Six Nations Championship

This article is about the men's rugby union tournament. For the women's tournament, see Women's Six Nations Championship.

"Six Nations Tournament" redirects here. For the ice hockey tournament, see Six Nations Tournament (ice hockey).

Six Nations Championship

Current season or competition: 2025 Six Nations Championship
The Guinness Six Nations logo
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1883;141 years ago (1883) (as Home Nations Championship) 1910;114 years ago (1910) (as Five Nations Championship) 2000;24 years ago (2000) (as Six Nations Championship)
Number of teams	6
Country	England   France   Ireland   Italy   Scotland   Wales
Holders	Ireland (2024)
Most titles	England and   Wales (39 titles)
Website	sixnationsrugby.com

Six Nations Championship

Related competitions	Women's Six Nations Championship Six Nations Under 20s Championship

The Six Nations Championship (6NC; known as the Guinness Six Nations) ^[a] is an annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is also the oldest sports tournament ever between Home Nations. The championship holders are Ireland, who won the 2024 tournament.

The tournament is organised by the unions of the six participating nations under the banner of Six Nations Rugby, which is responsible for the promotion and operation of the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments, and the Autumn International Series, as well as the negotiation and management of their centralised commercial rights.

The Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship (1883–1909 and 1932–39), played between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament. ^[1] With the addition of France, this became the Five Nations Championship (1910–31 and 1947–99), which in turn became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of Italy in 2000.

England and Wales have won the championship the most times, both with 39 titles, but England have won the most outright titles with 29 (28 for Wales). Since the Six Nations era started in 2000, only Italy and Scotland have failed to win the Six Nations title.

The women's tournament started as the Women's Home Nations in the 1996 season. The men's Six Nations Under 20s Championship is the successor to the Under 21s tournament which began in 2004.

History and expansion

The tournament was first played in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship among the then four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, England was excluded from the 1888 and 1889 tournaments due to their refusal to join the International Rugby Football Board. The tournament then became the Five Nations Championship in 1910 with the addition of France. The tournament was expanded in 2000 to become the Six Nations Championship with the addition of Italy.

Following the relative success of the Tier 2 nations in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there were calls by Octavian Morariu, the president of Rugby Europe, to let Georgia and Romania join the Six Nations due to their consistent success in the European Nations Cup and ability to compete in the Rugby World Cup. ^{[2] [3]}

Format

The locations of the Six Nations participants

The tournament begins on the first weekend in February and culminates on the second or third Saturday in March. Each team plays every other team once (a total of 15 matches), with home ground advantage alternating from one year to the next. Before the 2017 tournament, two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Unlike many other rugby union competitions, a bonus point system had not previously been used.

A bonus point system was first used in the 2017 Championship. The system is similar to the one used in most rugby championships (0 points for a loss, 2 for a draw, 4 for a win, 1 for scoring four or more tries in a match, and 1 for losing by 7 points or fewer). The only difference is that a team that wins all their games (a Grand Slam) are automatically awarded 3 extra points - to ensure they cannot be overtaken by a defeated team on bonus points.

Before 1994, teams equal on match points shared the championship. Since then, ties have been broken by considering the points difference (total points scored minus total points conceded) of the teams. The rules of the championship further provide that if teams tie on both match points and points difference, the team that scored the most tries wins the championship. Were this decider to be a tie, the tying teams would share the championship. ^[4] To date, however, match points and points difference have been sufficient to decide the championship.

The Wooden Spoon is a metaphorical award given to the team that finishes in last place; a team which loses all their matches is said to have been "whitewashed". ^[5] Since the inaugural Six Nations tournament in 2000, only England and Ireland have avoided finishing last. Italy have finished last 18 times in the Six Nations era, and have lost every match 12 times.

Home advantage in the Six Nations

	Three home matches			Two home matches
Even years	France v England v Ireland v Italy	Ireland v Italy v Scotland v Wales	Wales v France v Italy v Scotland	England v Ireland v Wales	Italy v England v Scotland	Scotland v England v France
Odd years	England v France v Italy v Scotland	Italy v France v Ireland v Wales	Scotland v Ireland v Italy v Wales	France v Scotland v Wales	Ireland v England v France	Wales v England v Ireland

Trophies

Championship Trophy

The Original Six Nations Championship Trophy (left, 1993–2014) and The Triple Crown Trophy

The winners of the Six Nations are presented with the Championship Trophy. ^[6] This was originally conceived by the Earl of Westmorland, and was first presented to the winners of the 1993 championship, France. It is a sterling silver trophy, designed by James Brent-Ward and made by a team of eight silversmiths from the London firm William Comyns.

It has 15 side panels representing the 15 members of the team and with three handles to represent the three officials (referee and two touch judges). The cup has a capacity of 3.75 litres – sufficient for five bottles of champagne. Within the mahogany base is a concealed drawer which contains six alternative finials, each a silver replica of one of the team emblems, which can be screwed on the detachable lid.

A new trophy was introduced for the 2015 Championship. ^[7] The new trophy was designed and crafted by Thomas Lyte silversmiths and replaces the 1993 edition, which is being retired as it represented the nations that took part in the Five Nations Championship. Ireland were the last team to win the old trophy and the first team to win the new one. ^[8]

Grand Slam and Triple Crown

A team that wins all its games wins the 'Grand Slam'.

The Triple Crown may only be won by one of the Home Nations of England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, when one nation wins all three of their matches against the others. The Triple Crown dates back to the original Home Nations Championship, but the physical Triple Crown Trophy has been awarded only since 2006, when the Royal Bank of Scotland (the primary sponsor of the competition) commissioned Hamilton & Inches to design and create a dedicated Triple Crown Trophy. It has since been won four times by Ireland and Wales, and three times by England.

Rivalry trophies

Several individual competitions take place under the umbrella of the tournament. Some of these trophies are also awarded for other matches between the two teams outside the Six Nations. Only Scotland play for a 'rivalry' or challenge trophy in every Six Nations match, as well as for the oldest such trophy, the Calcutta Cup. Wales became the last nation to contest such a trophy, the Doddie Weir Cup in 2018, while the newest such trophy is the Cuttitta Cup introduced between Scotland and Italy in 2022.

Trophy	Teams	Since	Notes
Calcutta Cup	England and Scotland	1879 [9]	Made from melted-down Indian rupees donated by the Calcutta Club
Millennium Trophy	England and Ireland	1988	Presented to celebrate Dublin's millennium in 1988 [10]
Centenary Quaich	Ireland and Scotland	1989 [11] [12] [13]	Named for the quaich, a traditional Gaelic drinking vessel. Marked the centenary of the founding of the International Rugby Football Board.
Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy	France and Italy	2007	Commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Garibaldi, leader in the unification of Italy and volunteer in the French Republican Army against Prussia
Auld Alliance Trophy	France and Scotland	2018	In memory of the war dead from the rugby communities of Scotland and France [14]
Doddie Weir Cup	Wales and Scotland	2018	In recognition of Doddie Weir, who founded the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation which supports research into motor neurone disease [15]
Cuttitta Cup	Scotland and Italy	2022	Commemorates Massimo Cuttitta, a former Italian captain and Scotland scrum coach, who died in 2021 at the age of 54 from COVID-19. [16]

Currently the following matches have no additional trophy contested:

England–France England–Italy England–Wales France–Ireland

France–Wales Ireland–Italy Ireland–Wales Italy–Wales

Venues

The national rugby union stadiums of five of the six countries host the events. France played all their matches away from their normal venue in 2024.

As of the 2024 competition, Six Nations matches are held in the following stadiums:

Team	Stadium	Location	Capacity
England	Twickenham Stadium	London	82,000
France	Parc Olympique Lyonnais	Lyon	59,186
	Stade Pierre-Mauroy	Lille	50,186
	Stade Vélodrome	Marseille	67,394
Wales	Principality Stadium	Cardiff	73,931
Italy	Stadio Olimpico	Rome	72,698
Scotland	Murrayfield Stadium	Edinburgh	67,144
Ireland	Aviva Stadium	Dublin	51,700

The opening of Aviva Stadium in May 2010 ended the arrangement with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) that allowed the all-Ireland governing body for rugby union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, to use the GAA's flagship stadium, Croke Park, for its international matches. This arrangement was made necessary by the 2007 closure and subsequent demolition of Ireland's traditional home at Lansdowne Road; Aviva Stadium was built on the former Lansdowne Road site. During this construction, Croke Park was the largest of the Six Nations grounds, with a capacity of 82,300.

In 2012 Italy moved their home games from the 32,000 seat Stadio Flaminio, to Stadio Olimpico, also in Rome, with a capacity of 72,000.

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) had planned to build a new stadium of its own, seating 82,000 in the southern suburbs of Paris, ^[17] because of frustrations with their tenancy of Stade de France. ^[18] However the project was cancelled in December 2016. ^[19] France played their 2018 match against Italy at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. ^[20]

In 2020, Wales played their final game at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli due to the Principality Stadium being used as Dragon's Heart Hospital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[21]

In 2024, France was unable to use the Stade de France for their Six Nations home games due to ongoing preparations for its use in the 2024 Summer Olympics. ^[22] Instead they played their three home matches at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, and Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon.

Results

Overall

	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Wales
Tournaments	128	95	130	25	130	130
Outright wins (shared wins)
Home Nations	5 (4)	—	4 (3)	—	9 (2)	7 (3)
Five Nations	17 (6)	12 (8)	6 (5)	—	5 (6)	15 (8)
Six Nations	7	6	6	0	0	6
Overall	29 (10)	18 (8)	16 (8)	0 (0)	14 (8)	28 (11)
Grand Slams
Home Nations	—	—	—	—	—	2 [23]
Five Nations	11	6	1	—	3	6
Six Nations	2	4	3	0	0	4
Overall	13	10	4	0	3	12
Triple Crowns
Home Nations	5	—	2	—	7	6
Five Nations	16	—	4	—	3	11
Six Nations	5	—	7	—	0	5
Overall	26	—	13	—	10	22
Wooden Spoons
Home Nations	7	—	10	—	5	6
Five Nations	10	12	15	—	15	10
Six Nations	0	1	0	18	4	2
Overall	17	13	25	18	24	18

Home Nations (1883–1909)

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Calcutta Cup
1883	England	Not contested	England	England
1884	England		England	England
1885	Not completed		Not completed
1886	England and   Scotland		–	–
1887	Scotland		–	–
1888	Not completed		England did not participate
1889	Not completed		England did not participate
1890	England and   Scotland		–	England
1891	Scotland		Scotland	Scotland
1892	England		England	England
1893	Wales		Wales	Scotland
1894	Ireland		Ireland	Scotland
1895	Scotland		Scotland	Scotland
1896	Ireland		–	Scotland
1897	Not completed		Not completed	England
1898	Not completed		Not completed	–
1899	Ireland		Ireland	Scotland
1900	Wales		Wales	–
1901	Scotland		Scotland	Scotland
1902	Wales		Wales	England
1903	Scotland		Scotland	Scotland
1904	Scotland		–	Scotland
1905	Wales		Wales	Scotland
1906	Ireland and   Wales		–	England
1907	Scotland		Scotland	Scotland
1908	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland
1909	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland

Five Nations (1910–1931)

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Calcutta Cup
1910	England	–	–	England
1911	Wales	Wales	Wales	England
1912	Ireland and   England	–	–	Scotland
1913	England	England	England	England
1914	England	England	England	England
1915–19	Not held due to World War I
1920	Scotland,   Wales and   England	–	–	England
1921	England	England	England	England
1922	Wales	–	–	England
1923	England	England	England	England
1924	England	England	England	England
1925	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland
1926	Ireland and   Scotland	–	–	Scotland
1927	Ireland and   Scotland	–	–	Scotland
1928	England	England	England	England
1929	Scotland	–	–	Scotland
1930	England	–	–	–
1931	Wales	–	–	Scotland

Home Nations (1932–1939)

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Calcutta Cup
1932	England,   Ireland and   Wales	–	–	England
1933	Scotland	–	Scotland	Scotland
1934	England	–	England	England
1935	Ireland	–	–	Scotland
1936	Wales	–	–	England
1937	England	–	England	England
1938	Scotland	–	Scotland	Scotland
1939	England,   Ireland,   Wales	–	–	England

Five Nations (1940–1999)

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Calcutta Cup	Millennium Trophy	Centenary Quaich
1940–46	Not held due to World War II				Not contested
1947	England and   Wales	–	–	England
1948	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland
1949	Ireland	–	Ireland	England
1950	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland
1951	Ireland	–	–	England
1952	Wales	Wales	Wales	England
1953	England	–	–	England
1954	England,   France and   Wales		England	England
1955	France and   Wales	–	–	England
1956	Wales	–	–	England
1957	England	England	England	England
1958	England	–	–	–
1959	France	–	–	–
1960	England and   France	–	England	England
1961	France	–	–	England
1962	France	–	–	–
1963	England	–	–	England
1964	Scotland and   Wales	–	–	Scotland
1965	Wales	–	Wales	–
1966	Wales	–	–	Scotland
1967	France	–	–	England
1968	France	France	–	England
1969	Wales	–	Wales	England
1970	France and   Wales	–	–	Scotland
1971	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland
1972	Not completed			Scotland
1973	England,   France,   Ireland,   Scotland,   Wales	–	–	England
1974	Ireland	–	–	Scotland
1975	Wales	–	–	England
1976	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland
1977	France	France	Wales	England
1978	Wales	Wales	Wales	England
1979	Wales	–	Wales	–
1980	England	England	England	England
1981	France	France	–	England
1982	Ireland	–	Ireland	–
1983	France and   Ireland	–	–	Scotland
1984	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland
1985	Ireland	–	Ireland	England
1986	France and   Scotland	–	–	Scotland
1987	France	France	–	England
1988	France and   Wales	–	Wales	England
1989	France	–	–	–	England	Scotland
1990	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland	England	Scotland
1991	England	England	England	England	England	Scotland
1992	England	England	England	England	England	Scotland
1993	France	–	–	England	Ireland	Scotland
1994	Wales	–	–	England	Ireland	–
1995	England	England	England	England	England	Scotland
1996	England	–	England	England	England	Scotland
1997	France	France	England	England	England	Scotland
1998	France	France	England	England	England	Scotland
1999	Scotland	–	–	England	England	Scotland

Six Nations (2000–present)

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Calcutta Cup	Millennium Trophy	Centenary Quaich	Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy	Auld Alliance Trophy	Doddie Weir Cup	Cuttitta Cup	Wooden spoon
2000	England	–	–	Scotland	England	Ireland	Not contested	Not contested	Not contested	Not contested	Italy
2001	England	–	–	England	Ireland	Scotland					Italy
2002	France	France	England	England	England	Ireland					Italy
2003	England	England	England	England	England	Ireland					Wales
2004	France	France	Ireland	England	Ireland	Ireland					Scotland
2005	Wales	Wales	Wales	England	Ireland	Ireland					Italy
2006	France	–	Ireland	Scotland	Ireland	Ireland					Italy
2007	France	–	Ireland	England	Ireland	Ireland	France				Scotland
2008	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland	England	Ireland	France				Italy
2009	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	England	Ireland	Ireland	France				Italy
2010	France	France	–	–	Ireland	Scotland	France				Italy
2011	England	–	–	England	Ireland	Ireland	Italy				Italy
2012	Wales	Wales	Wales	England	England	Ireland	France				Scotland
2013	Wales	–	–	England	England	Scotland	Italy				France
2014	Ireland	–	England	England	England	Ireland	France				Italy
2015	Ireland	–	–	England	Ireland	Ireland	France				Scotland
2016	England	England	England	England	England	Ireland	France				Italy
2017	England	–	–	England	Ireland	Scotland	France				Italy
2018	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Ireland	Ireland	France	Scotland			Italy
2019	Wales	Wales	Wales	–	England	Ireland	France	France	Wales		Italy
2020	England	–	England	England	England	Ireland	France	Scotland	Scotland		Italy
2021	Wales	–	Wales	Scotland	Ireland	Ireland	France	Scotland	Wales		Italy
2022	France	France	Ireland	Scotland	Ireland	Ireland	France	France	Wales	Scotland	Italy
2023	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Ireland	Ireland	France	France	Scotland	Scotland	Italy
2024	Ireland	–	–	Scotland	England	Ireland	–	France	Scotland	Italy	Wales

Titles and awards

Grand Slams and Triple Crowns (All Time)

Nation	Grand Slams	Last Grand Slam	Triple Crowns	Last Triple Crown
England	13	2016	26	2020
Wales	12	2019	22	2021
France	10	2022	—	—
Ireland	4	2023	13	2023
Scotland	3	1990	10	1990
Italy	0	—	—	—

Grand Slams and Triple Crowns (Six Nations)

Nation	Grand Slams	Last Grand Slam	Triple Crowns	Last Triple Crown
Wales	4	2019	5	2021
France	4	2022	—	—
Ireland	3	2023	7	2023
England	2	2016	5	2020
Italy	0	—	—	—
Scotland	0	—	0	—

Wooden Spoon

Overall

Wooden Spoons (last place)

Team	Wooden Spoons	Last Wooden Spoon	Era
			HNC	FNC	SNC
Ireland	25	1998	11	14	0
Scotland	24	2015	5	15	4
Italy	18	2023	—	—	18
Wales	18	2024	6	10	2
England	17	1987	7	10	0
France	13	2013	—	12	1

Six Nations era (2000–2024)

Wooden Spoon winners (last place)

Team	Wooden Spoons	Years awarded
Italy	18	2000, 2001 , 2002 , 2005 , 2006 , 2008, 2009 , 2010, 2011, 2014 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022, 2023
Scotland	4	2004 , 2007, 2012 , 2015
Wales	2	2003 , 2024
France	1	2013
England	0
Ireland	0

Bold indicates that the team did not win any matches

Match records (Six Nations era 2000–2024)

Team	Played	Wins	Losses	Draws	Win %	Loss %
Ireland	125	86	36	3	68.8%	28.8%
England	125	83	40	2	66.4%	32%
France	125	78	44	3	62.4%	35.2%
Wales	125	63	59	3	50.4%	47.2%
Scotland	125	41	81	3	32.8%	64.8%
Italy	125	16	105	2	12.8%	84%

Head-to-head records (Five Nations Championship)

Record Team	England	France	Ireland	Scotland	Wales	Total record
England	—	35–7–27	38–7–23	43–8–19	30–8–32	146–30–101 (52.71%)
France	27–7–35	—	42–5–23	34–2–33	30–3–37	133–17–128 (47.84%)
Ireland	23–7–38	23–5–42	—	34–2–33	25–5–38	105–19–151 (38.18%)
Scotland	19–8–43	33–2–34	33–2–34	—	29–1–40	114–13–151 (41.01%)
Wales	32–8–30	37–3–30	38–5–25	40–1–29	—	147–17–114 (52.88%)

Player awards

Further information: List of Six Nations Championship Player of the Championship winners

Player of the championship ^[24]

Year	Winner
2004	Gordon D'Arcy
2005	Martyn Williams
2006	Brian O'Driscoll
2007	Brian O'Driscoll (2)
2008	Shane Williams
2009	Brian O'Driscoll (3)
2010	Tommy Bowe
2011	Andrea Masi
2012	Dan Lydiate
2013	Leigh Halfpenny
2014	Mike Brown
2015	Paul O'Connell
2016	Stuart Hogg
2017	Stuart Hogg (2)
2018	Jacob Stockdale
2019	Alun Wyn Jones
2020	Antoine Dupont
2021	Hamish Watson
2022	Antoine Dupont (2)
2023	Antoine Dupont (3)
2024	Tommaso Menoncello

Records

Main article: List of Six Nations Championship records

Ireland's Johnny Sexton holds the record for most points in the competition, with 566. England's Jonny Wilkinson holds the records for individual points in one match (35 points against Italy in 2001) and one season with 89 (scored in 2001).

The record for tries in a match is held by Scotsman George Campbell Lindsay who scored five tries against Wales in 1887. ^[25] England's Cyril Lowe and Scotland's Ian Smith jointly hold the record for tries in one season with 8 (Lowe in 1914, Smith in 1925). Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll has the Championship record for tries with 26.

The record for appearances is held by Sergio Parisse of Italy, with 69 appearances, ^[26] since his Six Nations debut in 2004.

The most points scored by a team in one match was 80 points, scored by England against Italy in 2001. England also scored the most ever points in a season in 2001 with 229, and most tries in a season with 29. ^[25] Wales hold the record for fewest tries conceded during a season in the Six Nations era, conceding only 2 in 5 games in 2008, but the 1977 Grand Slam-winning France team did not concede a try in their four matches. Wales hold the record for the longest time without conceding a try, at 358 minutes in the 2013 tournament.

Administration

The Championship is run from headquarters in Dublin, Ireland by Six Nations Rugby Ltd. ^[27]

Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO, Tom Harrison, ^[28] was appointed the CEO of Six Nations Rugby in January 2023 following the resignation of Benjamin Morel in November 2022. ^[29] Morel had held the position of CEO since November 2018, ^[30] replacing John Feehan, who stepped down after sixteen years as CEO in April 2018. ^[31] Harrison's tenure as CEO commenced from April. 2023. ^{[28] [32]}

Ronan Dunne was appointed as the Chairman for Six Nations Rugby in November 2021 with his tenure commencing from January 2022. Dunne has responsibility for the commercial and marketing operations for both the men's and women's Six Nations tournaments. ^[33]

Marketing

Broadcasting rights

One of the most important rugby union tournaments in the world, the Six Nations Championship is broadcast in various countries in addition to the six participating nations. ^[34]

In the UK, the BBC has long covered the tournament, broadcasting all matches (apart from England home matches between 1997 and 2002, which were shown live by Sky Sports with highlights on the BBC) until 2015. In addition, Welsh language coverage of broadcasts matches featuring the Welsh team shown by the BBC are shown on S4C in Wales in the United Kingdom. ^[35] Between 2003 and 2015, the BBC covered every match live on BBC Sport either on BBC One or BBC Two with highlights also on the BBC Sport website and either on the BBC Red Button or late at night on BBC Two.

On 9 July 2015, in reaction to bids by Sky for the rights beginning in 2018, the BBC ended its contract two seasons early, and renegotiated a joint contract with ITV Sport for rights to the Six Nations from 2016 through 2021. ITV acquired rights to England, Ireland and Italy home matches, while the BBC retained rights to France, Scotland and Wales home matches. By ending its contract early, the BBC saved around £30 million, while the new contract generated £20 million in additional revenue for the Six Nations. ^[36]

With the end of the contract nearing, speculation once again emerged in 2020 that Sky was pursuing rights to the Six Nations from 2022 onward; under the Ofcom "listed events" rules, rights to the tournament can be held by a pay television channel if delayed broadcasts or highlights are made available on free-to-air television. ^[37] It was reported that the bid for CVC Equity Partners to purchase a stake in the Six Nations was being hindered by a desire for a more lucrative broadcast contract; a call for the Six Nations to be moved to Category A (which requires live coverage to air free-to-air) was rejected. ^{[38] [39]} In May 2021, the BBC and ITV renewed their contracts through 2025. The BBC will continue to broadcast home matches from Scotland and Wales and all women's and under-20s matches, with ITV airing England, France, Ireland and Italy home matches. ^{[40] [41]}

France, Ireland, and Italy listed the Six Nations as a major event with cultural significance and enacted national and EU laws to ensure coverage would be available on free-to-air channels. ^[42]

In Ireland, each of Ireland's games in the Six Nations may be held by a pay television channel, if the match is delayed broadcast and in full on free-to-air television. ^[43] RTÉ have broadcast the championship since RTÉ's inception and continued to do so until 2017, while TG4 televised highlights. However, in late 2015 RTÉ's free-to-air rival TV3 was awarded the rights for every game from the Six Nations on Irish television from 2018 to 2021. ^[44] In 2022 it was announced that RTÉ and Virgin Media would share broadcasting rights. ^[45]

In France, the entire Six Nations rugby tournament must appear on free-to-air television. ^[46] France Télévisions has covered the competition in France.

In Italy, Six Nations rugby matches involving the Italian national team must be broadcast on free-to-air television. ^[47] Sky Italia broadcasts all matches while free-to-air TV8 only covers Italy fixtures.

In the United States, NBC Sports broadcasts matches in English. ^[48] The tournament is also broadcast on DAZN in Canada, Premier Sports Asia in East and Southeast Asia, Sky Sport in New Zealand, Stan Sport in Australia and SuperSport in South Africa. ^[49]

In 2024 the Six Nations teams featured in a Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact. ^[50] In February 2024, the show was green lit for a second season. ^[51]

Territory	Broadcaster	Summary
France	France 2	All matches
Republic of Ireland	RTÉ	All matches split between both channels
	Virgin Media Television
Italy	Sky	All matches
	TV8	Italy matches only
United Kingdom	BBC One	All home matches from Scotland and Wales
	ITV1	All home matches from England, France, Ireland and Italy
	S4C	Wales matches shown by BBC in the Welsh language
Asia	Premier Sports Asia	All matches
Australia	Stan Sport	All matches
Baltic states and Nordic countries (including Poland)	Viaplay	All matches
Canada	DAZN	All matches
Caribbean	ESPN	All matches
Czechia (including Slovakia)	Nova Sport	All matches
Germanic Europe (including Luxembourg)	More Than Sports	All matches
Israel	Sport 5	All matches
Japan	Wowow	All matches
Malta	GO	All matches
MENA	Premier Sports Middle East	All matches
Netherlands	Ziggo Sport	All matches
New Zealand	Sky Sport	All matches
Portugal (including Slovenia)	Sport TV	All matches
Romania	Orange Sport	All matches
Spain (including Andorra)	Movistar Plus+	All matches
South America (including Argentina and Brazil)	ESPN Latin America	All matches shown in the Spanish language
	ESPN Brazil	All matches shown in the Portuguese language
Sub-Saharan Africa (including South Africa)	SuperSport	All matches
United States	NBC Sports	All matches
Worldwide	TV5Monde	France matches only

Sponsorship

Until 1998, the competition had no title sponsor. Sponsorship rights were sold to Lloyds TSB Group for the 1999 tournament and the competition was titled the Lloyds TSB 5 Nations and Lloyds TSB 6 Nations until 2002. ^[52]

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group took over sponsorship from 2003 until 2017, with the competition being branded the RBS 6 Nations. A new title sponsor was sought for the 2018 tournament and beyond. ^[53] However, after struggling to find a new sponsor, organisers agreed a one-year extension at a reduced rate. As the RBS brand was being phased out, the tournament was named after the NatWest banking subsidiary, becoming the NatWest 6 Nations. ^[54]

On 7 December 2018, Guinness was announced as the Championship's new title sponsor, with the competition to be named the Guinness Six Nations from 2019 to 2024. ^[55] Due to the Loi Évin laws which prohibit alcohol sponsorship in sport, "Guinness" cannot be used as part of the branding of the tournament in France. The French-language logo for the tournament replaces the Guinness logo with the word "Greatness" in the same colour and typeface as the Guinness wordmark. ^{[56] [57] [58]}

See also

• Sports portal

• The Rugby Championship, an analogous tournament of national teams in the Southern Hemisphere
• Rugby Europe International Championships, for second- and third-tier national teams in Europe
• Six Nations Under 20s Championship
• Women's Six Nations Championship
• British Home Championship, a similar tournament in association football

Notes

1. For sponsorship reasons.

References

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Sources

• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883–1983. London: Willows Books. ISBN   978-0-00-218060-3.
• Starmer-Smith, Nigel, ed. (1986). Rugby – A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby. Lennard Books. ISBN   978-0-7126-2662-0.
• Narz, Naomi, ed. (2019). Rugby – Wales and United States Connection, A showing of LDR feats in sport. Rich Books.

External links

• Official website