England to face Scotland and Wales host Ireland in 2023 Six Nations openers

If the 2023 men’s Six Nations fixtures look familiar it is because the organisers seem to be allergic to change. The list of games for next year’s championship is all but identical to the 2021 schedule, save for a couple of tweaked kick-off times, and is almost precisely the same as this year’s French-dominated tournament which concluded last month.

For the third consecutive year England will play Scotland and Wales will meet Ireland on the opening weekend, the only notable tweak being the reversal of the final two rounds of games. Rather than England ending up in Paris again they are due to head to Dublin for their last tournament outing before the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

It means three of England’s first four games will be at Twickenham, with not even a Friday night kick-off in Cardiff to overcome. For the second time in three years there will be no Friday night rugby whatsoever, with Six Nations organisers more focused on creating another thrilling denouement to the world’s oldest tournament.

The concluding Ireland v England fixture will also be England’s final Six Nations fixture with Eddie Jones as their head coach, one of many compelling storylines which Ben Morel, the Six Nations chief executive, hopes will ensure another dramatic finale. “The 2022 Championship ended in one of the most exciting Super Saturdays in history,” said Morel. “Once again fans had to wait until the final game was played to know who this year’s champions would be and the rugby action did not disappoint.”

The Women’s Six Nations, meanwhile, continues to capture the public imagination with 14,648 tickets already sold for the Red Roses’ game against Ireland in Leicester on Sunday. The existing world record for a women’s fixture is