"Best against the Best" - 2026 Six Nations Launch: What EVERY Captain said at Edinburgh's All-Star Event

Following the last weekend of PREM Rugby, URC and Top 14 league action, the biggest stars from across Europe have all now linked up with their national camps. Stay tuned to RUCK as we will be bringing you all the latest updates from the England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland team camps, as preparations heat up for the opening round of the annual Championship.

However, before they could join their respective teammates at their training camps, the captains of the sextet all descended on Edinburgh for a special Six Nations media launch event. Sione Tuipulotu, Caelan Doris, Antoine Dupont, Michele Lamaro and Dewi Lake all represented their countries, with England vice captain Jamie George on hand for an absent Maro Itoje, who is currently away with family circumstances.

The six all-stars were decked out in the colours of their Test match kits, as a vibrant sea of green, white, red and blue decorated the sofas upon the Edinburgh Hub stage. All six men were grilled with questions, as the captains shared the stage once-a-year Six Nations kick-off panel. Here's what every captain had to say, as the battle lines were drawn for the 2026 Championship.

The discussion kicked off with England hooker Jamie George, who has certainly been in the recent spotlight after the Saracen confirmed his plans for retirement. The British & Irish Lion revealed in the week that he will be hanging up the boots at the end of 2027, presumably following the Rugby World Cup in Australia. George's plans to call time on his career has only made the upcoming Six Nations all the more important to savour.

JAMIE GEORGE: Yeah, absolutely. All the time, you never take it for granted. Whether it's your first game or your last, you never know. So, it's nice for me to be able to get that [retirement plans] out there and say what my intentions are.

"But the big part of that decision was wanting to still be a big part of this England team, because it's really exciting time to be a part of it. Other than me, there's a young squad and a lot of the guys are exciting players, who have started to get some form together in club rugby. So, you know, we're really excited to start the tournament."

England host Wales at Twickenham for the opening weekend, with the expectation firmly on Steve Borthwick's to record the win. Last season, England dropped the hammer in Cardiff for Wales' heaviest ever home defeat, for a staggering 68-14 triumph. However, with a fresh coaching staff under Steve Tandy, George expects a different challenge this time around.

JAMIE GEORGE: "History has shown that, especially over the last couple of years, the games have been really, really tight. Wales coming in with a new coach, I think that's a fresh situation. It's going to be a real challenge for us in England, Wales at the Allianz is always a big game."

George then gave his thoughts upon how the 2026 calendar year looks, with the newly minted Nations Championship set to debut across July and November.

JAMIE GEORGE: "That change up of the schedule is something that the game's been calling out for, for a while. It's just an opportunity for the best to play the best. You want to measure yourselves against the best players and the best teams in the world, and the global calendar now looks like that. But that's probably why the Six Nations has been as big a tournament as it has for such a long period of time, because it is the best against the best."

The French maestro was next up to the mic, with his hotly anticipated to Les Bleus now little over a week away. Dupont missed out on the 2024 Six Nations as he trained with the France Sevens squad in pursuit of his Olympic dream at the following Summer's Paris Games, in which he led his men to the gold medal. The 2025 Championship was cut short, as he sustained a ruptured ACL in the against Ireland. Dupont is eager to get back out in 'bleu', as France eye up a successful title retention.

ANTOINE DUPONT: "I'm very excited to play this first game at home (France v Ireland). It's special for me. I didn't wear the French jersey for almost one year, so, very excited, as we said. It's a magical tournament and there is still the same feeling each time we play these kind of games."

France head coach Fabien Galthie shocked the Six Nations before a ball had even been kicked, with some suprising selection ommisions ahead of the competition. There is no place in the France wider training squad for the likes of regular stars Gael Fickou, Damien Penaud and Gregory Alldritt, with the La Rochelle man in particular a regular leadership figure alongside Dupont. The scrum half was asked how he will approach the matches without his regular sounding board of Alldritt to offer an opinion;

ANTOINE DUPONT: "I already have had this kind of role in the team. I had to be a leader. So, and I think I'm well surrounded in the team by other experienced players who helped me a lot. I am very close to other players on the field, and we know each other very well for five, six or seven years. So I think we'll have to try this connection for the first game, because it comes very soon, very soon."

Moving onto the Ireland team now, and Leinster back row Caelan Doris has an extra bite behind him as he rallies back to top form following his injuries in the Summer. Doris missed out on arguably taking the captaincy for the British & Irish Lions tour with a rotator cuff injury, and the Mayo man has been steadily clicking through the gears in a return to his top form throughout the Autumn. Doris revealed how momentum is paramount to a hot start, as Ireland eye up their opening away trip to Paris.

CAELAN DORIS: "Yes, momentum is big in this competition. The way you start sets you up well or not so well planning how it goes. So, it's going to be a big focus on a proper performance to start us off, and we're off to Portugal later on today for a nice training camp there, and then transfer across to Paris early next week. So, it's a short turnaround, not a whole lot of time, but it sharpens the mind, definitely, and it's one to get excited about."

"It's always a privilege. As Jamie [George] was saying, you never take it for granted. Especially being in the roles that we are in as leaders. It's such a such a special tournament. It's towards the pinnacle of the game, and it's always an exciting time here."

Doris was then asked to assess the threat of the man sat to his left - Antoine Dupont. There was a quick exchange of mutual respect between the Ireland and France skippers, as the two sides prepare for a must win round one clash in Paris a week on Thursday. Doris revealed how whilst it is important to have a plan in place for the multi-time World Player of the Year, Andy Farrell's side are also very much focused upon their own strengths.

"With any team, there's certain amount of individuals that you hone in on, and you're aware of their strengths and weaknesses and what makes them tick. Obviously, when it comes to France, look for guys like him. You look for tendencies and ways you can try and negate their threats as best possible, which can be challenging, but yeah, it's always getting a balance right between focus on yourselves and awareness of what the competition would bring."

Onto the Italians now, and it certainly feels like the Azzurri are moving into a new era and changing the narrative around their game. The last two or three seasons has seen a serious uptick of success from an Italian perspective, with captain Michele Lamaro eager to capitalise upon the recent success to inspire the next wave of rugby following across the country.

"It [Six Nations] has for sure been the main event that has been followed for the last 20 or 25, years for rugby in Italy. So, that's obviously something that has put players in front of a lot of kids. Myself as well, I grew up with a couple of idols there. So now I contributed a lot, and now we can feel that sort of responsibility. We got towards the kids as well, and that was one of our biggest aims, especially in Rome. It's pretty much amazing for us."

Italy host Scotland for a fiery first round clash in the Eternal City, with both sides gunning to get off the mark early in the competition. The stage is set for a fierce sea of Italian fans to get behind the side, which Lamaro hopes can contribute so some long sort after consistency throughout the Championship.

"Whenever you face a big challenge, your pressure will always increase. In that sense. Obviously, we know Scotland are an unbelievable team, they brought some real consistency, week in, week out, throughout the last couple of years. They grew up to the point where, they will bring the game they want to do

"Consistency of performances is something we were really looking forward to. We've seen when we are at our best we can actually compete against anyone. But at the same time, to be able to here, every single time, you have to go a step further. So, that's one of our main objectives, especially for the Six Nations campaign. It's the big picture for our team."

The roller-coaster of Welsh rugby took quite the dramatic drop last week, with the news confirmed that the Ospreys are set for collapse. The plans to reduce Wales' regions from four to three sees the Swansea side on the chopping block, with Wales captain Dewi Lake leaving the Ospreys for Gloucester ahead of the next PREM season, along with Wales & Lions star Jac Morgan.

Lake revealed how being in the Wales camp comes as a breath of fresh air, given the spirralling smoke around the Welsh club game in recent months. Lake reveals how it feels like a 'fresh start', as Steve Tandy prepares to lead his first Six Nations campaign as head coach.

DEWI LAKE: "Everybody on the stage so far has alluded to winning, that's ultimately what we want to pursue. A new coaching staff and new squad coming together has been a fresh start for us. Steve's got a lot of values that he's instilled into the group already.

"There's a lot going on in last week, at the minute, but that's something that can really take your mind off things. If you can just focus on the job at hand and focus on the rugby, for us to put our best foot forward and to play our best rugby, that's what we have to do with this campaign. As we said, a breath and fresh air with new culture, staff, and new ideas coming in."

Wales take the trip across the river severn to kick-start their campaign, with an away journey to Twickenham opening their account. There is no down-playing the rivalry between England and Wales, with Lake quick to call out how his teammates don't need reminding as to what is on the line.

"That first game up against England, it's gonna be massive for us to go and test ourselves with that test. Like Caelan [Doris] said, the momentum in this tournament is huge." Lake said. "That game is not necessarily one you need to talk too much around, I think the Talking is done for you. From a player point of view, the build up in the week is always massive.

"The hostility you face when you turn up to the ground, gets you in the mood to go anyway. So I think, the mindset stuff doesn't really need to be touched on, because it's done for you."

Closing out the sextet of Six Nations captains was Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, who was quick to draw attention to the history of the competition. The Glasgow Warriors man revealed how the Championship holds plenty of international prominence, with perhaps only the Rugby World Cup beating the Six Nations in terms of Test match prestige.

SIONE TUIPULOTU: "I think the history of every jersey [is significant], but I think most importantly, the history in this competition as well. Like I said before, it's the pinnacle of Test rugby outside of the World Cup, and it's a competition that carries so many rivalries. And I suppose that's what makes it so exciting."

Speaking of rivalries, Scotland's old enemies of England make the trip up to Murrayfield for the annual Calcutta Cup clash on Valentines weekend. Tuipulotu is certainly excited for the second round fixture, yet the centre is not given Steve Borthwick's side any headspace until his men have returned from Rome with an opening round win over Italy.

"Our first game is against Italy, which has been a problematic game for us to be fair, over the last couple of years, and especially over there in Rome. I think the progression that that Italian team has made, I don't think we need to think about England [yet], no.

"It's a special format with the three games on the bounce. We can only take it one game at a time, and, you know, another week together, to get ball rolling on the same momentum, is such an important part of this competition. It would be foolish of me to start thinking about England."

Whilst Scotland have never been able to get their hands on the Six Nations trophy, since the tournament was expanded to feature Italy from 2000, Tuipulotu remains optimistic in the capital city. It would be a historic campaign for Gregor Townsend's men, should Scotland finally break the deadlock and bring the trophy North of the border.

"I wouldn't be a captain if I stood up here and said, 'no [we can't win it]. All of our directives as captains is to touch that trophy. For me as a Scottish player and the Scotland captain, it's something that we haven't achieved yet, but, that is the goal heading into every tournament, is to touch the trophy. I'd like to think that is our mission. But like I said before, our main focus is heading to Rome and getting the ball rolling in this competition."