The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes,[1] is an international rugby union competition contested between six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the Home Nations, with four teams: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 6 (from 2002) 5 (1999–2001) 4 (1996–1998) |
| Country |  England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Most recent champion(s) | England (2024) |
| Most titles | England (20) |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
In the 1998–99 season it became the Five Nations, with France joining the original four. The following season, Spain 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 rejoined 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.[2]
In 2007, the Six Nations committee formally adopted Italy 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 20 of 29 editions.
Results
editOverall
edit| England
|
France
|
Ireland
|
Italy
|
Scotland
|
 Spain
|
Wales
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournaments | 29 | 26 | 27 | 18 | 29 | 7 | 29 |
| Outright Wins | 18 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Slams | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Triple Crowns | 22 | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Wooden Spoons | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 |
Home Nations (1996–1998)
edit| Year | Champions | Grand Slam | Triple Crown | Wooden Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | England
|
England
|
England
|
Wales
|
| 1997 | England
|
England
|
England
|
Ireland
|
| 1998 | Scotland
|
Scotland
|
Scotland
|
Ireland
|
Five Nations (1999–2001)
edit| Year | Champions | Grand Slam | Triple Crown | Wooden Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | England
|
England
|
England
|
Ireland
|
| 2000 | England
|
England
|
England
|
Wales
|
| 2001 | England
|
England
|
England
|
Wales
|
Six Nations (2002–present)
editFinal positions
editSummary
edit| Home Nations | Five Nations | Six Nations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| England | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| France | — | — | — | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Ireland | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 5th | — | — | 6th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 6th |
| Italy | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 5th | 6th | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 5th | 5th |
| Scotland | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 4th | 5th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 4th |
| Spain | — | — | — | — | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 6th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wales | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 6th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 5th | 6th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 3rd | 3rd |
Tables
editHome Nations (1996–1998)
edit| Position | Nation | Tournaments | Matches | Points | Table points |
Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | TW | GS | TC | WS | ||||
| 1 | England
|
3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 255 | 72 | +183 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Scotland
|
3 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 121 | 66 | +55 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Wales
|
3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 125 | 184 | –59 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Ireland
|
3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 56 | 235 | –179 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Five Nations (1999–2001)
edit| Position | Nation | Tournaments | Matches | Points | Table points |
Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | TW | GS | TC | WS | ||||
| 1 | England
|
3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 491 | 68 | +423 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | France
|
3 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 240 | 141 | +99 | 16 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0 |
| 3 | Scotland
|
3 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 172 | 246 | –74 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Spain
|
2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 74 | 135 | –61 | 8 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0 |
| 5 | Wales
|
3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 77 | 341 | –264 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Ireland
|
1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 128 | –123 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Six Nations without bonus point scoring (2002–2016)
edit| Position | Nation | Tournaments | Matches | Points | Table points |
Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | TW | GS | TC | WS | ||||
| 1 | England
|
15 | 75 | 64 | 0 | 11 | 2810 | 335 | +2475 | 128 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| 2 | France
|
15 | 75 | 50 | 0 | 25 | 1726 | 701 | +1025 | 100 | 5 | 4 | N/A | 0 |
| 3 | Ireland
|
15 | 75 | 35 | 0 | 40 | 1055 | 1097 | –42 | 70 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Wales
|
15 | 75 | 30 | 1 | 44 | 861 | 1042 | –181 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Scotland
|
15 | 75 | 15 | 1 | 59 | 597 | 2065 | –1468 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | Italy
|
10 | 50 | 14 | 1 | 35 | 579 | 1216 | –637 | 29 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 3 |
| 7 | Spain
|
5 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 156 | 764 | –604 | 13 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2 |
Six Nations with bonus point scoring (2017–)
edit| Position | Nation | Tournaments | Matches | Points | Tries | Bonus points |
Table points |
Awards | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | T BP | L BP | GS BP | TW | GS | TC | WS | ||||
| 1 | England
|
7 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1582 | 233 | +1349 | 252 | 33 | 28 | 1 | 15 | 168 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | France
|
7 | 32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 1076 | 370 | +706 | 162 | 48 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 123 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 0 |
| 3 | Ireland
|
7 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 486 | 788 | –302 | 74 | 121 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Italy
|
7 | 32 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 498 | 941 | –443 | 56 | 127 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 |
| 5 | Wales
|
7 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 408 | 993 | –585 | 59 | 154 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Scotland
|
7 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 373 | 999 | –626 | 53 | 157 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Total
edit| Pos | Nation | Tournaments | Matches | Points | Bonus points |
Table points |
Awards | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T BP | L BP | GS BP | TW | GS | TC | WS | ||||
| 1 | England
|
27 | 124 | 111 | 0 | 13 | 4867 | 649 | +4218 | 23 | 1 | 12 | 312 | 18 | 16 | 22 | 0 |
| 2 | France
|
24 | 114 | 77 | 1 | 36 | 2843 | 1145 | +1698 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 219 | 6 | 5 | N/A | 0 |
| 3 | Ireland
|
25 | 115 | 50 | 0 | 65 | 1577 | 2055 | –478 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 139 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Wales
|
27 | 123 | 40 | 2 | 81 | 1399 | 2512 | –1113 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Scotland
|
27 | 122 | 30 | 2 | 90 | 1179 | 3228 | –2049 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 78 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 6 | Italy
|
16 | 77 | 23 | 2 | 52 | 900 | 1995 | –1095 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 4 |
| 7 | Spain
|
7 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 250 | 899 | -645 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2 |
Records
editHighest team scores
editWins by 80 points or more:
England v Scotland (89–0) at Twickenham 08/03/2011 [523]- England v Spain (86–3) at Madrid 11/02/2006 [523]
- England v Wales (83–11) at Swansea 10/04/1999 [239]
- England v Wales (81–0) at Cardiff Arms Park 04/02/2005 [476]
- England v Scotland (80–0) at Twickenham 16/03/2019 [1308]
Awards
editPlayer of the Championship
editThe 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.[5]
See also
edit- Women's international rugby
- Rugby Europe Women's Championship – competition for other European nations
Notes
edit- ^ Three fixtures in the 2020 tournament were cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
- ^ The 2021 tournament followed a one-off format, which consisted of two pools with three teams each. The teams all played one home and one away match, before the top ranked teams in each pool contested the final.[4]
References
edit- ^ Six Nations Rugby and Guinness agree groundbreaking partnership spanning the women’s and men’s Championships
- ^ Rugby Trophies - Rugby Football History
- ^ "Remaining 2020 Women's Six Nations matches cancelled". Six Nations Rugby. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Women's Six Nations: How the 2021 Championship will work". Six Nations Rugby. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Guinness Women's Six Nations Player of The Championship". sixnationsrugby.com. Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Emily Scarratt crowned the inaugural 2020 Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". sixnationsrugby.com. Six Nations Rugby. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Poppy Cleall crowned 2021 Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". sixnationsrugby.com. Six Nations Rugby. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Laure Sansus named 2022 TikTok Women's Player of the Championship". sixnationsrugby.com. Six Nations Rugby. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Women's Six Nations: Gabrielle Vernier named player of the championship". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Kildunne wins Guinness Player of the Championship". sixnationsrugby.com. Six Nations Rugby. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.