Rugby Union Six Nations Championship

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.

Contents

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:

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

1883England
1884England
1885Incomplete
1886England and Scotland
1887Scotland
1888Incomplete
1889Incomplete
1890England and Scotland
1891Scotland
1892England
1893Wales
1894Ireland
1895Scotland
1896Ireland
1897Incomplete
1898Incomplete
1899Ireland
1900Wales
1901Scotland
1902Wales
1903Scotland
1904Scotland
1905Wales
1906Wales and Ireland
1907Scotland
1908Wales (Grand Slam)
1909Wales (Grand Slam)

Five Nations 1910–1999

1910England
1911Wales (Grand Slam)
1912England and Ireland
1913England (Grand Slam)
1914England (Grand Slam)
1915-19Not held due to World War I
1920England, Scotland and Wales
1921England (Grand Slam)
1922Wales
1923England (Grand Slam)
1924England (Grand Slam)
1925Scotland (Grand Slam)
1926Scotland and Ireland
1927Scotland and Ireland
1928England (Grand Slam)
1929Scotland
1930England
1931Wales
1932England, Wales and Ireland
1933Scotland
1934England (Grand Slam)
1935Ireland
1936Wales
1937England (Grand Slam)
1938Scotland
1939England, Wales and Ireland
1940–46Not held due to World War II
1947Wales and England
1948Ireland (Grand Slam)
1949Ireland
1950Wales (Grand Slam)
1951Ireland
1952Wales (Grand Slam)
1953England
1954England, France and Wales
1955France and Wales
1956Wales
1957England (Grand Slam)
1958England
1959France
1960France and England
1961France
1962France
1963England
1964Scotland and Wales
1965Wales
1966Wales
1967France
1968France (Grand Slam)
1969Wales
1970Wales and France
1971Wales (Grand Slam)
1972Incomplete
1973Five way tie
1974Ireland
1975Wales
1976Wales (Grand Slam)
1977France (Grand Slam)
1978Wales (Grand Slam)
1979Wales
1980England (Grand Slam)
1981France (Grand Slam)
1982Ireland
1983France and Ireland
1984Scotland (Grand Slam)
1985Ireland
1986France and Scotland
1987France (Grand Slam)
1988Wales and France
1989France
1990Scotland (Grand Slam)
1991England (Grand Slam)
1992England (Grand Slam)
1993France
1994Wales
1995England (Grand Slam)
1996England
1997France (Grand Slam)
1998France (Grand Slam)
1999Scotland

Six Nations 2000–present

2000England
2001England
2002France (Grand Slam)
2003England (Grand Slam)
2004France (Grand Slam)
2005Wales (Grand Slam)

By number of wins

 EnglandFranceIrelandItalyScotlandWales
Tournaments105751056105105
Outright Wins25141001423
Shared Wins10880811
Triple Crowns23-7-1018
Grand Slams1281039

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

External links

fr:Tournoi des six nations it:Sei Nazioni nl:Zeslandentoernooi

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