The 2022 Women’s Six Nations can be the start of something special

England will be big favourites but the tournament can flourish in a separate window from the men’s competition

24 March 2022; Assistant coach Niamh Briggs with Stacey Flood during Ireland Women's Rugby squad training at the IRFU High Performance Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

THE debate that has raged for years will come to an end this weekend. The Women’s Six Nations finally has a permanent window in the calendar, and with it comes a chance to forge its own identity, removing its grip from the coattails of the men’s championship, a reliance which was once vital but had started to suffocate.

As the women’s competition continued to grow in popularity both with live crowds and TV audiences, bumping up against men’s and under-20s fixtures – all vying for broadcast slots and favourable kick-off times over the same spring weekends – had become untenable. And while the change is a welcome one, it would be remiss not to recognise just how important the competition in its previous guise has been to the development of the women’s game.