Survey reveals dread of being stuck in the pub with England fans

A UK and Ireland survey of rugby fans ahead of this weekend’s Guinness Six Nations opening round has found that England supporters are the group they would least like to be stuck with in a pub for the matches.

The 2025 tournament gets underway on Friday night when France host Wales in Paris and it continues on Saturday with Scotland welcoming Italy to Edinburgh before wrapping up round one with the meeting of Ireland and England in Dublin.

Champions in 2023 and 2024, the Irish are gunning to win an historic hat-trick of titles and ahead of the start to the 2025 edition, research of 1,001 rugby fans from the UK and Ireland – commissioned by MiXR and conducted by Censuswide between January 24-29 – has been published.

Maro Itoje speaks at the Men’s Six Nations launch in Rome

England captain Maro Itoje spoke to the media at the official Guinness Men’s Six Nations launch event in Rome and at the Colosseum.

Maro Itoje speaks at the Men’s Six Nations launch in Rome

England captain Maro Itoje spoke to the media at the official Guinness Men’s Six Nations launch event in Rome and at the Colosseum.

A statement read: “Research has revealed that England supporters are the group rugby fans would least like to be stuck with in the pub during this year’s Guinness Six Nations. In a survey conducted by MiXR, more than two-fifths (43 per cent) of rugby fans named England supporters as the group they would most like to avoid when heading to their local to watch the tournament.

“While escaping them may be a priority, getting one over the Red Roses is even more important. Over half of those surveyed (55 per cent) said that England is the team they most want their nation to beat in the Six Nations, with two-thirds (67 per cent) admitting they would support another nation when they play against England.

Fixture

Six Nations

Ireland

27 - 22

Full-time

England

All Stats and Data

“As for who they are cheering on themselves, it appears that choosing a team to support in this year’s Six Nations is not always straightforward. More than a quarter (25 per cent) of fans said they supported a nation they have never even visited, while over one in five (22 per cent) said their decision to back a country was based on having a grandparent or great-grandparent from there.”

MiXR conducted the survey to help launch Pub Nations, its alternative tournament giving fans the chance to represent their nation “in the true heartland of rugby – the pub”. During the tournament, the MiXR app will track the points ‘scored’ on food and drink by fans of each nation in 500 pubs.

It’s time #GuinnessM6N ? pic.twitter.com/fSABdBdWVy

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) January 29, 2025