England enter the 2026 Six Nations harbouring genuine title hopes for the first time in several years as they seek a first championship since 2020, but former captain Martin Johnson has provided the current squad with words of warning.
Johnson, who led England to their greatest-ever rugby day in 2003 as they clinched the Rugby World Cup, was speaking to Sky Sports alongside former team-mate and fellow World Cup winner Jason Robinson.
The former lock was also part of England teams which missed out on championship Grand Slams for seven years in a row from 1996 to 2002 due to solitary defeats each time – France (2002, 1998, 1997, 1996), Ireland (2001), Scotland (2000) and Wales (1999) all tasting successes to torment the English.
In 2003, Johnson and Robinson were part of a Six Nations Grand Slam effort, and the duo provided insight into the tournament’s uniqueness in terms of an experience.
“England are on a good winning run but getting to the Six Nations, it can be a bit different,” Johnson told Sky Sports.
“All those teams want to beat you. Wales are coming to Twickenham with nothing to lose, so you’ve got to be at your best.
“I think it’s a decent-looking England team, but you’ve got to go out there and win every game.
“England are in a good place but you’ve still got to go and do it, and that’s the thing in this tournament. I always think of it as five individual games rather than a tournament.
“Every one of those teams needs to be properly studied, and you have to go and win. You have to go and find a way to beat them.
“They’re all special games. Wales, when you’re playing Scotland or Ireland, they’ve all got their own character.
“They all want to beat you as well when you’re England. The great thing is they all really want to beat you.
“People are talking about who’s going to win it at the end of the tournament. But get the first game under your belt, get it won, and go from there.
“It starts and finishes with the forwards.”
Johnson led England as captain to 2003 Rugby World Cup glory
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Sky Sports News’ James Green outlines what’s changed ahead of the 2026 Six Nations
Robinson: England can win title but need to come out and play with the ball
Former fleet-footed wing Robinson says he is hopeful of England’s chances this year, but only if they adopt a really attacking playing style.
“Of course England can do it, but I think we need to play,” he said. “We need to play with a bit of width, score tries and get those bonus points stacking up, because I think that’s what it’s going to come down to.
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Robinson believes Henry Pollock keeps delivering and is ‘bringing eyes to rugby’
“If you look at last year, France won the championship, but it was that bonus point that really made the difference.
“England have picked a really mobile, exciting team. You look at (Immanuel) Feyi-Waboso on the wing, (Henry) Arundell, you’ve got (Tommy) Freeman as well. There’s a lot of pace, so I hope England are going to throw the ball about a bit.
“France are in pole position and are the bookies’ favourites because they play Ireland in the first game at home and they also play England in their last game at home, which is massive.
Robinson retired as one of the most exciting backs ever to play for England
“England, with 11 wins on the trot, will come into this championship with a lot of confidence, and hopefully they can go all the way because it’s been a while since we’ve won a championship.
“Listen, everybody’s expecting England to win against Wales this weekend and it be a foregone conclusion. It’s going to be a lot tougher than people think.
“Then the following week it’s Scotland, and England haven’t got a great record up at Murrayfield. So it’s going to be interesting. Every week there’s going to be something different.
“There’s going to be a few upsets, but that’s what’s great about the Six Nations.
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James Cole has the latest on the England squad ahead of their Six Nations opener against Wales, with captain Maro Itoje set to start on the bench following the death of his mother
“Wales have always got a chance. They’ll love nothing more than beating England on the first day. It’s a little bit of a banana skin.
“I would expect England to win. Then it’s build the momentum and take it into next week. Don’t look any further than what’s just ahead of you.”
England team to face Wales
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith.
England’s 2026 Six Nations Fixtures
- Wales – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Saturday , February 7 – 4.40pm (GMT)
- Scotland – Murrayfield – Saturday, February 14 – 4.40pm (GMT)
- Ireland – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham – Saturday, February 21 – 2.10pm (GMT)
- Italy – Stadio Olimpico – Saturday, March 7 – 4.40pm (GMT)
- France – Stade de France – Saturday, March 14 – 8.10pm (GMT)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
