2026 Six Nations Round 1 talking points: England have a lock problem to solve

You know that when the seasons switch from Winter to Spring the Guinness Women’s Six Nations is not too far away.

Now the 2026 edition of the Championships is here and Round 1 delivered in bucketloads.

To start the tournament England’s Red Roses began their tenure as Women’s Rugby World Cup winners with a 33-12 win over Ireland in front of a tournament record crowd of 77,120 at Allianz Stadium, France beat Italy 40-7 and Scotland squeaked past Wales in Cardiff.

Here are three key talking points from Round 1 of the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations…

England running low at lock

John Mitchell will probably never admit just how big a loss Morwenna Talling will be to England.

Pencilled in to start all five of the Red Roses’ Women’s Six Nations match this Championship alongside Lilli Ives Campion – with Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan all missing with pregnancy – the pair were a treasured commodity. A commodity that ended in the 43rd minute of England’s 33-12 win over Ireland at Allianz Stadium.

Talling left the pitch on the back of a buggy. In tears. It did not take long for Mitchell to confirm that the 23-year-old was out long-term. As is 37-year-old scrum-half Natasha Hunt.

“We’ll just adapt,” Mitchell said in his post-match press conference. “We’ve lost four international locks. We’ll probably be a team of back-rowers by the end of the competition.

“That’s the way it’s going to be. We’ll just have to grow somebody else. But, you know, there’s different ways to play this game. If we have to rely on back-rows, we’ll make it work.”

Haineala Lutui replaced Talling in the second half for her England debut, while uncapped trio Jodie Verghese, Christiana Balogun and Demelza Short are all capable of playing lock. Verghese is the only specialist in the position.

On Monday the head coach called uncapped Trailfinders Women back-row Haidee Head into his squad as a replacement forward, while Saracens back Sydney Gregson has also been called up.

Just who Mitchell will be putting into the second row remains to be seen. The smart guess is, perhaps, the timeless Alex Matthews. With such a wealth of experience, the 32-year-old back-row won two lineout balls at the weekend and the move would allow the explosive Abi Burton a starting shirt.

Next weekend at Scottish Gas Murrayfield the Red Roses come up against a Scotland team that has plenty of depth in this area. Last weekend Emma Wassell and Hollie Cunningham started in the engine room, with Holland Bogan as their support from the bench. That’s before you remember that 58-cap lock Louise McMillan is in the squad too.

With so much nous among that group, Scotland could cause England some serious problems at the lineout, especially with strength in depth. Something to keep an eye on at least.

France’s young guns flourished

All the conversation about François Ratier’s first game as France coach was about the level of inexperience in his team.

In total the former Canada boss included six uncapped players in his match day 23. It was a bold statement about the direction that the national team are going in this Women’s Rugby World Cup cycle.

Built for attack – attack at speed – after a series of stalls in the first half, Les Bleues finally found fifth gear in the second half at the Stade des Alpes.

A 5-0 lead at half-time was provided by Anais Grando [one of those debutants], before tries for Carla Arbez, Yllana Brosseau, Assia Khalfaoui, Lea Murie and Pauline Barrat put the contest beyond any doubt.

That second half was characterised by France’s incisive drives toward the try line. Drives that have put the team top of the table after Round 1 and started Ratier’s tenure on a positive note.

In Arbez, France have a playmaker aligned with their head coach’s thinking after their time together at Stade Bordelais, while Grando and Barrat looked comfortable on their Test debuts.

Consistency will, of course, be the real measure of the team’s growth. Next up it is Wales in Cardiff. A Wales team with a slight spring in their step.

Wales show plenty – even in another loss

It really says a lot that Wales came out of a 24-19 loss with plenty of credit in the bank.

Sean Lynn’s team were gritty against Scotland at the Principality Stadium and played until the very final whistle in front of 10,569 supporters in Cardiff.

Those 80 minutes were a lot more like what their head coach wanted to see. Back-row pair Kate Williams and Bethan Lewis were busy from start to finish, while debutants Jorja Aiono and Seren Singleton slotted in well to Test rugby.

Sisilia Tuipulotu’s 19th minute try handed Wales a 12-10 lead at half-time, only for a Shona Campbell and Lucia Scott double punch to give Scotland a commanding lead in the second half.

Williams’ 72nd minute try, converted by Lleucu George, was enough to put a cat amongst the pigeons in the closing exchanges but Wales could not make the most of the space presented to them.

Next up for Wales is a free-scoring France. It is a stern task for Lynn’s team, especially against a François Ratier team that made light work of Italy in the second half in Grenoble.

While hosting France will be a challenge, you hope that Wales can take great confidence from their loss to Scotland. Their 30 minute lead on Saturday is testament to that. Even if it did, ultimately, slip through their fingers.

Scotland, meanwhile, know that hard work does pay off. They never quit in Cardiff, even when their lungs were screaming at them with the clock deep in the red. Even so, there is room for improvement, especially with a Scottish record attendance on the horizon at Scottish Gas Murrayfield this Saturday in Edinburgh.