All 15 matches of the "Women's Six Nations Rugby Championship" will be exclusively live-streamed on WOWOW from April 11 to May 18. This marks WOWOW's second time broadcasting women's rugby, the first being the "Japan Women's Rugby Test Match 2022: New Zealand vs. Japan," approximately three and a half years ago. Ahead of the broadcast, a comment from former Japan national rugby team player Shotaro Onishi has been released.
The Women's Six Nations, like the men's tournament, is a competition to determine the strongest team in Europe, featuring six nations: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, and Italy. World No. 1 England has achieved a Grand Slam (undefeated championship) for six consecutive years and will be aiming for their eighth consecutive title. On the other hand, France, who lost to England by just one point in the final match of the previous 2025 tournament (an all-undefeated showdown), is also a strong contender. The final match of the tournament, "France vs. England," is scheduled for May 18th.
For the first match of the season, "England vs Ireland," which will be streamed live on WOWOW On Demand from 10:10 PM on April 11th, former Japan national team player Ayaka Suzuki, who played for the "Sakura Seven" at the 2016 Rio Olympics where women's rugby sevens became an official sport, will be providing commentary. Suzuki has experience playing for Wasps, a team that has won the English top league "Premiership" multiple times, and this will be her first appearance on WOWOW's rugby broadcast.
In addition to the matches mentioned above, the first round will also feature live streaming on WOWOW On Demand: "France vs Italy" on April 11th at 8:10 PM and "Wales vs Scotland" on April 12th at 12:25 AM.
◇Comment from Shotaro Onishi
WOWOW has decided to broadcast the Women's Six Nations Championship. First up is the highly anticipated match between England and Ireland on April 11th. The intense competition will continue until the final match between France and England on May 18th. The Women's Six Nations Championship began in 1996 with four countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales). Since then, it has expanded to six countries, just like the men's tournament, and has a history of approximately 30 years.
England has won the tournament seven years in a row since 2019. They also won last year's Women's Rugby World Cup, so England's strength is really evident in this tournament. You can also watch it from the perspective of how the Japanese national team would fare if they were to face the six European nations in the World Cup or elsewhere. And we believe that we must be able to beat these opponents! We want to help make the Women's Six Nations a popular sport in Japan. Please be sure to watch it on WOWOW!
