Massive warning to Bok Women as Six Nations draws to a close

SPOTLIGHT: The Six Nations competition has provided the Springbok Women with much-needed information regarding their World Cup opposition.

England secured a seventh successive title with a narrow 43-42 victory over France.

It completed a fourth consecutive Grand Slam and registered their 55th win in 56 Tests, but there were frailties on show across the park that will encourage their rivals ahead of the home World Cup in August and September.

It was an impressive tournament for France, with them pushing England to the bitter end.

Italy were another surprise, concluding their campaign with a 44-12 win over Wales on Sunday.

The tournament was a solid preview of what is in store later this year.

France and Italy will take on South Africa in the group stage of the World Cup, while Brazil are also in the same pool.

After the tournament, over 12,639 rugby fans cast their votes to name this year’s Team of the Championship.

France and England have four players respectively. Italy, Scotland and Ireland have two each.

Silvia Turani earns her place at loosehead prop after an impressive campaign. She was the only front row forward to make 50+ carries in this year’s Championship (52), as well as the only front rower to hit 100+ attacking rucks. She is joined by Ireland hooker Neve Jones, who put in a defensive masterclass, being successful with all 61 of her tackle attempts in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations, at least 19 more than any other player who did not miss a single tackle in the Championship.

England’s Sarah Bern completes the front row. She was a powerhouse in the Red Roses’ front row and redefined what is possible for a tight five forward in this Championship. Bern made the most metres in contact (98) and beat the most defenders (10) of any front rower in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations. She was part of an England front row that didn’t lose a scrum in the entire Championship.

In the second row, England’s Abbie Ward was a lineout magician, with no player stealing more opposition lineouts in this year’s Women’s Six Nations (3, tied with Rose Galligan), while her 98 percent tackle success rate (53/54) was the highest of any lock this year (minimum 10 attempts).

France’s Manaé Feleu joins Ward in the second row. She ranks among the top five forwards in four key areas: line breaks (3), offloads (8), breakdown steals (4), and dominant tackles (8). Whether turning defence into attack or setting the tone in contact, Feleu’s blend of physicality and skill has made her indispensable to Les Bleues.

The back row was hotly contested all Championship, but standout players included Ireland’s Aoife Wafer who enjoyed an impressive Guinness Women’s Six Nations with the Women in Green. She finished as the joint-second highest try scorer with four tries, the joint-most by any forward, while making 70 carries (ranked first) with 424.7 metres. Evie Gallagher was a relentless presence throughout Scotland’s campaign, topping the charts for defensive rucks hit (38) and breakdown steals (11), averaging 3.2 turnovers per 80 minutes, almost twice as many as the next best player (Abbie Fleming – 1.7). She also contributed in attack, with 44 carries and six offloads.

Teani Feleu closes out the back row and the forwards, joining her sister and teammate Manaé Feleu after an impressive campaign that so nearly ended with a Grand Slam. Teani ranked in the top five across three key metrics: she made 54 carries (5th), beating 18 defenders (3rd), and proved herself a constant threat in attack. She also made 78 tackles across the Championship, the fourth highest of any player. She was the only forward to feature for all 400 available minutes in this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

At scrumhalf, Pauline Bourdon-Sansus was influential in France’s near-perfect Championship and was directly involved in seven tries in this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations (1 try, 6 assists). She also scored the first drop goal in 11 years in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and only the eighth in the Championship’s history.

Scotland’s Helen Nelson takes her place at flyhalf, after an impressive Championship where she won twice as many turnovers as every other flyhalf in the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations combined (6). She also beat the most defenders (9) and made the most passes (126) of any fly-half this year.

In midfield, Aoife Dalton made the most metres in contact of any centre in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations (83) and was also the only player to play all 400 minutes in the midfield in this year’s Championship. England’s Megan Jones joins Dalton in forming the centres. She was directly involved in the most tries of any centre in this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations (5, 2 tries, 3 assists) and also gained the most metres of anyone when playing at centre (199).

On the wings, Aura Muzzo was a constant threat throughout the Championship, gaining 351 metres from her 38 carries, while also scoring four tries and making eight line breaks, placing her as the highest try scorer in the Italian camp for the

Abby Dow takes her place on the other wing, after being a central member of the Red Roses’ Grand Slam triumph, finishing as the Guinness Women’s Six Nations top try-scorer with six tries. She led the competition in metres carried (608.8), metres gained (452.9), and line breaks (12), underlining her unmatched attacking threat.

Finally, Morgane Bourgeois claims the fullback jersey after a record-breaking Championship, which saw her top the points table with 73 points, 36 points clear of her nearest competitor, England’s Zoe Harrison (37). This was the highest individual points tally since Jessy Tremouliere’s 64 points in 2018. She was also incredibly accurate off the tee, with a success rate of 81 percent for her place-kick attempts (26/32), the highest rate of any player.

Source: Six Nations