Six Nations 2023 fixtures announced: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland schedules in full, dates and times

The fixtures for the 2023 Six Nations Championship have been announced with the Calcutta Cup once again being contested on the opening weekend of action.

Scotland retained the famous trophy with a 20-17 victory over Eddie Jones’ side at Murrayfield earlier this year as France went on to conquer all challenges to claim the Grand Slam.

The reigning champions will kick off their title defence against Italy while Wales v Ireland will once again be the opening fixture of the tournament.

Here are the fixtures for the 2023 Six Nations Championship:

Round 1

• Wales v Ireland, Saturday February 4 (14:15)
• England v Scotland, Saturday February 4 (16:45)
• Italy v France, Sunday February 5 (15:00)

Round 2

• Ireland v France, Saturday February 11 (14:15)
• Scotland v Wales, Saturday February 11 (16:45)
• England v Italy, Sunday February 12 (15:00)

Round 3

• Italy v Ireland, Saturday February 25 (14:15)
• Wales v England, Saturday February 25 (16:45)
• France v Scotland, Sunday February 26 (15:00)

Round 4

• Italy v Wales, Saturday March 11 (14:15)
• England v France, Saturday March 11 (16:45)
• Scotland v Ireand, Sunday March 12 (15:00)

Round 5

• Scotland v Italy, Saturday March 18 (12:30)
• France v Wales, Saturday March 18 (14:45)
• Ireland v England, Saturday March 18 (17:00)

The first two weekends of action will mirror the fixtures from 2022 with the only difference being the order of play and venues.

Super Saturday will once again return for the final round of matches on Saturday 18 March - the only round where all three games are played on the same day.

Unlike previous years, no fixture has been selected for Friday night coverage with all games taking place on either a Saturday or Sunday.

Scotland have won the last two meetings with England including their first win at Twickenham since 1983 in 2021.

However, that match was played during lockdown restrictions with the stadium empty.

Meanwhile, Italy shocked everyone to record a long overdue Six Nations win on the final day of the 2022 tournament against Wales in Cardiff.

They kick off their tournament with the daunting task of facing France.

The Grand Slam winners will be building up to a home Rugby World Cup next year, a competition they have high hopes for, so will be looking to have improved even more - a scary prospect for all of the teams involved.

Ireland were the nearest challengers to France’s dominance this year and those two will again go head-to-head in the second round of matches.

They played out one of the games of the tournament that was won 30-24 by the hosts in Paris but it will be Andy Farrell’s side who have home advantage in 2023.

England’s clashes with France, dubbed ‘Le Crunch’, are always one of the most hotly anticipated clashes for neutrals and that match will take place at Twickenham in Round 4 on the 2023 calendar.

Wales v England, another fiery affair, will take place in Round 5 while Eddie Jones’ side end their tournament with the final match of Super Saturday when they head to Dublin.