Summary

  • France v Italy at Stade des Alpes, Grenoble in opening match of 2026 Women's Six Nations

  • France finished runners-up to England last year, while Italy finished fourth

  • Head coach Francois Ratier takes charge of France for the first time

  • France won 34-21 in last year's championship

Live Reporting

  1. France v Italy

    France v ItalyBBC Sport

    Kick-off: 12:25 BST

    Date: Saturday 11 April Venue: Stade des Alpes, France

    Watch live on Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app from 12:15 BST

    To catch up on all the action for 30 days, click here.

  2. The Women's Six Nations is back, and it could be the biggest one yet.

    The Women's Six Nations is back, and it could be the biggest one yet.

  3. How to follow on the BBC

    BBC iPlayer

    Once again BBC Sport has comprehensive free-to-air coverage of this year's Women's Six Nations across TV, radio and online.

    BBC TV and BBC iPlayer will show every single game from the tournament and have signed up England's World Cup captain Stratford to join their team of experts analysing the games.

    The BBC Sport website and app will deliver live text coverage of every game, complete with clips, player reaction and pundit analysis.

    BBC Sport's social media channels will have clips of standout moments from the matches and exclusive interviews with some of the star players.

    BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Sounds will have live commentary of all matches involving England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

    There will also be regular editions of the Rugby Union Weekly podcast throughout the championship for listeners to enjoy.

    BBC Wales will air Sarra Elgan's Women's Six Nations preview on 10 April and Scrum V The Warm-up will be available on Thursdays throughout the tournament to look ahead to upcoming fixtures.

    Rugby fans can also listen to the Scrum V podcast, the BBC Scotland Rugby podcast and the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.

  4. Record crowds as women's game continues to grow

    Several attendance records are set to be broken this year as the sport builds on the success of the World Cup.

    Ticket sales for England's opening match have already passed 70,000, ensuring the attendance will smash the current record of 58,498 for a Women's Six Nations match.

    Wales play Scotland at the Principality Stadium on the same day and will be hoping to beat the 21,186 who watched Wales v England at the stadium last year.

    The attendance record for a standalone women's sporting event in Scotland will be broken on 18 April when Fukofuka's side host England in their first game at Murrayfield. Ticket sales are on course to overtake the 18,555 fans who watched the women's national football team play Jamaica in 2019.

    Ireland will play in front of a record crowd when they face Scotland in their first standalone Women's Six Nations fixture at the Aviva Stadium, with more than 14,000 tickets already sold for the match on 17 May.

    France will host England - in what is expected to be the title-deciding match - at Bordeaux's 42,115-capacity Stade Atlantique, with Les Bleues aiming to beat their record of 17,440 for a standalone match set in the 2018 Six Nations win against England.

    The overall attendance this year is set to easily surpass the 151,506 fans who attended Women's Six Nations matches last year.

  5. Fixtures, kick-off times, venues and how to watch on the BBC

    Kick-off times in BST

    Saturday, 11 April

    12:25 - France v Italy, Stade des Alpes, Grenoble - BBC iPlayer

    14:25 - England v Ireland, Allianz Stadium, London - BBC One, BBC iPlayer

    16:40 - Wales v Scotland, Principality Stadium, Cardiff - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    Saturday, 18 April

    13:30 - Scotland v England, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    15:35 - Wales v France, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    17:40 - Ireland v Italy, Dexcom Stadium, Galway - BBC iPlayer

    Saturday, 25 April

    14:15 - England v Wales, Ashton Gate, Bristol - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    16:30 - Italy v Scotland, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma - BBC iPlayer

    20:10 - France v Ireland, Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand - BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer

    Saturday, 9 May

    14:00 - Italy v England, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    16:15 - Scotland v France, Hive Stadium, Edinburgh - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    18:30 - Ireland v Wales, Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast - BBC One Wales, BBC iPlayer

    Sunday, 17 May

    12:15 - Wales v Italy, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff - BBC Two, BBC iPlayer

    14:30 - Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium, Dublin - BBC iPlayer

    16:45 - France v England, Stade Atlantique, Bordeaux - BBC Two

    To catch up on all the action for 30 days, click here.