The Six Nations
The oldest international rivalry in rugby began in 1871 on a cricket ground, and England and Scotland still play for a cup made from melted-down silver rupees.
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Quick Facts
- First international
- Scotland v England, Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, 1871
- First Home Nations Championship
- 1883, with England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland
- France joins
- 1910, creating the Five Nations
- Italy joins
- 2000, creating the Six Nations
- Famous silverware
- Calcutta Cup, Millennium Trophy, Centenary Quaich, Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, Auld Alliance Trophy, Doddie Weir Cup
- Dubious honour
- The Wooden Spoon, for finishing last
- Biggest wins
- Triple Crown for a home nation beating the other three; Grand Slam for beating all five opponents
- Recent champions
- Ireland in 2023 and 2024, France in 2022 and 2025
The match that started it all, on a cricket ground
Rugby's oldest international fixture kicked off on 27 March 1871 at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, a ground better known for cricket. Scotland beat England by one goal and one try to one try. Twenty players a side took part, not fifteen. The four home nations then began playing one another regularly, and in 1883 the Home Nations Championship was born. There was no sponsor, no television and no trophy. There was simply the question of who was best. France came in 1910, making it five. Italy's arrival in 2000 made six, and the tournament has kept that name ever since.
The year France was sent home
France's first spell in the competition ended in disgrace. The home unions expelled them in 1931, amid concerns over professionalism in the French club game and rough play on the field, and France were left out of the championship from 1932. The Home Nations went back to playing among themselves. France were readmitted in 1939, but the Second World War stopped them from returning to championship play until 1947. Then the Five Nations as we know it was in place. Italy's entry was a similar jolt. Their first match, in Rome in 2000, was a 34-20 win over Scotland, with fly-half Diego Dominguez scoring 29 points on his own.
Why the biggest trophy in rugby began as a pile of rupees
The Calcutta Cup, played for by England and Scotland, comes from India. When the Calcutta Football Club folded in the 1870s, its remaining silver rupees were melted down and turned into a trophy with three cobra-shaped handles and a domed lid topped by an elephant. England and Scotland have competed for it since 1879. The championship now has a whole cabinet of these smaller prizes. The Millennium Trophy goes to the winner of Ireland v England, and the Centenary Quaich to Ireland v Scotland. France and Italy play for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, France and Scotland for the Auld Alliance Trophy, and Scotland and Wales for the Doddie Weir Cup, named after the late Scotland lock and motor neurone disease campaigner. At the other end of the table sits the Wooden Spoon, which is not a physical trophy but a very real embarrassment.
The day the table went to the final minute of the final day
The most dramatic day in the championship's recent history was Super Saturday in March 2015. Wales beat Italy 61-20 in the first game and moved to the top on points difference. Ireland then beat Scotland 40-10, passing Wales. England needed to beat France by 26 points and did their best, winning 55-35, but it was not enough. Ireland took the title on points difference. There have been other twists. In 1999 Scott Gibbs scored a late try at Wembley as Wales beat England 32-31, and that result handed Scotland the final Five Nations title. In 2001 the foot-and-mouth outbreak postponed England's match in Ireland until October. When it was played, Ireland won it, and England had their Grand Slam hopes ruined months after they had seemed assured of one. Ireland's 2023 Grand Slam was clinched on home soil in Dublin by beating England, their first at home in the Six Nations era. France won the Grand Slam in 2022.
Croke Park, God Save the Queen and the roar that followed
Few matches in the tournament carry the weight of Ireland v England at Croke Park on 24 February 2007. The home of Gaelic games had first staged an Ireland rugby match two weeks earlier, against France on 11 February, but this was the visit that mattered most. On Bloody Sunday in 1920, British security forces opened fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary there. The anthems were observed in respectful silence, and Ireland went on to win 43-13. Ireland's home matches moved to the Aviva Stadium in 2010. Other grounds in the rotation are Twickenham, Murrayfield, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the Stade de France in Paris and Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Each has its own ritual, whether it is the Welsh anthem sung by a full stadium, the Flower of Scotland at Murrayfield or the sound of Swing Low at Twickenham.
Records, heroes and the points that count
Brian O'Driscoll's 26 tries are the championship record, and Johnny Sexton went past Ronan O'Gara as the competition's all-time leading points scorer. England's 80-23 win over Italy at Twickenham in 2001 remains one of the highest-scoring games in the championship. A bonus-point system has applied since 2017, which rewards teams for scoring four tries or losing by seven points or fewer. A team that wins the Grand Slam gets three extra points on top, which guarantees them the title. Ties between other teams are settled by points difference, then tries scored, and a title can be shared if teams stay level. The tournament is played in February and March each year, and for six weeks the nations rise and fall with every kick.
Notable people
- Brian O'Driscoll
- Johnny Sexton
- Ronan O'Gara
- Diego Dominguez
- Scott Gibbs
- Doddie Weir
- Neil Jenkins
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