The Wales national rugby union team represents the Welsh Rugby Union 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.
Warren David Gatland is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wales national team.
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.
The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.
Alun Wyn Jones is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps for Wales and 12 for the British & Irish Lions, and also holds the records for the most Wales caps and the second most Wales caps as captain. He retired from rugby in 2023.
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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 2020 Six Nations Championship was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 126th edition of the competition. The tournament began on 1 February 2020, and was scheduled to conclude on 14 March; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy's penultimate match against Ireland and all three of the final weekend's matches were postponed with the intention of being rescheduled. It was the first time any match had been postponed since 2012, and the first time more than one match had been delayed since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001. In July 2020, a revised fixture schedule was announced, with the last four games being played in October.
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.
The 2023 Six Nations Championship was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It was the 129th edition of the competition. France entered the tournament as defending champions, having won the Grand Slam in 2022.
The 2024 Six Nations Championship is a rugby union competition taking place in February and March 2024, featuring the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the 130th season of the competition, but the 25th since it expanded to become the Six Nations Championship in 2000. It started on 2 February 2024 with a Friday night match between France and Ireland, and is scheduled to end with France against England on 16 March. France are playing their home fixtures away from their normal venue, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, as the stadium is being prepared for use in the 2024 Summer Olympics later in the year.
England 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Scotland 
Wales 
