Forty-Two 2026 Six Nations Stats You Won't Believe!

The 2026 Men’s Six Nations is over and it leaves us to ponder what we have learned. When a tournament is that insane, it seems ridiculous to try and distill it into measured, scientific analysis. Instead, here are 50 stats from the 2026 Six Nations that will (probably) surprise you!

1. Ireland stole more lineouts than they lost

2. Italy were the only team to have a lineout stolen in every game

3. England box kicked the 2nd least of any team

4. Italy have never registered a try bonus point in Six Nations history

5. Against England, Louis Bielle-Biarrey registered a try bonus point on his own

6. 2026 was England’s worst ever Six Nations

7. Wales’ top player for turnovers won was winger Ellis Mee

8. Daf Jenkins average either a tackle, a carry or a ruck hit every 72 seconds

9. Scotland beat 14% fewer defenders than in 2025

10. Ben Early made 56 more carries than any other English forward

11. The top player for percentage of kicks retained was Louis Bielle-Biarrey

12. The top three players for percentage of kicks retained were all French

13. They top 5 players for try involvements were all French

14. Tommaso Menoncello made double the line breaks of any other Italian player

15. Italy increased their offloading by 160% compared to 2025

16. Ireland beat 48% more defenders than they did in 2025

17. Ireland’s top player for defenders beaten was Stuart McCloskey

18. Ireland made 80% more offloads than in 2025

19. Ireland’s top player for offloads was Stuart McCloskey

20. Ireland scored 18% more tries than in 2025

21. Ireland’s top player for try involvements was Stuart McCloskey

22. Italy made 48% more line breaks than in 2025

23. Italy scored one try fewer than in 2025

    

24. Ireland box kicked 73% more than in 2025

25. France retained 42% more kicks than in 2025

26. France’s player who had the most kicks retained was Antoine Dupont

27. French loose-head Jean-Baptiste Gros attempted 53 tackles without missing a single one

28. Scotland retained 77% more kicks than in 2025

29. Scotland’s player with the most kicks retained was Ben White

30. Every team had fewer kicks bounce than in 2025

31. Box kicking increased by 20% in 2026

32. The team that box kicked the most was Scotland]

    

33. France offloaded 24% more than in 2025

34. France’s top offloader was Matthieu Jalibert

35. France increased their initial breaks by 37% in 2026

36. France’s top player for line break assists was Matthieu Jalibert

37. France beat 24% more defenders than in 2025

38. France’s top player for defenders beaten was Matthieu Jalibert

    

39. France made 46 more dominant hits than any other team in the Six Nations

40. France had the fewest lineouts of any teams in the Six Nations

41. Scotland offloaded 42% less than in 2025

42. Antoine Dupont threw a third fewer offloads than in 2025 despite playing more minutes

    (please embed: https://youtube.com/shorts/f3WFNGNIang?si=-dI0XpMm9U-pWXhZ)