Opta Facts: Guinness Women’s Six Nations – England v Ireland
Brittany Hogan is pictured on the charge for Ireland against England during last year's Guinness Women's Six Nations Championship ©Matt Browne/Sportsfile
New captains Erin King and Meg Jones will lead their respective teams for the first time when Ireland take on England, who were crowned World champions last time out, in the opening round of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations. Check out the Opta Facts, provided by Stats Perform, below.
– England have won 25 of 27 matches against Ireland across all variations of the Women’s Home/Five/Six Nations, only suffering defeat in 2013 and 2015 and winning their last nine meetings in a row
– England have won all 14 home games against Ireland across all variations of the Women’s Home/Five/Six Nations, including a record 88-10 victory when they last hosted Ireland in 2024, that game taking place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
– England have won their last 34 Women’s Six Nations fixtures, a run stretching back to 2018. Their most recent game did see them come within one point of defeat, however, as they edged past France 43-42 to claim a sixth straight Grand Slam last year
– Overall England are on a 33-match winning streak in all competitions, not suffering defeat since the 2022 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. This will be their first outing since winning the 2025 Rugby World Cup
– This will be England’s 16th Women’s Six Nations match in Twickenham. They have won 13 of their previous 15 games at the south west London venue, only losing to France in 2013 and 2015
– Ireland were awarded the most penalties of any team in last year’s Women’s Six Nations (59, level with Italy), while England conceded the fewest (41). The Red Roses also conceded the second fewest penalties per game of any side at the 2025 Rugby World Cup (7.2 – Japan, 7.0)
– Ireland won the most turnovers of any team in the 2025 Championship (35), while only Australia (10.3) conceded fewer turnovers per game than them at last year’s Rugby World Cup (12.3)
– England (2.53s) and Ireland (2.74s) were the only teams with an average attacking ruck speed below three seconds in last year’s Women’s Six Nations, and two of seven sides with an average speed less than three seconds at the World Cup last year (England – 2.80s, Ireland – 2.88s)
– England’s Zoe Harrison assisted seven tries during the Women’s Six Nations last year, more than any other player, while her team-mate, Natasha Hunt, assisted the most during last year’s World Cup (10). Hunt also leads the way in the PWR this season, assisting 15 tries
– Ireland’s Aoife Wafer made the most carries of any player during the 2025 Women’s Six Nations (70), also making the most in-contact metres of any player (153), and ranking first for total metres gained amongst forwards (242)