2026 Guinness Women's Six Nations | RugbyPass' Team of Round 1

The opening round of the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations provided us with everything we could have ever wanted.

Over the course of 240 minutes there were record crowds, tentative first steps into Test rugby and the wheels were set in motion for a six-week festival of action that will conclude in a mid-May flurry.

Saturday afternoon saw France romp home to a 40-7 win over Italy, England started life as Women’s Rugby World Cup champions with a 33-12 victory over Ireland at Allianz Stadium and Scotland held their nerve against Wales to pick up a 24-19 triumph at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

So, with Round 2 already approaching at pace, here is RugbyPass‘ Team of Round 1…

15. Pauline Barrat (France)

Pauline Barrat’s 74th minute try underlined a dominant second half for France in Grenoble. A lively second half saw François Ratier’s team cross the whitewash on five occasions and put clear daylight between themselves and an Italy team that trailed 5-nil at the break. Last summer Barrat starred for France’s U20 in the Six Nations Women’s Super Series. Now she is proving it at the top level. On top of scoring a try the 21-year-old made 93 metres from 23 carries, made two line breaks and completed two offloads in a fine attacking performance on debut.

14. Anais Grando (France)

Another of France’s debutants in Round 1, Anais Grando was the sole try scorer of the first half in Grenoble. In that score we got to see the pace and power the flyer possesses. An active part of the backline, Grando carried the ball 10 times for 74 metres and completed three linebreaks. The ASM Romagnat wing even managed nine tackles. Mightily impressive.

13. Megan Jones (England)

On an afternoon England’s backs were tasked with supercharging the Red Roses’ attack, only Meg Jones managed to thrive. Named Player of the Match in her first game as England captain, the 29-year-old’s ingenuity provided the foundation for Jess Breach to dot down in the second half. Ever the livewire it was apparent that Jones will be key to England’s attack. Her 14 carries for 61 metres, 11 passes, two offloads and trio of linebreaks speak to that.

12. Gabrielle Vernier (France)

One of France’s wiliest competitors, Gabrielle Vernier was everywhere for François Ratier’s team. In attack the 28-year-old shone as her usual effervescent self as a secondary distributor for Carla Arbez at outside-half, while also completing nine tackles and winning two turnovers. On the occasion of her 59th cap Vernier proved how indispensable she is to France, especially as this new crop of player are embedded amongst the side by their new head coach.

11. Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (England)

So far as afternoons playing for England go, Saturday’s will be a memorable one for Claudia Moloney-MacDonald. Not only because she played against her wife, Cliodhna, on the occasion of the Ireland international’s 50th cap, but because she ended the game at scrum-half after Natasha Hunt’s injury. Outside of positional changes, Moloney-MacDonald provided a spark in attack and her offload was the final touch for Sarah Bern’s second try. With the absence of Abby Dow having loomed large over England ahead of the Women’s Six Nations, Moloney-MacDonald has staked an early claim to be a regular on the wing.

10. Helen Nelson (Scotland)

Helen Nelson was asked to do just about everything as Scotland registered a first win under Sione Fukofuka at Principality Stadium. The 31-year-old finished the contest with a nine point haul and provided the sumptuous kick-assist for Shona Campbell’s second half try in Cardiff. Across the game the fly-half even notched 10 tackles and won a turnover as the Scots were pushed hard by Sean Lynn’s Wales.

9. Pauline Bourdon Sansus (France)

You really struggle to remember the last time Pauline Bourdon Sansus was not France’s most important player. This week in a France team full of change, the 30-year-old was able to tie everything together alongside fly-half Carla Arbez. More than anything else Bourdon Sansus stuck to the game plan. Even as it yielded one try in the opening 40 minutes she stuck at it and got the reward as France scored five tries to Italy’s one.

1. Ambre Mwayembe (France)

Ambre Mwayembe is by no means a new name to the France team. Now with 18 caps, the 22-year-old loosehead prop got a rare start in François Ratier’s opening gambit as France head coach, something which was duly rewarded as Les Bleues had a 100 per cent success rate at the scrum, and saw the loosehead complete 11 tackles and win a turnover in a dogged 48 minute outing.

2. Mathilde Lazarko (France)

After the retirements of Agathe Sochat and Manon Bigot, one of the things at the top of France’s wish list was a new hooker. At 26 the ASM Romagnat captain is a late starter in Test rugby, but came into the contest with 13 tries in 11 AXA Elite 1 outings this term. In Round 1, Lazark0 played for 62 tenacious minutes and was her team’s top tackler with 18 and made 26 metres from eight carries. A very, very strong international debut.

3. Sarah Bern (England)

Two tries in the first half from Sarah Bern went a big way to helping the Red Roses to an opening weekend victory. It was not only close to the whitewash that the tighthead excelled. We got to see 11 physical carries and eight tackles that kept England on the front foot. The only blemish on her afternoon was a penalty given away at the scrum.

4. Emma Wassell (Scotland)

It was hard not to enjoy Emma Wassell’s exploits in Cardiff. For the full 80 minutes the Trailfinders Women second row put out the archetypal lock’s performance. In total the 31-year-old made 16 tackles and won six balls at the lineout. It was unglamorous at times, but the type of showing that allows a team to pick up wins.

5. Lilli Ives Campion (England)

No England player has more pressure on their shoulders than Lilli Ives Campion. Thrust into the starting role she craved with the pregnancies of Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan, the 22-year-old won her sixth cap against Ireland on Saturday and was charged with leading the lineout. The set-piece was England’s most effective of the day and Ives Campion claimed 10 lineout balls. With Morwenna Talling now out with a long-term injury, Ives Campion is England’s second row. No pressure.

6. Brittany Hogan (Ireland)

It is often rare that a player from a losing side works their way into a Team of the Round. In the case of Brittany Hogan there had to be an exception. For 80 minutes at Allianz Stadium the back-row was a relentless force for Ireland. Not only did the Sale Sharks forward make a team high 18 tackles, she also made the most metres of anyone in Scott Bemand’s team with 54 from 12 carries.

7. Rachel Malcolm (Scotland)

Another unglamorous yet astute Scotland performance in the pack was Rachel Malcolm’s. The 34-year-old skipper was another 80 minute player for Sione Fukofuka and relentlessly defended  on the way to a 24-19 win. In total the Trailfinders Women back-row completed a team-high 18 tackles and was a constant pain in the side of Wales at the breakdown. Undoubtedly the tenacious kind of performance that the team’s new head coach would have wanted, Malcolm is in fine fettle ahead of England’s visit to Edinburgh in Round 2.

8. Alex Matthews (England)

For over a decade Alex Matthews has offered calm consistency for England. In Round 1 of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations the 32-year-old provided the same across her 80 minutes on the turf. This included 64 metres made from 12 carries, eight tackles and two lineout wins as the Red Roses started their campaign for an eighth Championship in a row.