The Guinness Women's Six Nations is a Rugby Union tournament played every year between six European rugby playing nations, namely: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.
Today it reflects the Guinness Men's Six Nations in all essential aspects, but this has not always been the case.
Origins of the Tournament
Women's international rugby began to take place in the early 1980s, but it wasn't until 1996 that a formal competition was started when the four Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) joined together for the first iteration of the Women's Home Nations Championship. This lasted for three seasons before France joined the competition in 1999 to make it the Women's Five Nations. This also lasted only three years, but with Spain participating in 2000 and 2001 in place of Ireland. In 2002, Ireland re-joined to create the Women's Six Nations, but it wasn't until 2007 that the competition fully reflected the participants of the men's event by electing Italy to replace Spain.
How does the Championship work?
Each of the six sides plays each other once in every season. Matches usually take place in April and May, with the home and away teams replicating the Men's Six Nations for the season. Unlike the men's tournament, home games are played at various 'home' venues, not only the national stadium.
The competition winners are decided by a league table in which points are awarded for victories, with potential bonus points for tries scored and for narrow defeats. In the event of two or more teams ending with the same number of victory points, a complex assessment of points scored (i.e. tries, penalties etc.) and conceded is used to decide the champions.
