Back-to-back matches to be introduced in revamped Women's Six Nations
A revamped Guinness Women's Six Nations will feature back-to-back matches on a single day in each round during the 2026 tournament.
The 'Super Saturday' style format has been introduced to 'deliver the best possible fan experience' and 'optimise the audience of fans tuning in around the world'.
Reigning champions England will launch their title defence on Saturday, April 11 against Ireland at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
Perennial runners-up France will host Italy in the opening match earlier that day before Scotland travel to Wales in the third game.
Competition will conclude with a 'Super Sunday' on May 17, with England scheduled to visit France for a potential title decider in the final fixture.
The Red Roses, who have won seven Six Nations titles in a row and are preparing for this year's home World Cup, will take on Scotland in round two on April 18 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
John Mitchell's side will then host Wales a week later before travelling to Italy in round four on May 9.
The tournament will begin four weeks after the final weekend of the men's championship, having previously started a week later.
'The new approach to the schedule has been built to deliver the best possible fan experience for those attending fixtures, and through collaboration between unions and broadcasters to meet and optimise the audience of fans tuning in around the world,' read a statement from organisers.
'Following Rugby World Cup 2025 in England later this year, and with interest for the women's game anticipated to be at an all-time high, the opportunity in front of women's rugby is huge, and as the biggest annual event in the women's rugby calendar, the Guinness Women's Six Nations is in pole position to drive momentum.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Pogacar wins second Dauphine stage to retain lead
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar consolidated his lead at the Criterium du Dauphine with a second consecutive stage victory in reigning Tour de France and road world champion went clear 12 kilometres from the finish on the final ascent of Saturday's 132km 'Queen Stage' from Grand-Aigueblanche to Pogacar eventually finished 14 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Denmark's Jonas UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider had taken the yellow jersey with a dominant victory in Friday's stage six and the 26-year-old now holds a lead of one minute and one second over the Visma-Lease a Bike man going into Sunday's final stage."I launched it and maintained a good pace to the top," said Pogacar after securing his 98th career stage win, moving ahead of French sprinter Arnaud Demare for the most by an active rider."Today Jonas was really strong. I did not want to go too deep myself. It was a super hot and long climb. Luckily, I had enough time to ease up in the last kilometres and recovered.""Happy I could defend the jersey like this."Germany's Florian Lipowitz was third in the stage but is two minutes and 21 seconds behind Pogacar while Remco Evenepoel lost more time and is now fourth overall, a further one minute and 50 seconds race, a traditional warm-up for the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday, 5 July, concludes with another mountainous stage covering 133.3km from Val-d'Arc to the Plateau du Mont-Cenis.
The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
Luke Littler sent fierce warning over controversial comments by German opponents ahead of World Cup of Darts
LUKE LITTLER and Luke Humhpries have been sent a fierce warning ahead of their World Cup of Darts clash against Germany. The England pair face Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler in the round of 16 in Frankfurt tonight. 3 3 Littler had previously gotten into a spat with Pietreczko and controversially slated Germany because of crowd problems. He posted on Instagram: "Shouldn't have been in Munich but had to play anyway. "Next one in Germany for me is Dortmund and I am glad to say that." Pietreczko - nicknamed 'Pikachu' - said: "I think it was a very funny game against both Lukes, because Luke Littler says never come back to Germany.' Schindler added: "I think the fans are going to play a major role in that. 'If we are going to play against bigger nations, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Netherlands or whoever, there are so many good names in it right now. "I think this probably is the best World Cup to be in and we are very happy about the support we are getting from the fans.' Littler clashed with 'Pikachu' in March when the German confronted him after being beaten. Luke Littler reveals he's signed up to HUGE reality show alongside YouTuber mate Pietreczko explained: "Well, I really appreciated him being able to play a game like that at such an age, but I hope his arrogance punishes him." Littler claimed he had no idea what he had done wrong but acknowledged "everyone wants to beat him". Away from the oche, the top two players in the world, Humphries and Littler, were both awarded an MBE on Friday as part of the King's Birthday Honours list for their contributions to sports. The award is a glaring example of how darts' growing appeal paralleled the pair's rise to the top. Humphries said: "I'm extremely honoured and delighted to be receiving an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours for services to darts. "To be recognised by the King for what I have achieved, and also for my contribution to playing in and promoting the sport that I love, is something that I never thought possible, but I'm very grateful that it has become a reality.'
The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
Shocking moment furious Le Mans driver kicks and punches rival's car before being restrained by stewards
A FUMING Le Mans driver needed to be restrained by stewards as he punched and kicked a rival's car. In an insane start to Race 2 of the Le Mans Cup - before the iconic 24 Hour endurance race - Ferrari 296 GT3 driver Gino-Generoso Forgione was put out of the race after a collision with Josep Mayola Comadira. 3 3 3 Several drivers had crashed out of the race in the early chaos after No.8 Team Virage LMP3 spun after making contact with the No.29 Forestier Racing by VPS LMP3. And Forgione, driving the Ferrari No.21, was left fuming as he was caught up in it when Comadira collected his rival by bumping him and spinning him around. The incident left both cars stranded on track and brought out the safety car. Forgione was seen getting out of his car and marching over to Comadira's No.23 Biogas Ferrari. As he approached the Swiss driver lifted up his helmet visor and broke into a trot before unleashing a kick into the side of the car. The 61-year-old followed this up with a flurry of punches to the car window. Race stewards rushed over to restrain him, as Forgione continued to hit the car, now raining hammer fists down on the roof, before he was dragged away. TNT Sports "As you can understand, racing at Le Mans and getting tagged out in the first corner is not going to leave you feeling very happy. "The problem is, everyone is checking up there because of the spinning Porsche. "He has spun because he is checking up because the cars in front are slowing down dramatically." Fellow commentator Graham Goodwin added: "It is not giving Gino-Generoso Forgione any credit at all for the behaviour at the end there. "But he will feel that he checked up and the car behind did not... "Yeah, not very happy is the international sign language there." A remarkable 19 former F1 racers are competing in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, including Jenson Button, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen.
