Why is the Six Nations starting on a Thursday? 2026 tournament makes history with unusual start

The Six Nations 2026 gets underway tonight with a blockbuster showdown between title rivals France and Ireland in Paris.

France head into the game looking to defend the title they won last year with Les Blues pipping England to top spot by a single point.

Ireland, meanwhile, will hope Andy Farrell’s return from his head coach duties with the British and Irish Lions can help them to navigate through the consequences of an ageing squad beset by injuries and suspension.

Steve Borthwick’s England will have an extra close watching brief this evening, with their impressive resurgence in 2025 seeing them widely tipped as France’s closest challengers for this year’s crown.

But tonight’s opening fixture is somewhat unusual, given the curtain raiser at the Stade de France is taking place on a Thursday instead of the traditional Friday night slot.

Why the Six Nations is starting on a Thursday

The France vs Ireland game has been brought forward by 24 hours in order to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics 2026 in Italy.

The ceremony to officially open the Milano Cortina games will begin at 7pm UK time on Friday night. San Siro, home of Inter Milan and AC Milan, will host the proceedings.

This is the first time in Six Nations history that the tournament will have started on a Thursday.

What else is new about this year’s Six Nations?

Along with the Thursday night opening, this year’s competition is going to look a little different to previous editions.

In an unprecedented move, the Six Nations will be contested over six weeks instead of the usual seven with only one rest weekend scheduled between rounds three and four.

The current format of seven rounds taking place over seven weeks, with fallow weekends either side of round three, has been in place since 2003.

Before then, the tournament was held over as many as ten weeks.

The move to compress the calendar down to six weeks has been broached for many years, with opposition from the players themselves previously preventing the plan from coming to fruition.

Organisers hope the new schedule, with three back-to-back games to kick-start the competition, will help to generate more momentum and interest in the Six Nations from the off.

Other changes to the Six Nations include new game management directives, including stricter shot clock timing and quicker TMO decisions, with the aim of creating a faster tempo to matches.

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