The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition featuring six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the Home Nations, with four teams:
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
.
In the 1998–99 season, it became the Five Nations, with
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
joining the original four.
The following season,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
replaced Ireland for two seasons.
In 2001–02, the women's Six Nations competition was born with England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Wales playing, after Ireland re-joined the competition.
Spain, at that time, were higher ranked than Italy and therefore deserved their place in the competition on merit.
In 2006, a championship trophy was commissioned from silversmith
Thomas Lyte, to be followed by a second trophy commissioned for the Under 20 Six Nations championship. Designed and created by Thomas Lyte, the trophies are made from sterling silver and feature engraving detail with the logos of the competing countries.
In 2007, the Six Nations committee formally adopted
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
as the sixth national team member in the championship, replacing Spain.
This aligned the women's competition with the
men's competition.
England have been the dominant team in the competition, winning 21 of the 30 editions, as of 2025.
Results
Overall
Home Nations (1996–1998)
Five Nations (1999–2001)
Six Nations (2002–present)
Final positions
Summary
Tables
Home Nations (1996–1998)
Five Nations (1999–2001)
Six Nations without bonus point scoring (2002–2016)
Six Nations with bonus point scoring (2017–)
Total
Records
Highest team scores
Wins by 80 points or more:
* v (89–0) at
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
on 8 March 2011
23* v (88–10) at
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
on 20 April 2024
* v (86–3) at
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
on 11 February 2006
23* v (83–11) at
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
on 10 April 1999
39* v (81–0) at
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...
on 4 February 2005
76* v (80–0) at
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
on 16 March 2019
308
Awards
Player of the Championship
The following table outlines the nominees and winners of the Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship Award, which was first presented at the
2020 tournament.
See also
*
Women's international rugby
*
Rugby Europe Women's Championship – competition for other European nations
Notes
References
External links
Official Women's Six Nations site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Six Nations
Recurring sporting events established in 1996
Women's rugby union competitions in Europe for national teams