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RBS Six Nations fixtures announced for next two years

May 17, 2017

The RBS Six Nations fixtures for the 2018 and 2019 tournaments have been announced, giving fans a chance to plan well ahead for future games.

Next year's championship will start on February 3rd and will take place over seven weekends, culminating in a 'Super Saturday' on March 17th when the last three games are played.

Rugby fans keen to see England's matches at Twickenham can see them in action next year at home to Wales on February 10th and Ireland on March 17th, with the latter potentially being a title decider between the two countries who have won the last four championships between them.

The 2019 championship will run from February 1st to March 16th. England's home games will be against France on February 10th, Italy on March 9th and Scotland on the final day.

Six Nations Rugby chairman Pat Whelan said: "We are delighted to confirm the fixture dates for the 2018 championship, coming shortly after a record breaking 2017 edition.

"We enjoyed record figures across TV and digital and look forward to continuing that trend over the next two seasons."

While fans will be excited about the fixtures to come, there will be plenty of chances to see England in action before then. Corporate hospitality packages are still available for the match between England and the Barbarians on May 28th, while the Old Mutual Wealth Autumn Internationals will see Argentina, Australia and Samoa visiting on November 11th, 18th and 25th respectively.

The Red Roses England ladies' team will play their last match of the season against Canada at Twickenham after the Samoa game, meaning all those in attendance can see two matches for the price of one.

England's squad have been preparing for the Barbarians game and the summer tour to Argentina at a training camp in Brighton, where head coach Eddie Jones has told the Rugby Football Union website skipper Dylan Hartley could still be leading the side come the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, when he will be 33.

Jones said: "He was measurably better during the Six Nations than he was in November. His captaincy has gone up to another level.

"The preparation he's doing for Argentina would suggest he's going in the right direction. There's no reason he can't carry on to 2019.

"It depends how hungry he is - whether he keeps on being the Butcher of Rotorua or becomes the Squire of Northampton."

The initial plan had been for the hooker to be captain for two years and then reassess the situation, Jones said.

Hartley will lead England against the Pumas after being omitted from the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

So far, the Northampton star has captained England in all 17 Tests played under Jones, leading them to victories in 16 of them. That record may suffer in Argentina due to the loss of key players to the Lions, but Hartley will not be perturbed if he can keep going as captain and end up lifting the World Cup when the process is complete.

England's training squad on the south coast has omitted all the players involved in the Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-finals.

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