• Governing body floating staging Ireland v Italy in US

• World Rugby eyes commercial value in American fixtures

World Rugby wants a Six Nations match to be staged in the US and has offered financial incentives to the unions to do so – but England have effectively ruled themselves out on the grounds that fixtures at Twickenham are too lucrative.

The US will stage the 2031 World Cup and World Rugby is seeking to capitalise commercially despite mounting fears over the parlous state of rugby union in the host country. As a result, the governing body is desperate to raise interest in the sport’s profile by staging high-profile matches Stateside, with Baltimore hosting the fourth Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday.

From that crunch classic in Paris to the Red Roses’ trailblazing and Rhys Carré’s try, our pick of the moments that made the 2026-27 season

Best games attended
1) 14 March, France 48-46 England. Thirteen tries – including four for Louis Bielle-Biarrey – and a last-gasp winning penalty from Thomas Ramos. Truly magnifique.

Red Roses showed the hunger needed to defend World Cup in 2029 by clinching an eighth successive Six Nations

If the top of the pyramid is defending their Rugby World Cup title in 2029 then this Women’s Six Nations has formed the base from which England can build. The world champions won their eighth straight Six Nations and proved they can succeed even when they have to stretch their squad to the maximum.

Blooding new talent was always the plan for the head coach, John Mitchell, but not in the manner it happened. The team knew they would be without some of the pillars of their side because of retirement or pregnancy, but the sheer volume of injuries is not something they could have foreseen. Hannah Botterman, Alex Matthews and Morwenna Talling were ruled out for either all or large chunks of the tournament with Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati also missing the odd game.

Concern that England’s women are not being challenged fails to acknowledge what it takes for consistent excellence

There are a couple of reasons why England’s latest Six Nations grand slam is worthy of glowing appreciation. The first is that consistent excellence should always receive due recognition. And the second is that England had to do far more than simply show up and tick off the kind of routine runaway victory that leaves even their most loyal fans slightly underwhelmed.

A 15-point margin might not instantly suggest a full-blooded contest but France more than fulfilled their part of the bargain. The nagging concern within women’s rugby is that the Red Roses are not being sufficiently challenged. On this occasion no one could level that accusation at the determined hosts who had England’s golden girls pinned back for lengthy periods.

• France 28-43 England

• Kildunne and Breach score twice as Red Roses triumph

Dominant, impenetrable, invincible. There are so many words to describe this England team. No matter what is thrown at them, they win matches and lift trophies. The Red Roses have an almost untouchable air around them as, despite experiencing the worst injury and unavailability crisis this team has seen for a decade, they swept aside each opponent in the Women’s Six Nations to seal their eighth consecutive title and fifth grand slam in a row.

With a legacy already in the bag with their 2025 World Cup win, England set out in this Women’s Six Nations to start to build a dynasty and they have certainly laid the foundations in this tournament. The Red Roses not only claimed the clean sweep after dismantling France in a sunny but windy Bordeaux but they also became the first team to win the tournament immediately after claiming the World Cup.

Kildunne and Breach led the scoring as the Red Roses delivered another grand slam

7 mins. T Feleu has her first crash ball run of the game from a scrum and Harrison does well to hold onto her leg for dear life to stop the big woman breaking the line. The ball is recycled quickly and Kebaya finds herself a mile offside in the defensive line.

That’s three penalties in the opening minutes given against England.

On Sunday the Red Roses chase an eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title, with hosts Les Bleues seeking a slam too

It all comes down to this, again. France have been runners-up to England in the Women’s Six Nations for the past six years, edging ever closer: last year’s decider was settled by a single point. But can François Ratier’s team not only end England’s dominance in this competition but also halt their 37-game winning run on Sunday? If they show up from minute one to 80, France can do it.

England will be favourites to lift their eighth straight Six Nations trophy but have been contending with a lot this tournament. Retirements, pregnancy and injury mean the team are without a wealth of talent including Zoe Stratford – the usual captain – Abbie Ward and Alex Matthews. They have continued to win with a depleted squad but their depth will be given its biggest test yet against an in-form France team.

• Two-cap veteran picked on bench against France

• Forward had contract but returned to dentistry career

Dentist and lecturer Liz Crake has been named on the bench for England’s grand slam decider against France on Sunday as Kelsey Clifford has been ruled out with injury.

Crake, who has two caps, was called into the squad after Hannah Botterman was ruled out of the entire Six Nations with an ankle issue. Second-choice loosehead prop Clifford picked up a leg injury against Italy last weekend and so Mackenzie Carson will start and the head coach, John Mitchell, who said he has had been forced into 20 player changes across the tournament because of pregnancy and injury, is having to test his side’s depth.

Crake, 31, did have a contract with England in the 2024-25 season but has had to turn back to dentistry for this campaign. She is not the only part-time professional player to compete for the Red Roses during this Six Nations. Christiana Balogun, who works as a recruitment consultant, came off of the bench against Italy because of an injury to Maddie Feaunati.

The Rugby Football Union has 32 full-time contracts in place for Red Roses players. Those who are not contracted get paid for the days they are in camp and a matchday fee.

The captain Meg Jones said: “The players [Crake and Balogun] are full of resilience, the way they are able to come in and switch on and switch off based on their other circumstances as well. It’s definitely probably one of those things that you take for granted when you’ve been in it [professionalism] for so long.

New Zealand back turned TV presenter believes France can end the Red Roses’ 37-game winning streak in Bordeaux

Thousands will descend on Bordeaux’s Stade Atlantique on Sunday to watch the Women’s Six Nations grand slam decider between France and England, among them the New Zealand legend Ruby Tui. The World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist, who has been working for the BBC as a pundit, says she would love to see the French come out on top in Le Crunch to end England’s seven-year trophy hold.

Tui attended her first Six Nations match in round one of this year’s competition at Twickenham, as England took on Ireland. The match felt like an extension of the World Cup party for the 34-year‑old, who witnessed last year’s groundbreaking event through her media duties. The Red Roses will want to deliver the same outcome as that final last September and if they did so they would extend their Six Nations winning run to 39 games in a row and become the first team to win the tournament after claiming the World Cup. But Tui is backing the women in blue.

The Scots could collect the wooden spoon a year after their historic World Cup run. Why has progress stalled so dramatically?

Is it a World Cup hangover? Or a growing injury list? Or something else? These are the questions Scotland supporters are asking themselves in the midst of a disappointing Women’s Six Nations. This was a tournament where legends such as Donna Kennedy were hoping for a third-place finish; the fact the team could end up with the wooden spoon is staggering, especially considering their historic World Cup run last year.

Scotland reached the last eight for the first time since 2002 and did so in convincing fashion. They defeated Fiji, their win over Wales was dominant and they challenged Canada, the eventual runners-up, in their final pool match. They were blown away by England in the quarter-final but it was nonetheless a successful campaign. The tournament’s end brought a close to Bryan Easson’s time in charge of the team and a whole new coaching staff were employed.

• Italy 33-61 England

• Packer scores four to set up possible France showdown

Marlie Packer made her England debut 18 years ago, but she is playing some of her best rugby, with the openside flanker once again key as the Red Roses set up a Championship decider against France next Sunday. The former England captain has won back the starting shirt because of the unavailability of other players after falling down the pecking order.

At the World Cup last year Packer played one match, against Samoa in the pool stage. She has said she will be there for the team that “means so much” to her in whatever capacity she is needed by the head coach, John Mitchell, but is proving she can still do more than a good job. The 36-year-old scored four tries and brought her leadership experience too.

Red Roses are reaping rewards of investment prompting calls for others to follow their lead to increase jeopardy

A world-record winning streak stretched to 36 matches, no defeats in the Six Nations since 2018 and none at all since the 2022 Rugby World Cup final: England’s dominance of women’s rugby is undeniable, but is it bad for the game?

Before addressing that question, as England prepare for their penultimate 2026 Six Nations match against Italy in Parma on Saturday, another needs to be answered – why are the world champions so dominant? The simple answer is the investment made by the Rugby Football Union. Of course the big player pool and talent play a huge part but England have been able to develop professionally since full-time contracts were announced in 2018. Alongside the RFU has invested in marketing, growing sponsorship revenue and gradually building attendances by showcasing the team across the country.

A new scheme will attempt to address the glaring lack of diversity among top coaches in elite women’s rugby union

A 10-point plan will be introduced by Premiership Women’s Rugby next season that aims to increase the number of female coaches at international level, with only one top-10 nation currently being led by a woman.

The scheme aims to create a springboard for more women at the elite tier of the sport, where there is a glaring lack of diversity among top coaches. Whitney Hansen is in charge of New Zealand, but, Jo Yapp and Gaëlle Mignot stood down from their positions after last year’s Rugby World Cup, with the Wallaroos and France respectively.

France remain on track for grand slam showdown with Red Roses, whose injury-hit squad depth is being tested

Ireland sent out mixed messages from their camp before their game with France on Saturday: was this a revenge mission for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit or not? The head coach, Scott Bemand, had denied it but the captain, Erin King, admitted the World Cup game had added some “venom” to the encounter and the full-back Stacey Flood said France should be “worried if I was them”.

The Irish team may have had the image of Axelle Berthoumieu biting Aoife Wafer, an action that was not caught during the quarter-final but the France back row was given a nine-game ban afterwards, for added motivation if any was needed. There was certainly no love lost between the teams, with the fixture full of tension, squabbles and huge hits.

• England 62-24 Wales

• Red Roses run in 10 tries, Wales earn bonus point

There is an alternate universe in which Meg Jones played the Six Nations game between England and Wales in a red shirt instead of a white one. The Red Roses captain was born in Cardiff and can speak fluent Welsh, but she chose to play for England, being qualified through her mother. That decision is surely one of the most important to England’s current form with Jones an integral and irreplaceable cog in the machine.

Jones was named captain with Zoe Stratford pregnant and she has more than stepped up to the plate. The 2025 World Rugby player of the year nominee has scored in two of the three opening matches of the tournament, bagging two here at a sold-out Ashton Gate.

Updates from Ashton Gate; kick-off 2.15pm BST
Sign up for The Breakdown newsletter | Mail Daniel

Anthems now. A few tears. Love seeing that. Loads of passion.

The players are lining up in the tunnel.

After overcoming a debilitating injury, the Ireland captain is relishing the prospect of a grudge match against France

Twelve months ago Erin King was not only told she may never play rugby again but faced the possibility of being unable to even run. Fast forward to now and the 22-year-old is ready to lead Ireland in their revenge mission against France this Saturday after their rivals knocked them out of last year’s Rugby World Cup in King’s absence.

King, who transitioned from sevens rugby after the 2024 Olympics, had sustained a serious knee injury against England at the 2025 Six Nations which ruled her out of the global showpiece. It was a blow for Ireland’s campaign with the back row going from strength-to-strength in the 15s game. In 2024 she had been named the World Rugby breakthrough player of the year after standout performances that included scoring two tries in the team’s historic win over New Zealand at the WXV tournament.

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The way a weakened side flattened Scotland brings to mind the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s and Pep Guardiola’s peak Manchester City

Is this England side the most dominant sporting team to have existed? That is the question many are now asking after watching the Red Roses demolish Scotland 84-7 in the Women’s Six Nations, despite having a thoroughly depleted squad, to extend their winning run to 35 games across all competitions.

There will be some who will argue the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, who won six NBA titles in the decade, or Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who won four Premier League titles in a row, or the New York Yankees with their run of trophies in the late 1990s take the mantle. But it is difficult to disagree with John Mitchell who said pre-tournament the team are building a dynasty after already building a legacy with their World Cup win last year.

• Scotland 7-84 England

• Red Roses in unstoppable mood at Murrayfield

The fortress walls of Murrayfield were finally at Scotland women’s disposal for their first standalone game but England rocked its foundations with a statement performance where fans were left questioning if the world champions had injury problems at all.

The 30,498 crowd was a record attendance for a women’s solo sporting event in Scotland but they were shocked into silence after the hosts failed to live up to the occasion. Scotland were poor, particularly in defence, as England ran riot, with 12 tries and scoring the most points they have against their old rivals since their 89-0 result back in 2011. If Scotland turn up in Italy next week in the same form, Fabio Roselli’s team will be licking their lips.

Women’s Six Nations updates, 1.30pm BST kick-off
Scotland ready for Murrayfield landmark | Mail Daniel

Really looking forward to seeing how Short, on debut at 6, gets on.

Murrayfield is bathed in beautiful sunshine. The crowd is buzzing. All the ingredients there. Can the players deliver?