Women’s Six Nations: How teams can qualify for WXV, Women’s RWC 2025

Stade Marie-Marvingt, located inside the iconic Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, will double as the start line for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations 2024 this weekend.

Ireland are Saturday’s visitors to Le Mans as they get the Championship underway against France before Wales host Scotland in Cardiff later in the day and England take on Italy in Parma on Sunday.

And as the six teams rev their engines ahead of the weekend’s matches, it is not only defending champions England – who are unbeaten in the competition since 2018 – that the rest are all chasing.

This year’s Women’s Six Nations also doubles as a qualification pathway for both WXV 2024 and the expanded 16-team Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

Here is what the teams need to do to qualify for both.

WXV 2024

All six nations are guaranteed a place in one of the three WXV levels in 2024 but results over the next five weeks will determine which one.

The teams that finish in the top three of this year’s Women’s Six Nations will take their place in WXV 1 alongside the top three from the World Rugby Pacific Four Series 2024 featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and USA, which runs from 28 April to 25 May.

Whichever nations finish fourth and fifth will secure qualification for WXV 2 2024. Thanks to Ireland’s triumphant WXV 3 2023 campaign, they will be joined by a third European team.

The identity of that nation will be decided by a play-off between the team that finishes bottom of the Women’s Six Nations 2024 standings and the Rugby Europe Women’s Championship 2024 winners.

The Rugby Africa Women’s Cup 2024 winner, Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2024 winner and the team that finishes fourth in the Pacific Four Series will complete the WXV 2 line-up.

Whoever loses the European play-off will take their place in WXV 3 2024, alongside the Netherlands – who qualified by beating Colombia in Amsterdam last weekend, the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup runners-up, Asia Rugby Women’s Championship runners-up and the top two finishers in the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship 2024.

WOMEN’S RWC 2025

Defending Women’s Six Nations champions England and last year’s runners-up France have already qualified for Women’s RWC 2025 having reached the semi-finals in New Zealand in 2022.

One additional place is available via this year’s Championship, to the highest ranked nation other than England or France.

There will be a further opportunity for the remaining three Women’s Six Nations teams to qualify for Women’s RWC 2025 through WXV.

The top six ranked non-qualified teams across the three levels at the end of this year’s competition will secure their ticket to England 2025.

Sunderland's Stadium of Light will host the opening match of Women's RWC 2025 on 22 August, 2025, with the final scheduled to take place at Twickenham on 27 September.