Jones and Wafer make Six Nations player shortlist

Breaking news from the world of sport: Jones and Wafer make Six Nations player shortlistImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jones and Wafer have both been key players for their sides in this year's Women's Six NationsByMike Henson Sport rugby union news reporterPublished6 minutes agoEngland captain Meg Jones and Ireland's talismanic back row Aoife Wafer are on the shortlist for the player of this year's Women's Six Nations. Promoted to skipper in the absence of the pregnant Zoe Stratford, Jones played every minute of England's successful title defence, scoring three tries. Wafer scored five tries during Ireland's campaign and made more metres than any other forward in the competition.

The 23-year-old is aiming to retain the personal accolade after being named the player of the 2025 edition of the competition. France's scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus and Italy's blindside flanker Francesca Sgorbini are the other two names on this year's shortlist. The award is decided by an online fan vote which closes at 09:00 BST on Thursday 28 May.

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Who makes Women's Six Nations team of the championship? Published3 days agoMeanwhile, organisers have released figures demonstrating the continued growth in the competition, and women's game in general, following last year's successful Rugby World Cup in England. With new attendance records set for a Women's Six Nations match in five of the six participating countries, the tournament welcomed a record 279,750 fans into stadiums.

That total surpasses the previous Women's Six Nations mark of 188,128 set in 2024. Record television viewership culminated in 5. 87m people around the world tuning into the final round of matches across the Six Nations, the most for a single round of fixtures in the tournament's history.

One's coverage of England and France's Grand Slam decider that day attracted 1. 9% audience share – both of which were records for a Women's Six Nations game shown in the United Kingdom. On the pitch, there were a record number of tries, with a total of 147 averaging out to 9.

Clubs and federations are monitoring the development, which could have lasting consequences.