1
More Wales players named in Opta Six Nations Best XV than Ireland
By Liam Heagney
Wales finished the 2025 Guinness Six Nations with a humiliating 68-14 home loss to England last Saturday, but their second successive wooden spoon campaign wasn’t without a silver lining.
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The Opta Index, which scores performances individually, has unveiled its team of the championship and the Welsh have two players, lock Dafydd Jenkins and back-rower Jac Morgan, named in the XV.
It might not sound like much of a consolation given that Wales again lost all five of its matches, but the efforts of Jenkins and Morgan gave them two representatives in a team where tournament favourites Ireland secured only a meagre single pick – Dan Sheehan.
The hooker scored five tries to take his championship tally to 13, which makes him the highest-scoring forward in Six Nations history.
Four Scottish players – full-back Blair Kinghorn, centre Huw Jones and props Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson – were named along with three from England, wing Tommy Freeman, lock Maro Itoje and back row Ben Earl.
Six Nations
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
France
5
4
1
0
21
2
England
5
4
1
0
20
3
Ireland
5
4
1
0
19
4
Scotland
5
2
3
0
11
5
Italy
5
1
4
0
5
6
Wales
5
0
5
0
3
The title-winning France also had three inclusions, record-setting try-scorer Louis Bielle-Biarrey, scrum-half Antoine Dupont and No8 Gregory Alldritt.
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In a further blow to the Irish, who finished third in their ambition to win an unprecedented hat-trick of Six Nations titles, the fifth-place Italy secured more picks than them in the Opta team as midfielder Tommaso Menoncello and out-half Paolo Garbisi were chosen.
A statement read: “Using the Opta Index, which scores every player based on their in-game actions, we have selected our team of the championship. Players from all six nations made the final XV, with Scotland leading the way (four players), narrowly ahead of France and England. Italy and Wales each had two players in the team, while Ireland had one representative.
“Unsurprisingly, Louis Bielle-Biarrey topped the overall player rankings after his sensational campaign. We suspect it might not be the last time he features in a Six Nations team of the championship.”
ICYMI – Our 2025 Men's Six Nations Team of the Championship. Lineup. pic.twitter.com/ipgKpSHYbW
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 18, 2025
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Team of The 6 Nations vs Team of Rugby Championsip?