Six Nations to use 20-minute red cards for first time

This year's Six Nations Championship will, for the first time, adopt the 20-minute red card rule. This trial rule was previously used in the Autumn Nations Cup last November and has been extended to this year's men's, women's, and Under-20s tournaments.

Rule makers stated that the 20-minute red card is designed to "punish the player, not the team," allowing a sent-off player to be replaced after 20 minutes. The men's Six Nations Championship is set to begin on Friday, January 31st, in Paris, with France hosting Wales.

While referees can still issue full and permanent red cards for "deliberate and dangerous foul play," the introduction of the 20-minute red card marks a significant shift in rugby union's disciplinary procedures. Since January 2017, there has been a crackdown on head contact, leading to red cards impacting several important matches recently.

The losing sides in the last two Rugby World Cup finals—England against New Zealand in the 2022 Women’s final, and the All Blacks against South Africa in the 2023 Men’s final—both played with 14 players for the majority of the match, as did Bath when they were defeated by Northampton in last year's Premiership final. "Everyone across the game is working together to explore new innovative ways to ensure the game is as safe as possible, while also looking to enhance the fan experience and the playing experience for the players," said Six Nations Rugby’s director of tournaments, Julie Paterson.

Two other global law trials will also be implemented during the 2025 tournament, giving more protection to scrum-halves at scrums, rolling mauls, and rucks, and not penalizing crooked throws at uncontested lineouts. The shortened conversion time and the rules for faster scrums and lineouts introduced during the Autumn series will also continue to apply to all three tournaments. Referees will also announce key decisions to fans in the stadium via the public address system.

Netflix will not be continuing its behind-the-scenes documentary about the tournament, with no third season being produced. The second season, "Six Nations: Full Contact," documenting the teams and players in the 2024 tournament, is set to be released on Wednesday, January 29th. "Netflix has made a strategic decision not to proceed with a third season," confirmed Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison. "While we are disappointed with the decision, we understand. We have been assured it has nothing to do with the market reception to the two series. We are very excited about the second series."

Meanwhile, the release of the schedule for the 2026 tournament has been delayed as discussions regarding new broadcast deals are ongoing. The current partnerships with the BBC and ITV are set to expire this year. Six Nations Rugby and its unions are in conversations with broadcasters to balance the wide reach of free-to-air partners with the revenue from pay-TV broadcasters, with sources emphasizing that all options are being considered.

A revised schedule, including more evening kick-off times, is being discussed, with Six Nations Rugby prepared to accommodate broadcasters' preferences. There has also been discussion of scheduling "Super Saturdays" on each weekend of the men's tournament, with Six Nations Rugby officials also keen to limit clashes with other major sporting events. From next year, the tournament will be shortened from seven to six weeks, with the rest weeks reduced from two to one. This could result in three consecutive matches at the start of the tournament, followed by a rest week, before concluding with two consecutive weekends in early March.