Women's Six Nations 2025 predictions: Tournament winner, top try-scorer and best player

Telegraph

22-03-2025

The Women's Six Nations is here: 15 matches over five weeks and with an extra layer of intrigue given the Rugby World Cup is on the horizon. Here, Telegraph Sport experts stare into their crystal balls to predict what will happen.
You can vote for your winner at the bottom and join the debate in the comments section.
Winners and wooden spoon
Fiona Tomas: While organisers like to build the hype by keeping England and France apart until the final weekend, it is hard to look past the Red Roses sweeping to a fourth consecutive Grand Slam. They increased their stranglehold over Les Bleus last year and it will take something special to break their monopoly of the championship. France are not as slick, powerful or robust, and falling short to England has become a formality.
The most interesting team is Wales, who have huge potential to progress under new coach Sean Lynn. Now that the off-field issues of contract negotiations have been sorted, will this be the year they finally gel? Ireland will be looking to prove their sensational WXV victory over New Zealand last autumn was no fluke and should have more nous than Scotland. Italy should be a different proposition under head coach Fabio Roselli but their lack of big ball-carriers will remain an issue.
Charlie Morgan: England to pull through despite rotation, France to edge Ireland and Wales to enjoy a Sean Lynn bounce. That will push Scotland further down, though not as far as Italy.
Rebecca Wilde: A seventh title in a row for the Red Roses seems a formality. The World Cup later this year is the end goal and they will be relentless in their preparation for this. Ireland versus France might be the match of the tournament. With the Irish having closed the gap on the top sides last season, they may just edge it. Sean Lynn's arrival in Wales should cause a bounce-back effect, but he could run out of time to truly make an impact just yet.
Charles Richardson: Only something truly staggering would prevent yet another English title, with all eyes on that tricky trip to Ireland in round three. Sadly, my Welsh prediction matches the men, with Wales struggling and losing to Italy in what might be the wooden-spoon decider in the final round. The opener in Belfast between Ireland and France will probably decide second, which is why I have picked the hosts to clinch it.
Sarah Mockford: The intrigue in this championship is not around who will lift the trophy – that will surely be England for a seventh straight year – but the other positions in the table. If Ireland can start this campaign the way they finished 2024, they can rise to second just two years after collecting the wooden spoon. Italy have stagnated a little recently so they could have that ignominy this year while 'new coach bounce' under Sean Lynn should see Wales on the rise.
Player of the tournament
Fiona Tomas: France are yet to get anywhere near the standard of England's kicking game but they do make up for it through the diminutive, nippy Gabrielle Vernier. The centre makes her side's back line tick and, with France often found wanting in the fly-half department, she is more than capable of directing Les Bleues' attack.
Charlie Morgan: There is white-hot competition for spots in John Mitchell's back row, but Sadia Kabeya is a special talent. Having rampaged onto the scene as a teenager, she has battled through a frustrating run of recent injuries and could kick on again this tournament.
Rebecca Wilde: Wearing the captain's armband could send Zoe Aldcroft to new levels this year. Ruthless and relentless on the pitch, Aldcroft epitomises a captain who leads by her actions and, in a huge year for the Red Roses, she will be heading the charge.
Charles Richardson: Lock, one of rugby's least flashy positions, might be a strange choice but Zoe Aldcroft (who can also play blindside) is England's leader; fresh off co-captaining Gloucester alongside Natasha Hunt to yet another PWR title last weekend. If England do the expected and lift the Six Nations trophy at the end, the great Aldcroft will have shone, almost by default.
Sarah Mockford: Sarah Bern missed last year's championship with injury so she will be desperate to make an impression in World Cup year. The tighthead is not only a rock in the England scrum but she is renowned for her ball-carrying in the loose – a step here, a hand-off there, and she will be 30 metres downfield.
Top try-scorer
Fiona Tomas: If England's back three pick up from where they left off, then this is Abby Dow's year to shine. She is a front-foot runner with pace to burn out wide, but her attacking talents are matched by her defensive game. She can also provide cover at full-back and be just as industrious from deep.
Charlie Morgan: England must be brave with their ball movement this Six Nations to hit the World Cup at a sprint. Jess Breach, who has enjoyed roaming from full-back with Saracens, is a natural finisher who can benefit from collective ambition in attack.
Rebecca Wilde: Erin King, the 2024 World Breakthrough Player of the Year, is only just getting started in the 15-a-side game. An Irish sevens player, King won her first cap in September but quickly made an impact. If Ireland continue to utilise their forward firepower, her scoring streak should continue – she has three in four games.
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Charles Richardson: Ellie Kildunne. It would surely be foolish to look elsewhere, given Kildunne's prolific strike rate with the Red Roses. The Harlequin was top point-scorer, top try-scorer and player of the championship in last year's edition and, with four tries in three matches during WXV, Kildunne will once again be at the heart of the English challenge.
Sarah Mockford: With John Mitchell looking to rotate as he nails down his World Cup combinations, it is hard to know which of England's back-three talents will have the most opportunities to cross the line. So I am going to go left-field and back France hooker Agathe Sochat to be on the end of a few driving mauls.
Breakout player
Fiona Tomas: A versatile back-row operator, Gwennan Hopkins represents a new wave of young Welsh talent that has been blooded in the Celtic Challenge. The 20-year-old is an exciting and raw player, and will be a key part of a Welsh pack that will be without Sisilia Tuipulotu for the whole of the championship.
Charlie Morgan: Erin King, 21, came off the bench to bag two tries as Ireland downed the Black Ferns in WXV last September and promptly won the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award. What a way for the flanker to set up her maiden Six Nations.
Rebecca Wilde: May Campbell has topped the charts in the PWR this season for tries scored, tackles made and turnovers won. The hooker will double her England cap tally should she come off the bench against Italy on Sunday and if she is able to break into the Red Roses' starting squad she could reach another level on the international stage.
Charles Richardson: Bordeaux full-back Morgane Bourgeois, with only eight caps, has been recalled to the France squad after being dropped at the end of last year's Six Nations and missing out on selection for the WXV. Bourgeois has been scoring points – both tries and off the tee – for fun for Stade Bordelais, the runaway French league leaders, this season.
Sarah Mockford: My pick was arguably last year's breakthrough player but given she has yet to get the recognition she deserves I am going with Aoife Wafer. The 21-year-old back-row, who started all of Ireland's nine Tests last year, is hugely powerful with ball in hand and a real scavenger at the breakdown.
Most looking forward to…
Fiona Tomas: Sean Lynn taking the Welsh reins. There have been awkward questions over Wales's ability given the large contingents of Gloucester-Hartpury and Bristol Bears players within their squads. With his winning pedigree, Lynn might be the missing piece of the puzzle that finally makes them click.
Charlie Morgan: Whenever Sean Lynn speaks, he exudes purpose and passion. The Wales job has come to him hastily, but I am excited to see whether he can have an immediate impact on a team who finished bottom in 2024. A trip to Scotland and a bid to avenge last season's tight loss represents an interesting start.
Rebecca Wilde: Watching Ireland. Scott Bemand's takeover of the side has been transformational and you feel this is only the beginning. The cultural shift he created has translated onto the field and their last-gasp win against New Zealand in October was seismic for the sport. Watching them continue their ascent will be mesmerising.
Charles Richardson: A carnival at Twickenham on Saturday, April 26, where England could – and should – seal their fourth consecutive Grand Slam, against visiting France. Surely no one will be stopping their charge towards global glory later this year on home soil.
Sarah Mockford: Ireland v France. It is almost a shame this is the first game of the championship as it should be a cracker. While the Irish built throughout 2024 and peaked with that shock victory over the Black Ferns, the French stuttered and looked unsure of their game plan. There is a real chance Ireland could beat France for the first time since 2017.