Six Nations news: England’s most memorable game against each rival

Playing the same countries each year means that storylines and memories are ever-changing in the Six Nations, with new ones being created every spring.

With teams sure to have both good and bad moments, here are some of the more positive ones from an English perspective. 

Sports News Blitz writer Charlie Elliott takes a look at England’s most memorable result against each of their rivals.

2017 – Wales 16-21 England 

There is now plenty of positivity surrounding the England team thanks to the recent victory over France, but it still feels a long way short of the euphoric mood in 2017, when a joint-record 18 Test wins in a row were achieved.

In the 16th game of that famous run, a late try from Elliot Daly broke Welsh hearts and silenced the partisan crowd under the roof in Cardiff.

It was a game in which Wales outmuscled the visitors, to be honest, but the quality of the English backs shone through to ensure the victory.

As a key game in a tournament that England ended up winning, the second round of the 2017 Six Nations will not be forgotten in a hurry. 

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2017 – England 36-15 Italy 

The game following the aforementioned win over Wales was nowhere near as positive.

While it was another big win for England on their way to winning the Six Nations – and a 17th straight victory – the way it happened was embarrassing for the home side and genius on the part of the Italians.

Italy actually went into half-time as the surprise leaders that day, having worked up a 10-5 lead.

In a clever tactic, they did not commit any players to the ruck at the breakdown so as to ensure there was no offside line, which meant that their players could go wherever they wanted.

This allowed the Italians to mark the England players tighter than usual and led to less space. 

It was all eventually figured out by the hosts, but the first half – in which the English were completely nonplussed – will be remembered for a long time.

2025 – England 26-25 France 

Here is a match that is memorable both in terms of the hugeness of the result and its recency.

When the dust has settled, people will start to appreciate how big of a win the triumph over France of two weeks ago really was in the grand scheme of things. 

England desperately needed a spark after a disappointing start to the Six Nations and a string of near misses in high-profile Tests over the last year, and Daly well and truly delivered with his last-gasp try.

A huge slice of fortune was attached to the result, with the visitors missing some very good chances, but Steve Borthwick nevertheless showed that he and his men can grind out results if needed.

And that, more than anything else, could end up being a massive turning point going forward.

Only time will tell if it is just a flash in the pan, of course, but things are looking up once again because of this win. 

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2003 – Ireland 6-42 England 

A big win over Ireland in 2003 secured both the Triple Crown and the Grand Slam for England – in Dublin to boot.

The fact that it was achieved during England’s 2003 golden era makes the result all the more sweeter and memorable for English fans.

Words really cannot do justice to how good that team was.

Lawrence Dallaglio, Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood, and Jonny Wilkinson were all on the scoresheet in Dublin, with the starting XV a veritable ‘Who’s who?’ of rugby legends.

In the actual game, England grabbed an early lead and never looked back in what was a one-sided match-up in all honesty.

And with even more success just around the corner for the brilliant English, plenty still look back on that Ireland result with immense fondness.

1991 – Scotland 6-9 England 

Games with tries tend to be the most memorable, but England’s kick-fest 9-6 victory over bitter rivals Scotland in 1991 was about so much more than just entertainment.

The win came in a World Cup sem-ifinal, with a couple of Jonathan Webb penalties and a Chris Andrew drop goal seeing England through to the showpiece.

As if that was not big enough, the match also took place in Edinburgh. 

Sending the Scots packing from a semi-final in front of their own crowd is easily one of the best moments of all time from an English perspective. 

And although the final was won by Australia in the end, that semi-final in Edinburgh is still a great game to look back on for England and her fans.

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