This year’s Women’s Six Nations is unique in many ways and includes several major ‘firsts’ for the Championship.
For the first time in history, the Championship will take place in its own standalone window and will also feature a new format, delivering four consecutive weekends of top-class action, culminating in the Championship’s first ever Super Saturday to crown the champions.
In the UK, BBC will show England’s final game live on the main BBC network for the first time ever. In addition to this, all games will be available on the BBC iPlayer.
In Ireland, all games will be shown on RTÉ, while in Italy all matches can be watched live via the Eurosport Player. France TV continue its fantastic support of the women’s game by showing all French games on live television.
Ben Morel, CEO of Six Nations Rugby commented: “We are thrilled to launch the Women’s Six Nations Championship today and want to thank everyone for their efforts in getting us to this point. It is a privilege for us to be in a position to stage these matches despite the ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19.
“There is so much to look forward to with this year’s tournament. Top-class action, a new format, all matches being broadcast, a first ever Super Saturday, all of which is taking place in a standalone window for the first time ever. We cannot wait for it all to start.
“Developing the women’s game is a top priority for the Six Nations, and we see huge opportunities for growth. This has been a key focus for us in recent years and will continue to be central to our strategy in the coming years.”
England head into the Championship as reigning champions after securing the Grand Slam in each of the past two years but will be without legendary fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean for the first time in more than a decade after she retired from rugby at the end of 2020.
However, captain Sarah Hunter sees that as an opportunity for some young guns to step up to the plate.
She said: “It’s not just the position of Katy but the leadership and experience she brings, having been round for the last 14 years, which will be hugely missed this Six Nations.
“But there comes a time when everyone has to move on and the great thing for us is we’ve got depth. Young players but exciting players to replace her.
“They will no doubt come in, step up and grow over the Six Nations. While a legend and stalwart of English rugby has retired, we’ve got some fresh blood coming through steering the ship.”
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