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Women's Six Nations
Dates: Saturday, 22 March - Saturday, 26 April
Coverage: Watch each lucifer unrecorded - sum connected BBC television, iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app.
The Women's Six Nations gets nether mode connected Saturday with England looking to marque it 7 titles successful a enactment up of a location Rugby World Cup successful August.
The Red Roses won their 3rd successive Six Nations Grand Slam by comfortably beating France successful Bordeaux past year.
England truthful are the steadfast favourites arsenic the trophy hunt begins, but are they successful bully shape? And what astir the different nations who aspire to situation them?
John Mitchell's broadside are connected a 20-game winning tally and added a 2nd WXV1 rubric to their postulation by beating Canada successful October.
Lock Zoe Aldcroft volition skipper the broadside aft caput manager Mitchell opted for a alteration of enactment from Saracens flanker Marlie Packer, who skippered England for astir 2 years.
Given England's immense and high-quality subordinate pool, Mitchell volition privation to triumph his 2nd Six Nations rubric but could besides usage the tourney to further widen his options up of the World Cup.
World subordinate of the twelvemonth Ellie Kildunne is the 1 to ticker aft bagging 9 tries and gaining implicit 300 metres much than immoderate subordinate successful past year's tournament.
Ireland backed up their third-place decorativeness successful the title past twelvemonth with a remarkable triumph implicit New Zealand astatine WXV1 successful October.
Since Scott Bemand's assignment arsenic caput manager successful 2023, Ireland person gone from a broadside who missed retired connected the World Cup successful 2022 to being ranked sixth successful the satellite aft 5 wins past year.
Their resurgence has coincided with the emergence of fig 8 Aoife Wafer, who scored six tries crossed 9 Tests past twelvemonth to beryllium named Ireland women's subordinate of the year.
She turns 22 3 days aft the team's opening lucifer of the championship.
Leinster's Wafer is 1 of the astir explosive shot carriers successful women's rugby and scored doubly successful the historical triumph implicit New Zealand.
A antagonistic for Ireland is that they volition beryllium without co-captain Sam Monaghan, who has been ruled retired of the tourney done injury.
Scotland are 1 spot beneath Ireland successful the satellite rankings and were defeated by Australia successful their WXV2 rubric decider successful October.
Bryan Easson has been bold successful his squad selection, naming 9 uncapped players, with signifier and "a wider subordinate basal to prime from", external his reasoning for selection.
Evie Willis returns to the squad pursuing the nasty anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) wounded she suffered successful August 2023 and volition beryllium looking to adhd to her 3 caps aft featuring regularly astatine centre this play for Premiership Women's Rugby broadside Leicester Tigers.
BBC Scotland's Andy Burke:
"There is simply a definite consciousness this is simply a Scotland squad moving guardant and their ambitions person risen accordingly.
"The large guns of England and France volition astir surely inhabit the apical 2 spots, truthful Scotland's extremity is to decorativeness third, thing they person managed lone doubly successful the past of the Women's Six Nations, astir precocious successful 2005.
"Scotland person finished 4th successful the past 2 campaigns. They finished bottommost of the array successful 8 of the 12 Six Nations that came before, truthful determination is wide grounds of the squad becoming much competitive.
"Wales, Ireland and Italy are each operating astatine a akin level to Scotland, and fixed they big each 3 successful Edinburgh this clip around, determination is an accidental to bask a precise affirmative run that tin enactment arsenic a springboard towards the Rugby World Cup.
"The experienced heads of skipper Rachel Malcolm, Jade Konkel, Chloe Rollie and Lisa Thomson are each inactive cardinal figures, but whereas successful erstwhile teams they would beryllium required to resistance immoderate of the lesser lights on with them, the dawn of professionalism successful the women's crippled successful Scotland has started to carnivore fruit, and present the caller faces successful the squad are arriving amended prepared for Test rugby.
"Francesca McGhie, 21, has brought gait and finishing powerfulness to an breathtaking back-three that already boasts proven planetary performers specified arsenic Rollie and Rhona Lloyd.
"Back-row Alex Stewart was Scotland's breakout prima successful past year's tournament, the past 19-year-old producing immoderate ascendant displays to people her retired arsenic not lone a prima of the future, but 1 for present and now.
"There looks to beryllium an fantabulous blend of younker and acquisition successful this Scotland squad, 1 that could nutrient a large twelvemonth if they tin make immoderate precious momentum successful this Six Nations."
Ioan Cunningham stood down arsenic caput manager successful November pursuing an underwhelming twelvemonth of results for Wales.
After finishing the Six Nations with the Wooden Spoon - lone managing 1 constrictive triumph implicit Italy - Cunningham's broadside achieved conscionable a solitary triumph against Japan successful their WXV2 campaign.
Head manager Sean Lynn, recently recruited from Gloucester-Hartpury, takes complaint of the broadside and volition anticipation for an improved campaign.
Captain Hannah Jones, caller disconnected the backmost of a 3rd successive Premiership Women's Rugby title with Lynn, volition beryllium a information successful the midfield with her hard moving lines.
With excitement gathering astir the caller era, much than 10,000 tickets person already been sold for the sojourn of England to the Principality Stadium connected 29 March, breaking the erstwhile grounds location attendance for the team.
However, a large nonaccomplishment for Wales is the lack of destructive prop Sisilia Tuipulotu, who volition miss the tournament done a hamstring injury.
France, who are 4th successful the satellite rankings, are the past squad to bushed the Red Roses successful the contention backmost successful 2018.
However, their losing tally against the champions has extended to 13 games and they volition request to amusement large improvements to equine a rubric situation this year.
Under co-head coaches Gaelle Mignot and David Ortiz, Les Bleues struggled astatine WXV1, losing heavy to Canada and New Zealand.
Wing Marine Menager is apt to beryllium the team's starring airy erstwhile again. The 28-year-old scored 2 tries against the Red Roses past twelvemonth and made 5 enactment breaks crossed the campaign.
Italy, aft lone 1 triumph successful past year's title and 2 wins astatine WXV2, decided to alteration caput manager and brought successful Fabio Roselli to instrumentality implicit from Giovanni Raineri.
Full-back Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, contempt her diminutive stature, was ranked 4th for metres gained (344.9m) successful past year's Six Nations and tin carve up immoderate defence with her nimble footwork.
Openers bash not get overmuch harder for Roselli, with his broadside distant to champions England successful York connected Sunday.
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