Andy Nicol Shares His Predictions For The 2026 Six Nations Tournament

At P+B, the Six Nations is always a highlight of the year. Many of our clients are passionate rugby fans, and few tournaments bring people together quite like it. With that in mind, we’re delighted to share the thoughts of our ambassador and Scottish rugby legend, Andy Nicol, as the championship gets underway.

A different start to the tournament

The Guinness Six Nations kicks off, unusually, on a Thursday this year due to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Bonkers!

It promises to be another fantastic tournament where every game should be competitive and there are three teams who will look at themselves as having a chance to win it. France and England look the strongest, with Ireland next ahead of Scotland who are trying to get over a very frustrating and disappointing Autumn Series. Italy will be aiming to win more than one game but one might be the best that Wales can hope for having not won a Six Nations match since 2023!

A lot of people are looking at the final game on the final weekend as a Grand Slam decider between France and England. It could happen, both look very strong going into the tournament. However, I don’t think there will be a Grand Slam but I do think the winners of the Six Nations will come from who wins that last game.

Scotland’s chances

What about Scotland’s chances? After talking up Scotland for years that ‘this might be our year’ sadly that year has never come and I fear the same again this year. Talent wise, Scotland are right up there, it is a strong team with some world class players in it, especially in the backs. What we have never seen is Scotland being consistent enough to put a series of wins together. We can have big one-off wins but cannot back them up. Scotland also have recent scar tissue of not winning the big games when the opportunity was there; New Zealand and Argentina in the Autumn. It seems that it is a mental issue not a physical one.

So, I am not going to predict great things for Scotland hoping that this reverse phycology means we win the Six Nations!