England are in danger of losing four out of five games in this year’s championship. Will that be enough to land them the competition’s booby prize?
The 2026 Six Nations hasn’t gone according to plan for Steve Borthwick’s England.
With a promising win over Wales followed by losses to Scotland and Ireland – and then a first ever defeat to Italy – they now travel to Paris needing to beat France to avoid losing four out of five matches in this year’s championship.
This would be the team’s worst ever performance in the Six Nations era, but would it be bad enough to “win” them the Wooden Spoon awarded to the side that finishes bottom of the table?
Below we explain if the 2026 side are in line to claim the one Six Nations trophy that nobody wants to take home – and whether England have ever won it before…
Can England claim the Six Nations Wooden Spoon in 2026?
It’s mathematically possible but also extremely unlikely.
If England are defeated by France this weekend without picking up a losing bonus point – and Wales beat Italy with a try-scoring bonus – both teams would finish the Six Nations with six championship points.
What protects England, however, is their vastly superior points difference – much of it accrued when they beat Wales 48-7 on an opening weekend of the championship that’s starting to feel a very long time ago.
Although England only have +4 in the points difference column, Wales have a whopping deficit of -96, meaning that a swing of 100 is required for Wales to overtake their rivals and avoid a third successive Wooden Spoon.
And while France are definitely capable of clocking up a big score against England in Paris, it’s hard to imagine Wales having the necessary blowout against a very solid Italy side.
Have England ever won a Six Nations Wooden Spoon?
England have never won the Wooden Spoon in the Six Nations era.
Their worst ever finishes came in 2018 and 2021, when they ended up in fifth place, winning just two matches over the course of the respective campaigns. (Interestingly, two England wins was enough for third place in 2010 and 2022, and fourth place in 2005, 2006 and 2023.)
Related: What is the Six Nations Wooden Spoon?
They did, however, win the Wooden Spoon in the Five Nations era, most famously in 1983 when a side that had been tipped as favourites lost three out of their four games, drawing the other against Wales.
They also propped up the championship table in 1972 and 1976 (losing all four of their matches on both occasions), and 1987 (when they finished bottom to Wales on points difference).
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