganization time and again.

11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey – France

While many consider Dupont the best player in the world, there now is a real argument that the Bordeaux winger is a challenger for the throne.

Nearly setting up the first French try before actually scoring it minutes later, Bielle-Biarrey outpaced the Irish defense, outjumped the Irish kick chasers and dominated his defensive efforts out wide for a complete performance.

12. Tommaso Menoncello – Italy

Scoring Italy’s second, and final, try to open his account, the Toulouse-bound center went on to manhandle Scotland’s highly toured pairing of Tuipulotu and Jones all afternoon.

One contact in particular, where he picked up Jones and drove him meters back, proved just how up for the contest his side was.

On a day where the Stadio Olimpico pitch was closer to being an Olympic swimming pool that sports field, Menoncello still raced away for 112 meters, beating four defenders and making two line-breaks.

13. Tommy Freeman – England

Slotting in alongside his clubmate Fraser Dingwall, Freeman had his most complete performance in the white 13 shirt to date.

Making 104 meters from 14 carries, beating seven defenders and scoring a try was about as good as it gets in attack.

Defensively, the Northampton Saints standout made 10 tackles and routinely cut off access to the Welsh outside backs.

14. Louis Lynagh – Italy

Simply mesmeric in the air, Italy’s right wing dominated Jamie Dobie in their one-on-one contests.

His early dominance paved the way for the try that got his side off to the perfect start.

Continuing his effort throughout the contest, Lynagh ensured that Italy was more than a 50/50 chance of winning back its contestable.

15. Thomas Ramos - France

Another French back who was on a completely different level on Thursday night.

The Toulouse star pulled off magic with the boot that Kylian Mbappé would be proud of.

Most notable among the long list of interactions was his full pace volley to set up LBB for the bonus-point try early in the second half.

Now firmly in the sweet spot where he is mentally and physically at the top of his game, Ramos could be putting together a World Player Of The Year bid in 2026.

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