France
Head coach Fabien Galthié has already lost two possible starters ahead of the Six Nations opener against Ireland on Friday week, with gritty back row Anthony Jelonch and gigantic lock Emmanuel Meafou both ruled out after suffering injuries while playing for Toulouse last weekend. Their spots in the squad have gone to uncapped Toulouse back row Alexandre Roumat and 31-times capped lock Paul Willemse.
Of course, Antoine Dupont is missing and out-half Romain Ntamack is still on the comeback trail from the knee injury that kept him out of last year’s World Cup.
Despite the absences, this is a 34-man French squad full of quality and they will be aiming to get back on top with La Rochelle’s brilliant number eight Grégory Alldritt named as the new skipper.
Maxime Lucu is set to take over at number nine in Dupont’s absence, having shown superb form for Bordeaux alongside Matthieu Jalibert, who should be at number 10.
There are five other uncapped players in Galthié’s squad in classy scrum-half Nolann le Garrec, clever centre Nicolas Depoortère, versatile halfback Antoine Gibert, combative back row Esteban Abadie, and powerful lock Matthias Halagahu.
There are another two players who only have one cap each in punchy tighthead Thomas Laclayet and thrilling centre Émilien Gailleton, so this is a French squad with a good sprinkling of fresh faces.
Galthié has named two scrum-halves and two out-halves but fullback Thomas Ramos has been impressing at number 10 for Toulouse, while Gibert can play in both halfback slots.
The French seem likely to lean on most of the players who featured prominently in their home World Cup last year as they bid to bounce back from the disappointment of their quarter-final exit to South Africa by reclaiming the Six Nations title.
Loosehead prop: Cyril Baille, Reda Wardi, Sébastien Taofifénua
Hooker: Peato Mauvaka, Julien Marchand, Gaetan Barlot
Tighthead prop: Uini Atonio, Dorian Aldegheri, Thomas Laclayat
Second row: Cameron Woki, Romain Taofifénua, Paul Gabrillagues, Matthias Halagahu, Paul Willemse
Back row: Grégory Alldritt (captain), François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Esteben Abadie, Paul Boudehent, Alexandre Roumat
Scrum-half: Maxime Lucu, Nolann Le Garrec
Out-half: Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Gibert
Centre: Jonathan Danty, Gaël Fickou, Nicolas Depoortère, Émilien Gailleton, Yoram Moefana
Back three: Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud, Melvyn Jaminet, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthis Lebel
Scotland
Gregor Townsend has a big squad of 39 players for this campaign which opens with a visit to Wales on Saturday 3 February.
There are four players yet to be capped. Exeter loosehead Alec Hepburn previously played for England but now switches allegiance, while 31-year-old Northampton tighthead Elliot Millar-Mills has been called up. Ex-England U20 wing Arron Reed is onboard after impressing for Sale and Edinburgh fullback/wing Harry Paterson is also included.
The rest of the squad has a familiar look to it but Townsend has shaken things up by taking the captaincy away from back row Jamie Ritchie and instead naming out-half Finn Russell and flanker Rory Darge as his new co-captains.
Exciting wing Darcy Graham will miss the opening two rounds due to injury, with Great Britain 7s international Ross McCann called in as cover, while out-half Adam Hastings has been ruled out of the championship.
Scotland were hugely disappointed with their performance in their final World Cup pool game against Ireland last year when they missed out on a place in the knock-out stages, so they’ll be motivated to bounce back.
Loosehead prop: Pierre Schoeman, Jamie Bhatti, Alex Hepburn
Hooker: George Turner, Ewan Ashman, Johnny Matthews
Tighthead prop: Zander Fagerson, Elliot Millar-Mills, WP Nel
Second row: Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist, Richie Gray, Sam Skinner, Glen Young
Back row: Rory Darge (co-captain), Jamie Ritchie, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Josh Bayliss, Andy Christie, Luke Crosbie
Scrum-half: George Horne, Ali Price, Ben White
Out-half: Finn Russell (co-captain), Ben Healy
Centre: Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones, Cameron Redpath, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall
Back three: Duhan van der Merwe, Blair Kinghorn, Harry Paterson, Arron Reed, Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Darcy Graham [Ross McCann]
England
With Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, and Ben Youngs not involved, three of the four centurions from last year’s World Cup have left the party, taking 344 Test caps of experience with them.
107-times capped Dan Cole is still part of Steve Borthwick’s squad but it feels like a new chapter.
With Farrell stepping back from international duty, the England boss must pick from George Ford, Marcus Smith, and the promising 21-year-old Fin Smith in the number 10 shirt.
Northampton playmaker Smith is one of nine uncapped players in the 37-man squad, with particular excitement about the potential of Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Aboso after convincing him to choose England over his native Wales.
The England boss will have been encouraged by the form of lots of English players in the Champions Cup and Premiership in recent months, particularly the crop of seven Northampton players.
While there is scope to really shake things up in his matchday squads, it seems more likely that Borthwick will be more measured and continue to lean on seasoned campaigners like Cole, new captain Jamie George, and Maro Itoje.
The midfield will have a fresh look to it, even more so after Ollie Lawrence was ruled out, with Henry Slade earning a recall thanks to his form with Exeter. Experienced back row Tom Curry is another player who misses out through injury.
But as he welcomes new defence coach Felix Jones to the coaching mix, Borthwick is probably feeling optimistic about England building on their third-place finish at the World Cup.
Loosehead prop: Ellis Genge, Joe Marler, Beno Obano
Hooker: Jamie George (captain), Theo Dan, Jamie Blamire
Tighthead prop: Dan Cole, Will Stuart, Joe Heyes
Second row: Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Alex Coles, Nick Isiekwe
Back row: Ben Curry, Ben Earl, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Pearson, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ethan Roots, Sam Underhill
Scrum-half: Alex Mitchell, Danny Care, Ben Spencer
Out-half: George Ford, Marcus Smith, Fin Smith
Centre: Henry Slade, Oscar Beard, Fraser Dingwall, Max Ojomoh
Back three: Freddie Steward, Elliot Daly, Immanuel Feyi-Aboso, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Tom Roebuck, Will Muir
Wales
This is a Welsh squad that is almost unrecognisable compared to the group we had come to know so well over the past five to 10 years. The changing of the guard is notable, with head coach Warren Gatland already speaking about building for the 2027 World Cup.
His 34-man squad includes five uncapped players and a further seven players who have three caps or fewer. There are still a couple of experienced heads in centurion centre George North and 74-times capped scrum-half Gareth Davies, but Gatland is certainly looking to the future.
The appointment of 21-year-old lock Dafydd Jenkins as the new captain is a further illustration of that, while Gatland’s three options at out-half – Sam Costelow, Ioan Lloyd, and Cai Evans – have 11 Test caps between them.
With Louis Rees-Zammit switching to American football and Immanuel Feyi-Aboso oping to chase caps with England, the Welsh back three options look shallow although centre Mason Grady has been playing on wing for Cardiff this season.
Gatland’s prop stocks are also relatively inexperienced so he will be hoping the big boys up front can hold their own as his youthful squad aim to start with a win at home against Scotland.
Loosehead prop: Corey Domachowski, Gareth Thomas, Kemsley Mathias
Hooker: Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Evan Lloyd
Tighthead prop: Kieran Assirati, Leon Brown, Archie Griffin
Second row: Dafydd Jenkins (captain), Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Teddy Williams
Back row: Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell, Taine Basham, James Botham, Alex Mann, Mackenzie Martin
Scrum-half: Tomos Williams, Gareth Davies, Kieran Hardy
Out-half: Sam Costelow, Cai Evans, Ioan Lloyd
Centre: Nick Tompkins, George North, Owen Watkin, Joe Roberts, Mason Grady
Back three: Josh Adams, Rio Dyer, Tom Rogers, Cameron Winnett
Italy
With a new head coach in Gonzala Quesada, the Italians are planning to supplement their already dangerous attack with better defensive and kicking foundations. In short, Quesada plans to make them a more solid team after another wooden spoon last year.
The new boss has refreshed his propping depth chart by including the uncapped Luca Rizzoli, Mirco Spagnolo, and Matteo Nocera, while once-capped Zebre wing Simone Gesi is an exciting attacking prospect.
That said, Quesada inherited a relatively inexperienced squad from Kieran Crowley. Only two players in the group – Sebastien Negri and Tommasso Allan – have more than 50 caps.
The daring Ange Capouzzo is sure to cause hassle for defences again, captain Michele Lamaro will try to lead by example, and it’s positive to have classy centre Tommaso Menoncello back after he missed the World Cup with injury. As ever, Italy’s ability to cope up front for 80 minutes and an entire championship will be pivotal.
Wing Monty Ioane is carrying a head injury so Quesada has drafted in Edoardo Padovani as back three cover ahead of their opening game against England in Rome in two weekends’ time.
Loosehead prop: Danilo Fischetti, Luca Rizzoli, Mirco Spagnolo
Hooker: Giacomo Nicotera, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Marco Manfredi
Tighthead prop: Pietro Ceccarelli, Giosue Zilocchi, Matteo Nocera
Second row: Federico Ruzza, Niccolo Cannone, Edoardo Iachizzi, Andrea Zambonin
Back row: Michele Lamaro (captain), Lorenzo Cannone, Sebastien Negri, Manuel Zuliani, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Favretto, Ross Vintcent
Scrum-half: Alessandro Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo, Stephen Varney
Out-half: Paolo Garbisi, Tommaso Allan
Centre: Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Federico Mori, Marco Zanon
Back three: Ange Capuozzo, Monty Ioane [Edoardo Padovani], Simone Gesi, Pierre Bruno, Lorenzo Pani
Ireland
Andy Farrell’s 34-man squad doesn’t feature any uncapped players as he looks for an element of continuity even as Ireland face into the post-Johnny Sexton era.
Eight players in the squad have fewer than 10 caps, including out-half Jack Crowley, who is favourite to take over in the number 10 jersey. Seven of this 34-man group are hoping to make their Six Nations debuts.
There is particular excitement about 22-year-old Leinster lock Joe McCarthy, who featured at last year’s World Cup and has been in strong form since, while Crowley’s two rivals at out-half, Harry Byrne and Ciarán Frawley, only have three caps between them.
Still, this is a group that has lots of experience. New skipper Peter O’Mahony is one of three centurions along with Cian Healy and Conor Murray, while Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Josh van der Flier, Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, and Robbie Henshaw all have more than 50 Test caps.
The starting XV is likely to be very similar to last year’s, even if the change at out-half is as big as they come. There is also an opening on the right wing with Mack Hansen and Jimmy O’Brien ruled out injured. Calvin Nash and Jordan Larmour seem the most likely options there.
Farrell has included three additional players to train with Ireland at their camp in Portugal ahead of the opener against France. Uncapped Munster tighthead Oli Jager and 20-year-old Leinster out-half Sam Prendergast get a chance to impress, with the latter’s older brother, Cian, called up in place of the injured Tom Ahern.
Loosehead prop: Andrew Porter, Cian Healy, Jeremy Loughman
Hooker: Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, Tom Stewart
Tighthead prop: Tadhg Furlong, Finlay Bealham, Tom O’Toole
Second row: James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy
Back row: Peter O’Mahony (captain), Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Jack Conan, Ryan Baird, Nick Timoney
Scrum-half: Jamison Gibson-Park, Conor Murray, Craig Casey
Out-half: Jack Crowley, Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley
Centre: Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey
Back three: James Lowe, Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash, Jordan Larmour, Jacob Stockdale
Additional players: Oli Jager, Cian Prendergast, Sam Prendergast
- This article was updated at 3.13pm to correct Fin Smith’s club from Harlequins to Northampton.
