The Rugby Historian

Author: Du Toit McLachlan

If you are a lover of attacking rugby, the 2025 edition of the Men’s Guinness Six Nations tournament was the best ever. This year’s tournament, which saw France emerge victorious, saw the most points scored in the competition’s 25-year history, with the total reaching 829, or 55.3 points per game. The latest version of Europe’s showpiece rugby competition surpassed the 800-point mark for the first time since 2000, as France became just the second-ever team to score more than 200 points in a single campaign, following on from the English team of 2001. The win draws the French level with England on seven titles apiece in the six-team era of the competition, but Wales and England still hold a healthy lead in the all-time standings, with 39 titles each compared to France’s 27.

Importantly, the manner in which this mountain of points was scored was also record-breaking. The six teams combined to score 108 tries, 17 more than the next-best tally of 91 scored in 2023 and miles ahead of the lowest tally of 37 tries in 2013. France scored more than 27% of those tries, breaking the record for the most scored by a team in a season with a tally of 30, this time beating the England team of 2001 by one try. Louis Bielle-Biarrey, France’s superb wing and player of the championship, also broke the record for most tries in a single Six Nations, his eight tries eclipsing Jacob Stockdale’s record of seven set in 2018. The previous time eight tries were scored in a Men’s Six Nations campaign was 100 years ago, by Ian Smith of Scotland in the 1925 Five Nations championship. 

Interestingly, the 2025 vintage of the English team scored 25 tries of their own, ranking third in the all-time standings and highlighting the attacking strength of this year’s tournament. They also broke the record for the biggest away winning margin with 54 points against a historically poor Wales side in the last round of matches. Even those teams on the other end of the spectrum serve to emphasise the relative performance of the 2025 tournament: 10 tries was the lowest number of tries this year, scored by both Italy and Wales respectively. That is more than the highest number in 2013, and the same number as the 2019 champions.

The success of this year’s Men’s Six Nations potentially serves as the first chapter in a year of great rugby across the world. Next up in the calendar, the British and Irish Lions will embark on their 10th tour of Australia, hoping to secure their 8th series win. Shortly after, the Southern Hemisphere’s premier rugby tournament, the Rugby Championship, kicks into gear, as the Springboks aim to win back-to-back tournaments for the first time. And, to top it all off, the Women’s Rugby World Cup will also take place this year, as New Zealand aim to hold on to their crown in England. Hopefully, teams embrace the Six Nations’ attacking spirit and produce a rugby year that will live long in the memory.