The Red Roses defeated Ireland in front of a competition record attendance at Allianz Stadium while Scotland held on to beat Wales in a close encounter in Cardiff.
With the Howden British & Irish Lions Women’s Series taking place in New Zealand in 2027, this competition is a key marker as players look to stake their claims - here is a round-up of the action.
Red Roses stretch winning run
England overcame Ireland 33-12 to kickstart their Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign in front of a bumper 77,120 crowd at Twickenham.
It was the Red Roses’ first match since clinching the World Cup against Canada in September, the latest in a run of 34 consecutive Test victories.
Hooker Amy Cokayne was the first to put points on the board, before Sarah Bern powered over twice in the first half to give England a 21-0 half-time lead.
Jess Breach then seared onto Megan Jones’ kick following her chargedown, before Anna McGann did well to touch down in the corner to get Ireland off the mark.
Having dropped the ball over the line earlier on, World Cup hero and Sports Personality of the Year runner-up Ellie Kildunne made amends by bursting past the Ireland defence.
That pushed England up to 33 points, but it was Ireland’s captain Erin King who had the final say, bulldozing home for their second score.
The result underlines England’s stars' credentials ahead of the inaugural Howden British & Irish Lions Women’s Series in New Zealand in 2027.
Brittany Hogan and King also staked their claim in the pack for Ireland, who will hope to have a number of their squad represented too.
England are chasing an eighth straight Six Nations title, while Ireland have not claimed the trophy since 2015.
But this result represents a drastic improvement on their 88-10 defeat to the Red Roses two years ago when they last played at Twickenham , and they will be targeting France after their narrow loss in the World Cup quarter-finals last autumn.
France ran out 40-7 winners over Italy after a shaky first half and will face Ireland in Round Three.
Scotland hold on in thriller
Scotland resisted a late Wales rally to begin Sione Fukofuka’s tenure with a 24-19 win.
Emma Orr picked up a loose ball to break the Welsh line, with a neat move culminating in a score for Chloe Rollie to get Scotland off the mark.
But the former USA coach saw his new team go into half-time two points behind Wales, as front rows Kelsey Jones and Sisilia Tuipulotu had crashed over.
But the Welsh defence looked on as Shona Campbell raced home to put the Scots back in front on her return to international rugby, with Lucia Scott following suit in a similar fashion to take the game away.
Wales did hit back through Kate Williams, but with the Principality Crowd baying for a potential late winner, Scotland stood firm.
Orr will hope that her performance can put her in the spotlight for a Lions berth, while Rachel Malcolm led from the front as ever.
Meanwhile, Wales will be delighted with how competitive they were despite losing a sixth successive Six Nations match, and will now turn their attentions to taking on France.
