Round one of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations did not throw up any particularly surprising results, with England securing victory against Ireland, France racking up six tries against Italy and Wales losing at home to Scotland.
World Champions England extended their record-breaking winning run to 34 consecutive victories, in what is a remarkable achievement. However, it was off the pitch that another, perhaps more consequential record, was broken.
The Allianz Stadium in Twickenham welcomed a crowd of 77,120 people to the match, setting a new record for a Women’s Six Nations crowd. And this wasn’t simply a small increase on the previous record. That was set for the Grand Slam decider in 2023, when 58,498 were in attendance, so last Saturday’s crowd surpassed the record by over 18,500 people, which just shows how healthy women’s rugby is, particularly in England. To put the growth into context, a decade ago England narrowly beat Ireland at the same venue, in front of a crowd of 2,500.
It’s not just in England that the women’s game is growing in popularity. Scotland host England next weekend, in what will be the first Women’s Six Nations match held at Murrayfield. Scotland’s current home record attendance was set in 2024, when 7,774 people attended, but the match at Murrayfield has already sold more than 25,000 tickets, so that record will also be blasted away, as the fixture is set to be the biggest ever for a standalone women’s sporting event in Scotland.
Ireland is also joining in the act, having already sold 16,000 tickets for their final match against Scotland which is being held for the first time at the Aviva stadium in Dublin. With a current home attendance record of 7,754, that record is also going to be smashed during this year’s tournament.
On the opening weekend of the tournament Wales rather let the side down for their match at the Principality, where they were hoping to better last year’s record crowd of 21,186, but only managed just over 10,500. However, this probably has more to do with the side’s current form (having only won one match in the previous two years), rather than providing an accurate reflection of the interest and potential growth of the game in the country.
What the round one attendances clearly demonstrate is that following the very successful World Cup last year, the appetite for viewing women’s rugby is not abating. Recently released research undertaken by World Rugby in 2025 showed that 49% of all fans of the sport had become fans just in the previous two years. With the fan base growing at such a rate, the potential to start matching the sellout crowds that the men’s Six Nations enjoys will very soon be realised.
The onus for the authorities is to make sure that the product continues to entertain and doesn’t start to become uncompetitive. England’s winning streak could raise cause for concern, but France’s bright start to the tournament will increase hopes of a Grand Slam decider in the final round, where France will host England at the 42,115 capacity Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux. Anticipation is high that the match will be a full house, breaking yet another record.
For Wales, it looks as though the women are treading the same path as the men, with the likelihood that they will welcome Italy to Wales in the final round for a wooden spoon decider – if nothing else, at least Welsh rugby is consistent across the genders at the moment!
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The above is accurate as at 14 April 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
