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The 2026 Six Nations is set for a thrilling final day next Saturday with France, Scotland and Ireland all competing to win the championship.

France could have secured a second consecutive championship with a game to spare but Scotland produced one of their greatest performances to clinch a remarkable 50-40 victory at Murrayfield.

That win put Scotland in contention for a first Six Nations title and denied France the chance of a Grand Slam.

The only blemish for Gregor Townsend’s side was France managing to score four tries in the final 15 minutes to secure an all-important bonus point that keeps them above Scotland at the top of the standings with a vastly superior points difference.

Victory over England in Paris in the final game of the tournament might not be enough to secure the title for France, but a bonus-point win should guarantee it.

Playing last on Super Saturday means Fabien Galthie’s side will know exactly what is required before their game kicks off at 20:10 GMT.

With the table being so tight there are some complicated permutations, but the simplest way for Scotland to win the title is to beat Ireland in the day’s opening match and then hope that England beat France.

Third-placed Ireland, who battled to a 27-17 bonus-point victory over Wales on Friday, could clinch a third title in four years if they beat Scotland and England overcome France.

Saturday 14 March

14:10 – Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium, Dublin

16:40 – Wales v Italy, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, BBC One from 16:00

20:10 – France v England, Stade de France, Paris

Wales face the prospect of finishing bottom of the table for a third successive year after their defeat in Dublin.

Wales are making progress under Steve Tandy but have lost all four of their matches this year and are without a Six Nations win since 2023.

They would need a big bonus-point win over Italy – in the day’s live game on BBC One – and hope France thump England by a huge score to finish above England on points difference.

It would be a staggering turnaround with England’s points difference being plus four and Wales’ minus 96, but a win would at least end a miserable run of losses.

Italy, who clinched a first win over England on Saturday, will bid to make it three wins in a Six Nations for the first time in their history.

Whatever their result the Azzurri cannot finish bottom.

England will aim to avoid losing four matches in a Six Nations campaign for the first time and alleviate some of the pressure on head coach Steve Borthwick.

Prior to Saturday’s game in Rome, Italy v England was the most predictable fixture in the Six Nations.

Italy had never beaten England in the tournament and had lost every one of their 32 meetings in all competitions.

That miserable run finally ended with a hard-fought 23-18 victory at a raucous Stadio Olimpico.

Steve Borthwick’s England side came into the match under pressure after dismal back-to-back defeats, increasing Italy’s belief of causing a historic upset.

That is what materialised as the hosts capitalised on second-half yellow cards for Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje to seal an emotional win in the final quarter.

Several players jumped into each others’ arms at the full-time whistle, while others fell to the floor overcome with the enormity of the result.

Tommaso Menoncello carved straight through England’s defence for a first-half score and powered his way up the wing to set up Leonardo Marin’s vital late try, with Paolo Garbisi kicking three penalties.

“At the start of the game, there was a lot of tension, but I am really proud of the boys,” captain Michele Lamaro told BBC Sport.

“It is amazing to keep writing Italian history. It’s something we are proud of. We are doing this to inspire Italian people to come and play for this team.”

Victory means they have now beaten all five of their Six Nations rivals since entering the competition in 2000. The full house comes seven years after the then Six Nations chief executive rejected questions over whether Italy should still be part of the tournament after finishing with another Wooden Spoon.

At that stage, Italy were ranked 15th in the world and had lost their past 17 Six Nations games.

Back then, a win of any sort looked unlikely – a victory over one of the tournament powerhouses required a near miracle.

In 2022, fly-half Garbisi sank to his knees and cried as his last-gasp conversion defeated Wales, ending Italy’s seven-year Six Nations losing run.

Zero wins and a record 18th Wooden Spoon followed in the 2023 tournament, but a new crop of young talent was emerging.

The appointment of Argentine Gonzalo Quesada as head coach in 2024 was a turning point, while Italy’s investment at under-20 level and in their domestic teams was reaping dividends.

Garbisi’s injury-time penalty that year hit the post to deny Italy a first Six Nations victory in France, but it proved they could compete with – and beat – the very best.

Wins over Scotland and Wales helped them secure their best campaign in terms of results but Quesada’s side struggled with expectations last year and only defeated Wales.

That has not been the case this year.

An opening win over Scotland was backed up by running Ireland – back-to-back champions in 2023 and 2024 – close in Dublin, followed by a spirited performance in Lille against France.

Unlike the 2024 defeat by France, they grabbed hold of the game when it was on the line.

“It is a very tough process because you have to change the mindset,” Lamaro added on the growing expectation of his side.

“We are used to being last and the underdog, but at the same time, we are building trust in each other, and that is what matters the most.”

Italy are now in a strong position to finish above England for the first time in the Six Nations, with a final game to come against winless Wales on Saturday in Cardiff.

Having recorded two wins in 2024 for the first time since 2013, Quesada’s side are eyeing a third victory to conclude their best-ever campaign.

“To win today, with expectations to win against an amazing England side, is such a big step in our growth,” Quesada told ITV.

The Azzurri conceded 80 points against England in 2001, with their largest margin of defeat coming by 60 points in 1999.

In the campaign that brought the historic win over Wales four years ago, Italy lost 33-0 in Rome to England.

The next time England came to Rome, they were behind 17-14 at half-time, eventually escaping with a 27-24 win.

Centre Menoncello, named player of the match in the win over England, featured that day alongside Juan Ignacio Brex in the midfield – a combination that has been vital to Italy’s rise.

The 23-year-old, who became the Six Nations’ youngest player-of-the-tournament award winner in 2024, will sign for Toulon next season after developing into one of the best centres in the world.

In that three-point defeat, 10 of the starting XV retained their spots for the fixture two years later.

“It’s a massive win, and we have been expecting and working for this victory over the last three years,” Menoncello told ITV Sport.

“We knew it was going to happen, and we worked extremely hard over the last week to get the result.

“We knew we conceded an easy try at the end of the first half, but when we came back out, we were on fire.

Reigning champion Luke Littler moved into the quarter-finals of the UK Open with a comfortable 10-5 win over Gary Anderson, while Luke Humphries was beaten 10-6 by Danny Noppert.

Having narrowly edged past Kevin Doets 10-8 in the fifth round in Saturday’s afternoon session, world number one Littler raised his game on his return to the oche and sped into a 4-1 lead.

Anderson momentarily looked as though he could claw his way back as he took the seventh leg against the throw.

But the double world champion reimposed his authority to head the Scot 7-3 at the second break.

With his opponent unable to show the form he had displayed earlier in the tournament, Littler hit double top in the 16th game to seal his progress.

In a battle of two three-times tournament champions, world number four Michael van Gerwen was trounced 10-3 by James Wade, who averaged more than 105.

Gerwyn Price, meanwhile, staged a remarkable fightback from 9-4 down to beat Ireland’s Keane Barry 10-9.

In the opening match of Saturday’s evening session on the main stage, Josh Rock triumphed 10-7 against Stephen Bunting.

Meanwhile, on the second stage, Premier League leader Jonny Clayton beat Martin Lukeman 10-7, having hit eight maximums, and Rob Cross overcame Daryl Gurney 10-6.

Krzysztof Ratajski v Josh Rock

James Wade v Rob Cross

Luke Littler v Danny Noppert

Northern Ireland interim manager Kris Lindsay said it is “up to the powers that be” at the Irish FA to decide whether he will be appointed as permanent boss.

Lindsay took over as Tanya Oxtoby’s successor for NI’s initial two World Cup qualifiers this month, presiding over defeats by Switzerland and Turkey.

When asked about his future after the narrow 1-0 defeat by Turkey on Saturday, Lindsay, as he did before the game, brushed off talk of him continuing in the role despite players like Laura Rafferty, Nadene Caldwell and Jackie Burns backing him publicly.

“I’ve been focussed on these two games. That’s something for the powers above me to decide what’s happening for the next camp,” he said.

An error from returning goalkeeper Lauren Perry allowed Ece Turkoglu to score the only goal of the game for Turkey at Mourneview Park in the first half.

Like against Switzerland on Tuesday, when they fell to a 2-0 defeat, NI restricted Turkey to few chances, but failed to really work Selda Akgoz.

While Lindsay said the loss was “disappointing” he is confident that “whoever” is in charge for April’s double-header against Malta “has the basis of a really good squad there”.

“They obviously scored from a mistake from us, which happens, it’s fine and I thought that killed the momentum a little bit and we lost a little bit of enthusiasm and there was nothing really in it in the first half,” he added.

“But second half, I thought we were more of a Northern Ireland performance in terms of enthusiasm and intent, we had them pinned in for large spells of the second half.

“We lacked that little bit of composure or that final pass to create a chance and get a shot off, but I said to the girls there be disappointed, no one likes losing games of football but take learnings from it, because Turkey were strong, physical, aggressive quick and at times caused us problems, but when we moved the ball we caused them problems but we didn’t do it enough.”

The second successive defeat leaves Northern Ireland third in the group and puts pressure on them to win their double-header against bottom side Malta next month to stay in the hunt for a play-off.

NI are currently on a five-game run without a win, with their last victory coming in April last year and Lindsay believes the overhaul in players and staff recently means qualifying for the World Cup this campaign will come too soon for a young group.

“I think it’s one where, of course, we want to get results, no one, likes losing games of football, but for me, we’ve got to develop these younger players and expose them to international football.

“I thought Mia Moore was really good, really positive, there’s young, talented players there to build on and that’s what they need, experience and sometimes you’re going to suffer defeats.

There is an irony that the club that welcomed the cameras to Wrexham was denied by them.

As film star owners watched on, it was a video screen that brought a cruel dose of reality to a fantastic FA Cup tie and ensured Chelsea avoided a humbling fifth-round exit.

The Cae Ras has a storied history in its 162 years, but this was the first time the video assistant referee (VAR) has been in operation in the oldest international ground in world football.

Its first scene was to turn George Dobson’s card from a yellow into a red, leaving the Championship hosts with 10 men and Chelsea off the hook going into extra time.

Its second was to rule out a Wrexham equaliser that would have taken the game to penalties, Lewis Brunt inches offside as he connected with Kieffer Moore’s header on the line.

“We had the highs and lows in such a short space of time and fell the wrong side of it [VAR],” said striker Sam Smith, whose opener was the early warning that Chelsea were in for a night of it in north Wales.

It will be a situation Wrexham will have to get used to should they turn play-off promise into a fourth straight promotion and book regular visits from Premier League opponents.

For now, though, manager Phil Parkinson could only rue the refusal of the officials to read the script.

“Without VAR we don’t get a player sent off and that goal certainly stands so it’s against us tonight,” said Parkinson, with his ire more aimed at the Dobson decision for a foul on Alejandro Garnacho.

“It’s my first taste of it and I know the rule is that is has to be a clear and obvious mistake for the decision to be changed – and I think the referee’s got to back his judgement of the real time, instant moment. He was in a great position to see it.”

Being denied a level playing field when trying to bridge the Premier League gap was one thing, but being denied the chance for penalties was another.

Pundit Micah Richards told Match of the Day that “you don’t want to see goals being ruled out like that, we are talking inches”.

Parkinson was more accepting of the decision, refusing to blame Brunt for his instinctive goalline touch and suggesting Moore’s header would have hit the post.

He was adamant, too, that his side’s bid for a place in the Premier League will not be affected by the disappointment.

“I’ve said this before, just not to as many people,” said Parkinson, referring to the media attendance that trebled with the game being televised in 75 countries around the world with the global fascination of Wrexham very much a reality.

“But I always want my team and their performance to reflect the town, so people know what Wrexham are all about.

The spotlight is also on what might be needed if Wrexham do get there with defender Zak Vyner speaking of 11 cup games remaining as the Championship season reaches its climax.

Because, if this was a screen test for what could come for the team who were still playing non-league this time three years ago, they suggested they have what it takes to compete against Premier League sides. For the record, fans were watching them play Dagenham on this night in 2023.

Chief executive Michael Williamson spoke of this game – and the third-round win over Nottingham Forest before it – being tests of Wrexham’s readiness to make the step up in terms of the team and the club’s infrastructure.

And director Humphrey Ker told the BBC: “It has been an extraordinary journey.

“We needed to get players in to continue to help gelling this team into a promotion contending squad. We are dreaming big.”

While they have spent well in recent years, Parkinson reminded us that there is “a huge gulf between spending power in the Premier League to the Championship” and that – for all the Hollywood attention – Wrexham might struggle to compete financially.

After more than competing on the pitch in this cup tie, the focus of Wrexham’s cameras now turn to a crucial game against fifth-placed Hull City and a Welsh derby with Swansea City.