NEW dates have been announced for both the Women’s and U20’s Six Nations Championships.
A decision was made on the 12th of January to postpone both of the tournaments following the ongoing challenges caused by Covid-19.
However, new plans have now been announced by the organizers seeing the U20’s scheduled to play their fixtures in the Summer and the women’s event commencing in April.
The U20 men’s competition will follow the usual format during a three-week window. The Women’s Six Nations is planned to be played out as two pools of three teams followed by play-off matches.
The U20s tournament is expected to start on June 19th 2021 while the Women’s Six Nations is scheduled from the 3rd of April until April 24th. Further announcements are to follow as dates and kick off times are yet to be finalized.
Ben Morel, CEO of Six Nations Rugby commented, “We are delighted to make this announcement today and confirm new plans for our Women’s and U20s championships. The promotion and development of rugby at all levels is a key strategic priority for Six Nations. We see huge opportunity for growth in the women’s game in particular and feel it will benefit hugely from having its own specific window and being firmly placed in the limelight.”
“Our priority has always been to deliver two outstanding tournaments but equally ensuring both competitions can be played safely, taking every consideration for player welfare. A significant challenge we faced in rescheduling the Women’s tournament was the limited available window due to World Cup Qualifiers, domestic leagues, rest periods and World Cup preparations for qualified teams. Following consultation with our unions and federations as well as other key stakeholders, it was agreed that April would be the best window in which to stage the championship.
“The U20 Six Nations Championship is also a hugely important competition in terms of player development and for those representing their country at this level it is a major milestone in any career. We look forward to announcing fixture details for the U20’s in due course.”
Starting on the weekend of 3rd/4th April and finishing on 24th April, this year’s Women’s Championship will see a new and condensed format similar to that of the recent Autumn Nations Cup, culminating in a grand final weekend to crown the Six Nations Champions 2021.
The format will comprise of two pools of three teams with each team playing one home and one away fixture. Once the pool round matches are complete, teams will face off against the opposing ranked team from the other pool in the play-offs matches, i.e. 1st place Pool A v 1st place Pool B. The detailed fixture dates, venues and kick off times will be announced in due course.
Guinness Six Nations official website
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