Thanks to data from the Opta Index, now we know.
Intriguingly, some players haven’t even been named in their country’s squads for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations - fixtures here - such as Ugo Boniface, George Hendy and Josh MacLeod. Henry Pollock, meanwhile, was a late injury call-up to the England squad.
In total, it features four uncapped players: Boniface, Hendy, Pollock and Cadan Murley. The average age of the team is 26 years old, with Bundee Aki the only player in his 30s.
All six of the competing nations are represented in the team (some criteria for which are explained at the bottom of the page), with France boasting the most players with six. Italy have the fewest, with one: 2024’s Guinness Player of the Championship, Tommaso Menoncello.
Three Frenchmen score highest on the Opta Index: the returning hero, Antoine Dupont, tops the list, with Matthieu Jalibert and Damian Penaud second and third respectively. Only one player, Bundee Aki, was in the Ireland team that lifted the Championship trophy last year.
Once again, this year will see Championship match data brought to you via Sage, the Official Insights Partner of Six Nations Rugby, so fans can look forward to better understanding the numbers behind the top-level performances.
FORM XV
15 George Hendy (Northampton Saints/England - uncapped)
14 Damian Penaud (Union Bordeaux-Begles/France)
13 Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby/Italy)
12 Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
11 Cadan Murley (Harlequins/England – uncapped)
10 Matthieu Jalibert (Union Bordeaux-Begles/France)
9 Antoine Dupont (Stade Toulousain/France)
1 Ugo Boniface (Union Bordeaux-Begles/France – uncapped)
2 Julien Marchand (Stade Toulousain/France)
3 Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
4 Thibaud Flament (Stade Toulousain/France)
5 Cormac Izuchukwu (Ulster Rugby/Ireland)
6 Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
7 Josh MacLeod (Scarlets/Wales)
8 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England – uncapped)
The Form XV explained:
Team is based on the Opta Index, which assigns players a score based on their actions in a game
It uses the players’ per 80 minute average score since the final weekend of the Autumn Nations Series
Only players eligible for one of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations teams were considered, with a minimum of 240 minutes playing time required
