Six Nations Rugby, the organizer of the prestigious international rugby union tournament, has announced French IT firm Capgemini as its official digital transformation partner in a five-year deal.
The deal covers the men’s and women’s top-tier Six Nations competitions, as well as the Autumn Nations Series and Summer Nations Series, until 2029, and will see Capgemini use artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics to provide deeper match insights during competitions.
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Six Nations Rugby is hoping the insights will enhance the fan experience and, in turn, increase audience figures for its competitions.
The agreement will kick off with the upcoming Autumn Series, which begins tomorrow.
Capgemini succeeds business management solutions company Sage, which was signed up as Six Nations Rugby’s official insights partner in 2022.
Tom Harrison, Six Nations Rugby’s chief executive, said: “Inspiring and engaging rugby fans is at the heart of everything we do at Six Nations Rugby, and with the battle for audience attention, all forms of sport and entertainment need to innovate to engage global fans.
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By GlobalData“Our new partnership will play a vital role in elevating how we present the game of rugby for these fans, and we are all hugely excited to work together to enrich the fan experience and to ensure that our Championships and competitions continue to set the standard for rugby globally.”
The new agreement deepens Capgemini’s association with rugby union, having partnered with the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in 2023 and 2025, respectively.
It also works with golf’s iconic Ryder Cup and the America’s Cup, as well as cycling’s premier Tour de France, on digital initiatives, including mobile applications and data-driven products to help audiences understand what they are watching within a competition.
The new partnership comes as the men’s Six Nations enjoys increased viewership, with this year’s championship drawing nearly 130 million viewers globally, a 6% increase from the previous year. The competition is set to return in February 2026.
The next women’s Six Nations, meanwhile, will run from April 11 to May 17, 2026, capitalizing on the record audience numbers for the recently ended Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC).
Last weekend’s WRWC final between England and Canada drew a record 5.8 million viewers for UK public broadcaster the BBC, while a record 81,885 attended the match at Allianz Stadium in England’s Twickenham.
