Rugby Union Six Nations Championship
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The Six Nations Championship, (2000-) formerly known as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition held between six European sides; England, France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Wales won the competition in 2005.
There is also a Women's Six Nations Championship with Spain instead of Italy.
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History
The Five Nations Championship, with its predecessor, the Home Championship, was the premier international rugby union tournament in the Northern hemisphere. After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. The addition of the French in 1910 brought the number of nations to five. Following the 1930 competition, France was expelled from the Five Nations amid allegations of professionalism and concerns over on-field violence. France was readmitted following the 1939 competition, but World War II caused the suspension of the Five Nations until 1947.
After the competition resumed, it remained the Five Nations for over a half-century. Then a sixth team, Italy, joined the competition in 2000. Since then it has been known as the Six Nations Championship.
The importance of the competition has decreased slightly since the introduction of the Rugby Union World Cup, but the long standing rivalries between teams mean that it remains a passionate and fiercely contested prize. Despite the quality of the teams involved, the Tri Nations Series does not arouse the same level of passion and intensity, and is a much younger competition, begun in 1996 in the Southern hemisphere.
Format
Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Victory in every game results in a so-called 'Grand Slam'; victory by a home nation (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland - excluding France and Italy) over the three other home nations is a 'Triple Crown'. The victors of the game between England and Scotland win the Calcutta Cup. Since 2000, the Millennium Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the game between England and Ireland. The last-placed nation is said to have won the Wooden Spoon.
Current venues
The Six Nations matches are currently held in the following stadiums:
- England: Twickenham, London
- France: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris
- Ireland: Lansdowne Road, Dublin
- Italy: Stadio Flaminio, Rome
- Scotland: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
- Wales: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Results
Results of the Four (1883–1909), Five (1910–1999) and Six Nations championships. Prior to 1994, teams equal on points shared the championship. After that date, ties were broken by considering the points difference of the teams.
Home Nations 1883–1909
| 1883 | England |
| 1884 | England |
| 1885 | Incomplete |
| 1886 | England and Scotland |
| 1887 | Scotland |
| 1888 | Incomplete |
| 1889 | Incomplete |
| 1890 | England and Scotland |
| 1891 | Scotland |
| 1892 | England |
| 1893 | Wales |
| 1894 | Ireland |
| 1895 | Scotland |
| 1896 | Ireland |
| 1897 | Incomplete |
| 1898 | Incomplete |
| 1899 | Ireland |
| 1900 | Wales |
| 1901 | Scotland |
| 1902 | Wales |
| 1903 | Scotland |
| 1904 | Scotland |
| 1905 | Wales |
| 1906 | Wales and Ireland |
| 1907 | Scotland |
| 1908 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1909 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
Five Nations 1910–1999
| 1910 | England |
| 1911 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1912 | England and Ireland |
| 1913 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1914 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1915-19 | Not held due to World War I |
| 1920 | England, Scotland and Wales |
| 1921 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1922 | Wales |
| 1923 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1924 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1925 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1926 | Scotland and Ireland |
| 1927 | Scotland and Ireland |
| 1928 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1929 | Scotland |
| 1930 | England |
| 1931 | Wales |
| 1932 | England, Wales and Ireland |
| 1933 | Scotland |
| 1934 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1935 | Ireland |
| 1936 | Wales |
| 1937 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1938 | Scotland |
| 1939 | England, Wales and Ireland |
| 1940–46 | Not held due to World War II |
| 1947 | Wales and England |
| 1948 | Ireland (Grand Slam) |
| 1949 | Ireland |
| 1950 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1951 | Ireland |
| 1952 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1953 | England |
| 1954 | England, France and Wales |
| 1955 | France and Wales |
| 1956 | Wales |
| 1957 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1958 | England |
| 1959 | France |
| 1960 | France and England |
| 1961 | France |
| 1962 | France |
| 1963 | England |
| 1964 | Scotland and Wales |
| 1965 | Wales |
| 1966 | Wales |
| 1967 | France |
| 1968 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1969 | Wales |
| 1970 | Wales and France |
| 1971 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1972 | Incomplete |
| 1973 | Five way tie |
| 1974 | Ireland |
| 1975 | Wales |
| 1976 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1977 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1978 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1979 | Wales |
| 1980 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1981 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1982 | Ireland |
| 1983 | France and Ireland |
| 1984 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1985 | Ireland |
| 1986 | France and Scotland |
| 1987 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1988 | Wales and France |
| 1989 | France |
| 1990 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1991 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1992 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1993 | France |
| 1994 | Wales |
| 1995 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1996 | England |
| 1997 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1998 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1999 | Scotland |
Six Nations 2000–present
| 2000 | England |
| 2001 | England |
| 2002 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 2003 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 2004 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 2005 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
By number of wins
| England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournaments | 105 | 75 | 105 | 6 | 105 | 105 |
| Outright Wins | 25 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
| Shared Wins | 10 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Triple Crowns | 23 | - | 7 | - | 10 | 18 |
| Grand Slams | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
The "Triple Crown" is awarded when one of the four British and Irish teams beats the other three. The Grand Slam is said to occur when a team wins all of its matches. A team that loses all of its matches is said to have won the "Wooden Spoon" (although this phrase is also used to describe teams finishing last, regardless of whether they lost all their matches). All three titles were awarded in 2005; Wales won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown, while Italy were left with the Wooden Spoon.
The Five and Six Nations Championships have been left incomplete once, in 1972. Prior to this the only examples were when the Tournament was the Four Nations Championships.
See also
- England national rugby union team
- France national rugby union team
- Ireland national rugby union team
- Italy national rugby union team
- Scotland national rugby union team
- Wales national rugby union team
- European Nations Cup (Rugby Union)
- Grand Slam
- Triple Crown
- Wooden spoon
External links
- 6 Nations official site (http://www.6nations.net)
- 6 Nations at the (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/default.stm) BBCde:Six Nations Turnier
fr:Tournoi des six nations it:Sei Nazioni nl:Zeslandentoernooi