The 2026 Six Nations will kick off on a Thursday night for the first time in the competition's modern history, with defending champions France hosting Ireland on February 5.
This historic scheduling change marks the first Thursday match in the tournament since 1948.
The unprecedented move to begin the championship midweek has been agreed by all six unions and broadcasters as part of significant changes to the tournament format.
The decision to schedule the opening match on a Thursday is designed to avoid a clash with the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which takes place in Milan on February 6.
The 2026 Six Nations will kick off on a Thursday night for the first time
PA
The evening slot aims to target the largest possible audience, particularly in France where the match will be hosted.
The venues for France's 2026 home games are yet to be confirmed, although it is expected they will be played at their usual venue of the Stade de France in Paris.
The 2026 championship will also be truncated to six weeks with one of the traditional fallow weeks removed. This shortened format is due to the inaugural Nations Cup taking place later in the year.
The move to six weeks is likely to raise player welfare concerns.
Former England prop Joe Marler previously described the potential loss of a rest week as "ridiculous", noting: "It's such a physical tournament, the game itself is getting more and more physical every week."
England will begin their campaign by hosting Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, February 7, following their record 68-14 victory over their rivals in this year's tournament.
Steve Borthwick's side will then travel to Murrayfield to face Scotland in the Calcutta Cup before welcoming Ireland to Twickenham.
After the fallow week, England face consecutive away matches against Italy in Rome before taking on France in the final match on Super Saturday.
Kick-off times have also been altered for the 2026 tournament. Saturday matches will now start at 2.10pm and 4.40pm, rather than the usual 2.15pm and 4.45pm.
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Kick-off times at the Six Nations are also set to change
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Late matches will begin at 8.10pm instead of 8pm, whilst Sunday 3pm kick-offs have been moved to 3.10pm.
In round four, Ireland will host the only Friday night match of the championship when they welcome Wales to the Aviva Stadium on March 6.
The new tournament structure will see the first three rounds played over consecutive weekends, followed by a single week's break, before concluding with the final two rounds.
Six Nations organisers have stated that removing one rest week "does not mean more hardship on the players" as "further recovery periods will be built in elsewhere" as part of the new global calendar agreement between international unions and clubs.
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