The Six Nations Championship is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The championship holders are Ireland, who won the 2023 tournament, while the 2024 Six Nations Championship is currently in progress.
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the "Home Nations" – i.e. Ireland, England, 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 Italy national rugby union team represents the Italian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 112th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. This was the fourth edition sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland.
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 first Rugby Union World Cup was held in 1987, hosted by Australia and New Zealand who pushed for the tournament to be approved. Since the first tournament, 9 others have been held at four-year intervals.
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 French national rugby union team first competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
The 1995 Five Nations Championship was the 66th Five Nations Championship, the annual Northern Hemisphere rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was also the last Five Nations held in the sport's amateur era, as rugby union's governing body, the International Rugby Football Board, opened the sport to professionalism on August 26 of that year. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-first series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 21 January to 18 March. It was also the fifth occasion, after 1978, 1984, 1990 and 1991, on which two teams each with three victories faced off against each other in the final round of matches, with both capable of completing a Grand Slam with a victory, and the second time that the Triple Crown had also been at stake at the same time, as a result of England and Scotland's earlier victories over the other Home Nations. The tournament took a surprisingly similar course to five years earlier, where England and Scotland both won their first three matches and met in the final week, with an undefeated record, a Grand Slam, Triple Crown and the Calcutta Cup all at stake for the victor: however, this time it was England who prevailed in the deciding match. Even the minor placings were the same as in 1990, as France came third, Ireland fourth and Wales were whitewashed.
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 1992 Five Nations Championship was the 63rd 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 18 January and 21 March 1992.
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 1980 Five Nations Championship was the 51st Five Nations Championship series of the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 86th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament began on 19 January and concluded on 15 March.
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 history of the Wales national rugby union team from 2005 to present covers a period where the side won four Grand Slams in the Six Nations Championship, as well as another Championship victory. The Grand Slams, in all the tournament matches, were achieved in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2019. Their other Six Nations Championship, in 2013, was won without achieving a Grand Slam. The country has not enjoyed as much success against the major southern hemisphere opposition of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand have not been defeated by Wales since 1953, and South Africa have only been defeated five times since 2005: a 12–6 victory in 2014, a 27–13 victory in 2016, a 24–22 victory in 2017, a 24–22 victory in Washington DC in 2018 followed by a 20–11 win in Cardiff in 2018. Wales defeated Australia in November 2005, and also in November 2008. Following this, Wales suffered a thirteen-match losing streak to the Wallabies. This ended in 2018, when Wales defeated Australia 9–6.
The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
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 2021 Six Nations Championship was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 127th edition of the competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament started just three months after the end of the previous tournament and all matches took place without spectators.
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.
England 
Ireland 
France 
Scotland 
Wales