The Women’s Six Nations (W6N) will return for the 2026 edition of the competition in two weeks' time with a triple header of round 1 action taking place on 11th April.

The ‘heartbeat’ of the Women’s Rugby calendar will see France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales and reigning champions England battle it out for the Women’s Six Nations trophy.

England at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

England come into the 2026 edition of the Women’s Six Nations having won four consecutive grand slams as well as seven titles in a row.

England’s head coach has included seven uncapped players in his 38-player squad alongside new captain Megan Jones, who will lead the World Cup champions alongside her vice-captains, Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews.

Their opening fixture against Ireland has already broken tournament ticket records, as more than 70,000 tickets have been sold, with the Allianz Stadium’s top tier being opened for a women’s championship match for the first time in history.

Ireland at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

Ireland finished 3rd in the past two editions of the Women’s Six Nations, with the nation winning their first W6N away match in 4 years in last year’s fixture against Italy.

Nine uncapped players have been selected in Ireland’s 36-player squad, with 22-year-old Erin King being named as captain by head coach Scott Bemand.

They will take all of their home matches on the road for this year’s competition, with Dexcom Stadium hosting its first-ever W6N match before their tournament will conclude at the Aviva Stadium as the home of Irish rugby prepares to host its first-ever standalone women’s international.

Scotland at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

Scotland finished 5th at last year’s tournament and 4th in the 2024 edition and will be looking to break into the top 3, with their new head coach, Sione Fukofuka, naming a 38-player squad with seven ‘development players’ included.
Murrayfield will host its first-ever standalone women’s fixture in round 2 of the Women’s Six Nations, with the Scottish Women’s team also chasing a new ticket record as they hope to beat the 18,900 current record for the largest ever crowd at a Scottish women’s sporting event.

On their upcoming history-making campaign, Scotland’s captain Rachel Malcolm said: “I think it’s really cool; all of us obviously grew up watching the men play at Murrayfield, and we didn’t know that would ever be something that we could aspire to.”

“I think now to have the opportunity to play in what is like an iconic landmark for Scotland and to be the first to do it, to be a part of that first women’s team to do it is so cool, but what’s really cool is that all the little boys and girls that come and see us do it there, they can aspire to do that one day as well.”

France at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

France came agonisingly close to winning the grand slam last year, as they lost 42-43 to England, so they instead finished 2nd for the 7th consecutive year.

France, who will be captained by Manaé Feleu, have yet to finalise their squad for the Women’s Six Nations, but their training squad included 16 uncapped players as new head coach François Ratier prepares to name a potential 32-player squad for the competition.

Italy at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

Last year saw Italy finish 4th in the Women’s Six Nations, for the first time since 2021, after they won their first home game in two years against Wales.

Nine uncapped players have been named in head coach Fabio Roselli’s 34-player squad for the championship, with Elisa Giordano captaining the side that boasts the first female Italian to earn her 100th cap, Sofia Stefan.

Wales at the 2026 Women’s Six Nations

Wales’ head coach, Sean Lynn, has named nine uncapped players in the 38-player squad after they picked up the wooden spoon at the last two championships.

Over 22,000 tickets have been sold for their match against England at Ashton Gate, with the current ticket sales having already broken the record for a home W6N match outside of the Allianz Stadium, with 75% of the venue’s capacity being sold out.

On the uncapped players in their squad, Wales captain Kate Williams said: "It's really exciting. I think these players have done really well in the Celtic Challenge, and they’ve been able to express themselves, and that’s what’s put their hand up and been such an opportunity to be able to be selected for the Women’s Six Nations.”

“We’re going to have a good mix of like raw, fresh talent and also some experienced players as well to help and shape them, to help bring them on their way to how we’re playing rugby in this Welsh side going forward. But it is exciting that it’s a new four-year cycle; we’ve got fresh coaches with fresh ideas, and I’m really excited to see how we go.”

The opening round of action will see France take on Italy, then England face Ireland before the triple header on 11th April comes to a close with Wales vs Scotland.

The remaining rounds will also see four different triple headers take place, with round 2 taking place on 18th April, round 3 on 25th April, and round 4 on 9th May, before the championship concludes on 17th May.