Three back rowers were ever-present, as were three wings, two centres, a fly-half and a fullback. Nationally, they can be broken down into four countries: Scotland (four), Italy (two), England (two), and Wales (two).
No French player achieved this feat, with co-coaches David Ortiz and Gaëlle Mignot’s somewhat egalitarian approach perhaps going some way to explaining this. Ireland were a minute away from having a player included, but Beibhinn Parsons played ‘only’ 399 minutes!
Two of the nominees for Guinness Player of the Championship, England fullback Ellie Kildunne and Italy wing Alyssa D’Incà, proved irreplaceable for their sides as they racked up the minutes. The former scored an astonishing nine tries in total, while the latter bagged three for the second campaign in a row. D’Incà’s fellow Azzurre wing, Aura Muzzo, was equally vital to head coach Giovanni Raineri’s plans, offering plenty of go-forward momentum as she carried for 352.6m.
Wing Abby Dow, second only to Kildunne in tries scored with her five, was the only other Red Roses player to feature in every minute of their Grand Slam campaign, while the Wales pairing of captain Hannah Jones (centre) and Alex Callender (flanker) did the same as part of a struggling side that claimed the Wooden Spoon. Callender made the joint-most tackles of the entire Championship, and was joint-second for breakdown steals.
Scotland, with the highest representation, boast a core of experienced players in captain Rachel Malcolm (flanker), Evie Gallagher (number eight), Helen Nelson (fly-half) and Emma Orr (centre). Gallagher made more breakdown steals than any other player in 2024.
As with the Guinness Men’s Six Nations this year, no front rowers lasted the course for every single match - such is the attritional nature of those positions - although the men’s Championship saw three times as many fly-halves do it (Finn Russell, Jack Crowley and Paolo Garbisi).
Wingers and back rowers completed the most minutes across both competitions.
The 400-Minute Club
Abigail Dow (England, wing)
Ellie Kildunne (England, fullback)
Alyssa D’Incà (Italy, wing)
Aura Muzzo (Italy, wing)
Emma Orr (Scotland, centre)
Evie Gallagher (Scotland, number eight)
Helen Nelson (Scotland, fly-half)
Rachel Malcolm (Scotland, flanker)
Alex Callender (Wales, flanker)
Hannah Jones (Wales, centre)
