England enter the 2026 Women's Six Nations with the opportunity to win the trophy for an eighth successive year. The defending champions have won the competition a record 16 times since it adopted the Six Nations format in 2002.

England have completed the Grand Slam — achieved when a team defeats every other side in a single Six Nations campaign — in 14 of those 16 title-winning seasons. England also won the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2025, ahead of the upcoming tournament.

France are the second most successful team in the competition's history, having won the Women's Six Nations title six times and completed a Grand Slam in five of those winning campaigns. Ireland have claimed the tournament twice, winning in 2013 and 2015, and have completed one Grand Slam. No other nation has won the Women's Six Nations title.

The women's championship traces its origins to 1996, when it began as the Home Nations tournament. The competition was renamed the Five Nations in 1999 before taking on its current Six Nations format in 2002. Spain participated in the final two Five Nations tournaments in 1998 and 1999 and then featured in the first five editions of the Six Nations from 2002 through 2006. Italy replaced Spain in the competition beginning in 2007 and has remained a participant since that time.

Several additional honors are contested each year alongside the overall title. A Triple Crown can be earned by England, Wales, Ireland, or Scotland when one of those four teams defeats the other three home nations within a single campaign. The Wooden Spoon is the informal designation given to the team that finishes at the bottom of the Six Nations standings at the conclusion of each tournament.

Scotland have received the Wooden Spoon nine times, the most of any current or former participant in the competition. Wales have finished last on six occasions. Italy and Ireland have each finished at the bottom of the table three times since their respective arrivals in the tournament. Spain finished last twice during their participation from 2002 to 2006.