The England national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the "Home Nations" – i.e. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship. If any one of these teams defeat all three other teams, they win the Triple Crown.
The Wales national rugby union team represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship beats all the others during one year's competition. This has been achieved 42 times in total, for the first time by Wales in 1908, and most recently by the Irish team in 2023. The team with the most Grand Slams is England with 13. It can also apply to the U20 and Women's Six Nations Championships.
The 1982 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 16 January and 20 March. The winner of the championship was Ireland, with three wins and one defeat. It was the team's ninth title. Ireland also won the Triple Crown, its fifth such honour, its first since 1949 and last one until 1985. The team's only defeat came on the final day of the competition, losing 22-9 to France in Paris, denying the Irish what would have been only their second ever Grand Slam.
The 1978 Five Nations Championship was the forty-ninth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 21 January and 18 March. The tournament was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The championship was won by Wales, their twentieth outright win in the competition. The Welsh had shared another nine titles with other teams. Having won all four of their games, Wales also won the Grand Slam for a record eighth time - Wales had formerly shared the record of seven with England. Victories over England, Ireland and Scotland, also meant Wales won the Triple Crown for the third consecutive time, a record, given no other team had ever won the Triple Crown more than twice in a row. It was Wales' fifteenth in total, also a record, surpassing the fourteen won by England.
The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship.
The French national rugby union team first competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
The 1994 Five Nations Championship was the 65th series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 15 January and 19 March 1994.
The 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 62nd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 19 January and 16 March 1991.
The 1990 Five Nations Championship was the 61st series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major rugby union national teams in Europe. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 20 January and 24 March 1990.
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national teams: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The tournament was held between 7 February and 21 March 2009.
William Rex Willis was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. He won 21 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship.
The history of the Ireland national rugby union team began in 1875, when Ireland played its first international match, a 0–7 loss against England. Ireland has competed in the Six Nations rugby tournament since 1883. Ireland has also competed at the Rugby World Cup every four years since its inception.
The 2018 Six Nations Championship was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations.
The 2019 Six Nations Championship was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 125th edition of the competition.
The 2022 Six Nations Championship was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 128th edition of the competition. Wales entered the tournament as defending champions.
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