England Six Nations 2026: The chariot is on a roll – can it be stopped?

Steve Borthwick’s Red Rose are on an 11-game winning streak and their chariot crashes into this year’s tournament with momentum. Not since the opening game of last year’s Six Nations, away to Ireland, have they tasted defeat. France, Argentina, Australia and the All Blacks are notable scalps.

But as vice-captain Jamie George notes, England cannot rest on their laurels. Some of their victories were on a knife-edge, not least the Calcutta Cup win over Scotland at Twickenham. Had Finn Russell landed his last-minute conversion, the 16-15 result would have looked very different.

“We’re in a good spot, there’s no hiding that,” said George, who last week announced he would retire after the 2027 World Cup. “There’s a lot of confidence in the group and a lot of enjoyment about being in camp. That’s a good indicator that you will go on to play good rugby.

“We welcome the expectation because it’s a compliment for what we’ve done and what we’ve achieved over a short period of time, but it also keep us on our toes because we know we can’t be complacent and can’t rely on previous performances.

“We know that if we are the same team as we were for the last 11 games, it’s not going to be good enough, so our focus over the next two weeks is to become a better team. We have to set a new tone and new standard and play with a new intensity and in a way we’re proud of.”

England do have injuries

England do come into the tournament with injury concerns. Centre Ollie Lawrence (knee) and Fin Smith (calf) are among those who have been receiving treatment. The biggest area of concern comes in the front row, however.

Props Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will miss the entire Six Nations because of respective Achilles and shoulder injuries. Fin Baxter has a foot issue. As a result, head coach Steve Borthwick has dug deep into his options. Uncapped duo Billy Sela and Emmanuel Iyogun feature for the first time. Joe Heyes is promoted to first-choice tighthead, while there has been a recall for 33-year-old Trevor Davison, capped three times.

“Regarding the props, would we want all the props fit and available that we had playing in the autumn? Yes,” said Borthwick. “Is it the disruption we asked for? No. But have we planned for this? Yes.

“We have always known the depth chart, always known which players were on it, and we know who is ready to come in. I’m confident that we are going to continue to build even more depth over the next seven, eight weeks.”

England have plenty of depth further down the pack and their back row is enhanced by the emergence of Henry Pollock over the last 12 months, who at the age of 21 made last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour. Exeter’s emerging No 8 Greg Fisilau will compete with Ben Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South. Inspirational captain Maro Itoje (above left) continues to be a totemic figure at lock.

Their backline is littered with tries in centre Tommy Freeman and winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. George Ford (left) is likely to win the battle for No 10 duties for the opener against Wales – a game that could set the tone for their tournament.

English expectations are high. Interest from fans is growing. Last autumn’s TikTok video of Freddie Steward, Fin Smith, Pollock and Freeman performing a choreographed routine to Irish dancing music has attracted 21.9 million views.

“If they want to keep putting TikTok dances out, then they can,” said Borthwick (inset above). “We need superstars. The game needs superstars. The public, the kids watching around the country and around the world want superstars.

“There was a kid at a junior rugby game I saw the other day who was wearing black tape around their head because they wanted to be like Henry Pollock. They want superstars and characters who inspire them and I genuinely think that’s wonderful.

“But at the same time, this is a team sport. We want superstars who play in a team and who always put the team first. It’s often painted that individual attention is detrimental to the team, but we want both. We want superstars and we want a team that is connected.”

Speaking to The Scotsman at the tournament launch in Edinburgh, George targeted a Calcutta Cup win at Murrayfield on matchday two to right the wrongs of England’s previous two visits. But they desperately want a victory jig in Paris, on the final night of the tournament in mid-March. They are many onlookers’ tips to succeed.

The England breakdown

Head coach: Steve Borthwick.

Key player: Maro Itoje.

One to watch: Greg Fisilau.

Record in past 5 years: 2025 - 2nd, 2024 - 3rd, 2023 - 4th, 2022 - 3rd, 2021 - 5th.

World ranking: 3rd.

Did you know? England new boy Greg Fisilau is the son of former Tonga international Kenni Fisilau. Fisilau was born in Plymouth while his father was playing for Plymouth Albion in the Championship.