The Six Nations title remains up for grabs heading into what is sure to be a thrilling final round of action on Super Saturday.
As usual the northern hemisphere’s premier rugby competition has not failed to disappoint in 2025, with drama and talking points aplenty over a seven-week championship which draws to an exciting conclusion this weekend.
Round five as always sees the end of the split of matches over the course of the weekend, with the three games instead taking place throughout Saturday.
Four teams can technically still win the Six Nations title on the last day, though fourth-place Scotland would need an absolutely remarkable sequence of events to claim a first-ever championship since the 2000 expansion.
It is England – now second – who are best-placed to capitalise on any slip-up from Les Bleus against Scotland in Paris. They travel to battle a Wales outfit who while now spirited have lost 16 Tests in a row and 10 on the bounce in the Six Nations, looking for a fourth consecutive victory after scoring seven tries in a 47-24 thrashing of Italy.
However, that game is the middle fixture on Super Saturday and comes before France look to finish the job on home soil in the evening.
The action begins in Rome, where wounded Ireland, Grand Slam dream wrecked for a second straight year, know they need a huge win over Italy to stand any chance of their now slim hopes of a historic third consecutive title being realised.
How can France win the Six Nations title?
For France, any sort of victory over Scotland on Saturday night will surely be enough to clinch the title. A bonus-point win for scoring four tries puts them beyond reach of their rivals on 21 points, while a victory without one will also almost certainly suffice too due to their mammoth +106 points difference, helped by putting 73 on Italy in round four. By contrast, closest challenger’s England’s is +20 and Ireland’s +13.
France could even still wrap up glory by drawing or losing, but exactly what the state of play is for them aside from the above will only become clear once Ireland and England have both played earlier in the day.
How can England win the Six Nations title?
England’s bonus-point win over Italy means they go into the final day sitting second on 15 points, one behind France and one ahead of Ireland, who will be above them ahead of kick-off in Cardiff unless they fall to a shock loss in Rome in the afternoon’s opening fixture.
England can only reach 20 points if they get another bonus-point win over Wales, so they realistically need to achieve that and hope that France slip-up against Scotland later on.
Task clear: England need to win well in Wales to stand a realistic chance of still claiming the Six Nations title
AP
As outlined above, a France win with a bonus point puts them one point above what England could hope to reach and it is extremely unlikely that Steve Borthwick’s men would be able to engineer the sort of enormous points swing they would need if they win with a bonus point and France then win without one.
England can win the title by beating Wales without a bonus point, though it would require France to either draw or lose to Scotland – both with no bonus points.
How can Ireland win the Six Nations title?
Ireland are now third and two points behind France. They can only reach a total of 19 and head to Rome likely needing to win with a bonus point and then hope that England do not beat Wales and France do not beat Scotland or claim any bonus points.
There is a scenario where Ireland could still lift their third successive title by winning at the Stadio Olimpico without a bonus point, though it would require England to lose or draw without getting a bonus point and France to lose without picking up two bonus points in the process.
Hammer blow: Ireland’s hopes of a third straight title appear slim after a sobering home loss to France
AFP via Getty Images
How can Scotland win the Six Nations title?
After holding off Wales’ second-half fightback to win 35-29 at Murrayfield, Scotland sit fourth in the standings with 11 points and can only hope to claim a maximum of 16 from here, though that would be a very tall order indeed in Paris.
To win a first-ever Six Nations crown, they would need to win with a bonus point by an incredible 52 points in Paris, and then only if Ireland and England have both fallen, the latter without getting two bonus points. Even in that scenario they would need to ensure that France do not pick up a losing bonus point against them.
What about the wooden spoon?
Wales and Italy are both long since out of Six Nations title contention, though will each be eager to avoid finishing bottom and being stuck with the wooden spoon.
Wales may have lost yet again in Scotland but their rousing fightback means they ended up with two bonus points, one for scoring four tries and another for losing by seven points or less.
Italy are now one point ahead of Wales in fifth but with a points difference that is worse by 12. There are a lot of scenarios in play here, but perhaps the most obvious one for current wooden spoon holders Wales is likely them getting something against England and Italy losing at home to Ireland without any bonus points.
