The Six Nations kicks off in just 2 days, in Paris for the tournament’s first ever Thursday night game. The organisers messed about with the schedule, but they definitely didn’t mess about with the selection of teams for this year’s curtain raiser. We start with the two protagonists of the last 4 editions of the Championship, Ireland and France. But more importantly, for the context of this article, is that we get to see some of the world’s best players put their talents on display under the lights of the Stade de France.
So it got us thinking, who are the best players playing in the 2026 Guinness Six Nations?
We’re talking straight up, who’s the best. We’re trying to take biases and factors like the quality of the teams they’re on out of this one, and just focus on who is best. Who could step into any XV in the world and be a standout?
Obviously this is highly subjective so if you agree, or more likely disagree, with any of our picks, please feel free to pop onto X and tell us how wrong we are.
Before we get into the top 10 though, we’ll do a few quick honourable mentions, in no particular order:
Honourable Mentions
Ellis Genge – He’s always been a destructive ball carrier, earning the nickname “Baby Rhino” for good reason. Where in the past though, he’s sometimes struggled at scrum time, he’s now more often than not the one on the offensive in scrums.
Matthieu Jalibert – The reason Jalibert isn’t in the top 10 is that he hasn’t been that elite flyhalf at international level yet. When he plays, it’s like he’s driving someone else’s car (Romain Ntamack’s). But he comes into this Six Nations as the starter and the form player in European club rugby.
Tadhg Beirne – Lions Tour Player of the Series is hardly an award to be sniffed at. Beirne is excellent at rugby. Such a smart player and has such a good skillset. Brilliant at the breakdown, he basically played 7 for the Lions in Australia.
Tommy Freeman – He’s the form back in the PREM this season, tearing up and leading in almost all the major statistics. Moving from wing to centre takes away his exceptional aerial and kick chase abilities, but we should get to see him ball in hand more.
Thomas Ramos – He does so much bonkers stuff but it always comes off. He just creates so much for those around him and he’s also the best goal kicker in the world. His talent is off the charts. Would be in the Top 10 if it weren’t for the fact he thinks tackling is just something other people do.
10. Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
A year ago Sione Tuipulotu was the form player in club rugby, tearing up trees for Glasgow on a weekly basis. The rugby world was singing his praises and locking him into the Lion’s 12 jersey. Sadly for Tuipulotu and Scotland, injury caused the Scottish captain to miss the entirety of the Six Nations, but he returned in time to slot in at inside centre for the Lion’s 1st test against the Wallabies. He was dropped for the following two test matches, a decision I disagreed with because Sione Tuipulotu is an awesome rugby player.
He is the epitome of the modern 12, a triple threat player who can take the ball to the line and threaten defences with a skillset that leaves them guessing at what he’s going to do. His carrying ability is not just hugely valuable at getting Scotland over the gain line on first phase, but it creates space out wide by forcing defenders to set their feet for the tackle to stop Tuipulotu from busting through weak shoulders. That creates the gaps for centre partner Huw Jones to hit a line and take the short pop pass, or for Finn Russell to sweep round behind for the pull back and send the ball to wide channels. Sometimes the rugby looks so simple, but the trio in the Scottish midfield so often break through the defending line. This all starts with Tuipulotu.
He’s one of the premier centres in the world, and a key cog in one of the tournament’s most deadly backlines. The chemistry he’s created with the halfbacks inside him and Huw Jones outside him, means he’s always an 8 out of 10 or better. If Scotland are going to finally deliver on this generation’s potential, their captain is going to be central to that.
9. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
Louis Rees-Zammit is back! The young star departed the test arena after the 2023 World Cup to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. People may not appreciate this, but he actually did pretty damn well in that ridiculously ambitious, bordering on ludicrous, endeavour. What I have really noticed is that he’s come back mature, hungry and confident in his own ability. There’s a swagger to him that feels assured. In his debut Six Nations in 2021, a young winger showed a unique finishing prowess that turned games on their head and flipped losses to wins for a Wales side that came away tournament champions (yes, remember, Wales have won the Six Nations more recently than England). But from what I’ve seen so far, this version of Louis Rees-Zammit that has come back to rugby is considerably better than the one that left the sport 2 years ago. It’s more than just the speed and the finishing ability, which is absolutely elite. It’s his all round game. It’s the little involvements that are almost always positive. It’s the fronting up and being reliable.
My prediction is that Louis Rees Zammit will cement himself as one of the world’s elite back three players this tournament. Likely playing fullback, he won’t be so reliant on those inside him to get him the ball, and so hopefully we’ll see more involvements and more scything runs from the Bristol Bear. He’ll remind us over the next 6 weeks just why he is one of the sport’s biggest names.
8. Maro Itoje (England)
I don’t think England fans appreciate what Maro Itoje has done for them over the last 10 years. For years he has been the glue of England’s pack. A one-man wrecking crew that took the fight to the opposition and almost single handedly made England’s forwards competitive during their down years.
Between roughly 2021 and 2024, England were actually pretty poor and they simply lacked high end talent in the pack. But no one really noticed that England’s forwards weren’t actually that good because one man wearing a scrum cap and the 4 jersey was all over the park, being an absolute nuisance for the opposition and charging his team forward. There was plenty of talk in the media and general rugby public of Itoje’s form having dipped but it was always massively overblown. Itoje has always been world class.
2025 was different for him. Finally, as captain of a winning England side and then a winning Lions Tour, the Saracens stalwart was getting the credit he so thoroughly deserved. He’s a brilliant rugby player and a superstar of our game. He goes into this tournament with a mountain of expectations on his team. I’m not sure England will live up to the unrelenting hype, but I have absolutely no doubt that we’ll see 5 world class showings from their captain.
7. Tomos Williams (Wales)
I’m still gutted about the hamstring injury that Tomos Williams picked up on the Lions Tour. Until then, the Welshman was one of the best players on the tour, tearing up defences and creating for the players around him. Jamison Gibson Park went on the tour as the presumed starter but Tomos was making a compelling case for that test nine shirt. Of course, Andy Farrell was never going to deviate from his guy, but it would have been quite the battle watching those two compete for the test starts.
In the PREM though, Williams did claim top honours last season, winning the PREM player of the year (do you realise how hard it is for a Welshman to get Englishmen to vote for you for that?!). He’s a former schoolboy basketball player and you can see his point guard skills on display almost all the time. He’s a dangerous running threat and he creates so much for those around him. In attack he’s probably the best scrumhalf in the world that’s not called Antoine. If Wales are going to get their attack firing and bring some wins back to the Principality Stadium, they’ll need their main man at 9 to get going.
6. Caelan Doris (Ireland)
Caelan Doris is what you’d get if you were to ask AI to build you a world class backrower. He’s 6’4” and over 110kg whilst being athletic and having an insatiable work rate. He’s not just a prototypical specimen for the backrow, but he’s also just a really good rugby player who, with brains and skill, does everything well. He’s consistently excellent and gets through a mountain of work. At his worst he’ll give you a 7 out of 10 showing, but he usually bangs out 8 or 9 out of 10 performances.
In an era with high ball in play times, faster games and fitter players, we often see players accumulate big statistical showings. However Doris’s numbers still blow the best of them out of the water. It’s rare to see a game he’s involved in where he doesn’t lead the way in combined tackles and carries. Having a lot of involvements is one thing, but you need to make them positive contributions. Doris absolutely does this. He’s one of Ireland’s best ball carriers and he’s strong and physical in the tackle. He’s got good ball skills and crucially, good decision making. All round he’s an excellent rugby player. Unfortunately for him, he had his moment stolen by injury when he was forced to miss out on last year’s Lions Tour. He’s back now, fully firing and will look to lead his side to Six Nations success once more.
5. Tommaso Menoncello (Italy)
Freak of an athlete. Tommaso Menoncello is a big guy but if you just look at his 105kg weight when judging his power, you’ll totally miss the mark. The reason being, that not everyone’s muscles are built the same. Menoncello’s muscles are simply stronger and quicker than almost all the elite athletes that play international rugby. That’s why when he enters contact, whether as the tackler or ball carrier, he so frequently throws players aside and powers through. Sometimes he’s like watching the kid who is clearly going to go on to be a pro, playing schoolboy rugby with a bunch of players who will grow up to be accountants and doctors. Even when put up against some of the best athletes on the planet, he still looks a cut above.
Two years ago, at the ripe old age of 21, he won the Six Nation’s Player of the Tournament. Last year he was nominated for the same award. He’s only going to keep getting better with age and experience so it’s scary to think what he might do next. Italy are in spot where they can reasonably expect to start beating some of the tournament’s top sides, but they need their superstar centre to show up if they’re to do so. Fortunately for them, Menoncello has formed one of the game’s top centre partnerships with new Toulon signing Ignacio Brex. The chemistry they’ve created has helped slice open defences on many an occasion and it’s a good bet to think they’ll do it many times this upcoming championship. He’s still one of the youngest players in the Six Nations, but Menoncello is one of rugby’s great talents.
4. Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
After missing some of last year’s tournament as he recovered from an ACL tear, the Leinster hooker is going to be a key man for Ireland as they bid to prove they aren’t a declining power. Sheehan is totally unique as a rugby player. A decade or so ago we saw the emergence of a new breed of hooker through Dane Coles, who was equally adept playing in the wider channels as he was in the tight. This type of athletic hooker opened up the field for attacking coaches, allowing them to deploy forwards in different ways. Sheehan has taken this a step further. If Ireland had a couple of world class hookers in reserve, there would be a compelling argument to be made that the right wing spot, vacated by Mack Hansen’s injury, could be filled by Sheehan. He’s quick, he’s strong and he has excellent contact balance that allows him to thrive carrying the ball out wide. Equally he has the size and power to truck it up off 9 if called on to do so.
Ultimately though he’s a hooker and the number 1 job is to nail your darts in the line out and push hard in the scrum. Sheehan does this to a high level and so we never really have to talk about it. With him on the field, Ireland’s set piece functions well and allows them to launch attacks off it. Without giving any reason to criticise there, we can all focus on the impressive feats he offers in attack. During the recent Lions Tour, Sheehan was indispensable as the test team starter. I expect him to have another big Six Nations this year.
3. Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
And now we come to the man that I thought was the number 1 player in the world in 2025 and should have taken home World Rugby’s Player of the Year honours. This try scoring machine has been on another level recently. In the 2025 Six Nations he scored 8 tries in 5 games. A tally that none of the great wingers of years gone by have ever achieved. For Bordeaux he is the same, an unstoppable source of 5 pointers. Playing wing in a strong side that are putting up lots of points can often be a great way to score a lot of tries without actually having to do much, which is why it’s important to not just stat watch, but also use our eyes to judge players. Bielle-Biarrey passes the eye test with flying colours. So many of his tries are ones that only he could have finished. They say speed kills, and for LBB’s opponents that is very much the case. The Bordelais flyer impacts games in a way no one else can.
2. Finn Russell (Scotland)
Ah the mercurial Scotsman. God, I wish I found rugby as easy as Finn Russell does. His natural footballing abilities are off the charts. Both from an aesthetic and effective point of view, he has maybe the best pass in the history of the game. His vision and skill have always made him one of the great playmakers of this generation, but fly-half is about so much more. Over the past 5 or so years Russell has developed into one of the sport’s best game managers, whilst being able to run an attack as effectively as anyone. Over the last few years you could see that he was so much more composed and accurate than the maverick title many gave him would have suggested. Although many of Scotland’s best victories were coming without, or even in spite of him, rather than because of him. However this last season any doubts around his big game temperament must surely be put to rest. At Bath he led them to two trophies and on the biggest stage of them all, the Lions test series, he was the best player on the pitch. He comes into this Six Nations without Scotland necessarily having the expectations of the last few years, but I have a feeling that he and his team might just have a surprise or two in store. If Scotland are going to win some proper silverware this tournament, a sprinkling of Finn Russell magic feels essential.
1. Antoine Dupont (France)
Antoine Dupont is the GOAT. I would go as far as to say that prop and second row are the only positions on the rugby pitch that if Dupont tried to play, he would not be top 5 in the world in his position. As for the other 11 jerseys, he could wear any of them and still be world class. He’s an elite athlete with incredible speed, strength and power combined with a tenacity that elevates him above others. Then couple that with the fact he’s got the best vision and rugby IQ of perhaps anyone ever, and that whether he’s passing, offloading or kicking off either foot, he gets the rugby ball to do exactly what he wants. Oh, and let’s throw in elite tackling and jackaling abilities just for fun. He’s a video game character that’s had every stat turned up to 99. Simply put, we should all just make the most and appreciate the fact that we get to watch it, because last year he picked up an injury that denied us 7 months of watching greatness. Do not take for granted what we get to watch over the next 6 weeks. Antoine Dupont is one of the wonders of the modern sporting world. Oh, and he’s going to lead his side to a Grand Slam this year.