Key events
I was listening to the BBC’s Rugby Union Daily this week. Chris Jones and Ugo Monye asked every coach and captain which opposition player they’d want in their own squad. No surprise, just about every person said Antoine Dupont.
My fellow South Africans might be rolling their eyes reading this, but the more I think about it the more I think he’s the best player of all time, or at least on his way to becoming the best player of all time.
Rob singled him out in yesterday’s preview piece. Now that we’ve all gassed up the little genius, he better deliver!
Bill Preston has written in and has that loving feeling:
It’s one of my favourites sporting days of the year: the opening game.
The first set of matches is such a opportunity for teams to set their stall out and get a stomp on towards victory. The breathless momentum that can carry a team through the tournament can be propped up by the thrilling heroics we have come to expect to see on the pitch.
I love it all.
Here’s looking forward to another great year,
Hear hear Bill.
Just four Welsh players in tonight’s 23 played against South Africa in November, so it’s somewhat of a restart for Gatland tonight.
Club form has been rewarded and Cardiff’s Ben Thomas starts at 10. The Blues have carried the flag this season in the URC and are fifth in the table. Last season no Welsh clubs finished in the top half of the 16-team competition, so there are signs of improvement.
Wales are out to restore pride back in the badge.
So says Daffyd Jenkins, who spoke with Rob Kitson.
The lock, who became the youngest captain in Six Nations history last year, returns after an injury lay-off.
Wales have lost 12 in a row and, to be honest, it’ll probably be 13 by the end of the night. But that doesn’t mean they can’t achieve the goal Jenkins has set for the group.
More from Andy who says that French rugby “needs some Dupont magic”.
It hasn’t been the most harmonious of build ups for the side I’m going to pick now as 2025 grand slam winners (might as well pin your colours to the flag).
Some high profile players have been positively mutinous and the returning skipper’s dazzle could brush away those scandals.
Tonight marks the official start of the 25 years in the Six Nations. It was 2000 when Italy joined the party and shocked defending champions Scotland on the opening night.
Take a look at some of the best photos taken all those years ago:
Wales team news
Jac Morgan finally gets to captain his country at the Six Nations, fullback Liam Williams and centre Josh Adams bring experience in the backline, Dafydd Jenkins returns. It’s not the All Blacks of 2015 but Warren Gatland has a better group than he had last year. Maybe they’ll click?
What that means remains to be seen. There’s a debutant at hooker, a debutant fly-half on the bench and Henry Thomas, who once played for England, plays for Wales for the first time tonight.
“They’ve been outstanding,” Gatland said of his team. “There’s been a good buzz around the group. They’ve been excellent. The next couple of days, it’s about coaches taking a step back and allowing the players to lead.”
Wales: 15 Liam Williams (Saracens); 14 Tom Rogers (Scarlets), 13 Nick Tompkins (Saracens), 12 Owen Watkin (Ospreys), 11 Josh Adams (Cardiff); 10 Ben Thomas (Cardiff), 9 Tomos Williams (Gloucester); 1 Gareth Thomas (Ospreys), 2 Evan Lloyd (Cardiff), 3 Henry Thomas (Scarlets), 4 Will Rowlands (Racing 92), 5 Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter), 6 James Botham (Cardiff), 7 Jac Morgan (Ospreys, captain), 8 Aaron Wainwright (Dragons).
Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons), Nicky Smith (Leicester), Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff), Freddie Thomas (Gloucester), Tommy Reffell (Leicester), Rhodri Williams (Dragons), Dan Edwards (Ospreys), Blair Murray (Scarlets).
France team news
Dumack returns after 18 months. I normally hate portmanteaus but the half-back pair of the two Toulouse generals deserves one. Romain Ntamack missed the 2023 World Cup with a knee injury and then 2024 with a twanged calf. He’s back at 10 to reprise his double act with Antoine Dupont.
Bordeaux’s try-machine Damian Penaud is absent, joining centre Gaël Fickou, lock Thibaud Flament and the loose forward Charles Ollivon on the injury list. But it’s still a team stacked with quality and heft.
Pierre-Louis Barassi wins his fourth cap after a four year hiatus while former skipper Grégory Alldritt starts in the back row. Big hitters on a 6-2 bench lie in wait.
France: 15 Thomas Ramos (Toulouse); 14 Théo Attissogbé (Pau), 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi (Toulouse), 12 Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux Bègles), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Bordeaux Bègles); 10 Romain Ntamack (Toulouse), 9 Antoine Dupont (Toulouse, capt); 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros (Toulon), 2 Peato Mauvaka (Toulouse), 3 Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), 4 Alexandre Roumat (Toulouse), 5 Emmanuel Meafou (Toulouse), 6 François Cros (Toulouse), 7 Paul Boudehent (La Rochelle), 8 Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle)
Replacements: Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Georges-Henri Colombe (La Rochelle), Hugo Auradou (Pau), Mickaël Guillard (Lyon), Oscar Jégou (La Rochelle), Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92), Émilien Gailleton (Pau).
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
The day has arrived. As Andy Bull said,
“Every Six Nations marks a transition, it begins in the winter and finishes in the spring. One of the reasons it is loved so much is that it fills the bleakest weekends of the year and we know that once it is over the sun will be coming along soon enough.”
This 25th edition feels a little special already. Maybe it’s the the fact that every side has something to prove. Maybe it’s the looming Lions tour. Maybe it’s that at least half the sides will fancy themselves. Maybe it’s the return of the world’s best player.
Is Antoine Dupont the best of all time? It’s a question that’ll run til March, which gives him plenty of time to answer it as he takes aim at a grand slam.
Kicking off in Paris under lights against Wales is possibly the best draw on the table. Which is why Warren Gatland’s troops, despite their dismal run, should feel absolutely no pressure.
Of course they’re playing for a nation’s pride and their own self respect, but no one’s given them a prayer. If they step into that arena and fly into contact, box smart and back themselves, they could leave with heads held high no matter the result.
A great game of any sort will be a fitting launch for a tournament renowned for lifting moods. There’s a ton of negative news in this sport. Having this competition back feels like a treat.
Kick off in Paris 21:15 local time, 20:15 BST.
Team news, updates and more to come.
If you’d like to get in touch and share your thoughts about this match or the Six Nations in general, drop me a mail.
