History of the Six Nations

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⏱️ 14 minute read | Updated September 2026

The history of the Six Nations stretches back more than 140 years, making the Championship one of the oldest international sporting competitions in the world.

What we now know as the Guinness Men’s Six Nations began in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship, contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

France later joined to create the Five Nations, before Italy’s arrival in 2000 established the six-team Championship familiar to rugby supporters today.

Across its long history, the tournament has survived two World Wars, changes in membership, the arrival of professionalism, new scoring systems and enormous growth in television audiences and international travel.

Yet its basic appeal has changed remarkably little.

Six nations compete across five rounds. Every team plays every other team once. Historic rivalries are renewed every year, and a single defeat can determine the Championship.

From the first Home Nations tournament to modern Super Saturday, here’s how the Six Nations became one of rugby’s defining competitions.

When Did the Six Nations Begin?

The Championship can trace its origins to 1883, although international rugby between the nations began even earlier.

England and Scotland played the first recognised rugby union international in 1871.

Over the following years, international matches between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales became increasingly established.

That eventually led to the first Home International Championship, now generally regarded as the first edition of the competition that evolved into today’s Six Nations.

The inaugural Championship was played across the 1882–83 season.

England won all three of their matches, becoming the tournament’s first champions and also completing what would later become known as a Triple Crown.

More than 140 years later, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are still meeting every spring as part of the same Championship lineage.

The Home Nations Championship

The original competition involved four countries:

• England
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales

This became known as the Home Nations Championship.

The early years looked very different from today’s tournament.

Rugby itself was still developing, the laws continued to evolve and international travel was considerably more difficult.

There was no modern league table, bonus-point system or Super Saturday.

But many of the rivalries that define today’s Championship were already taking shape.

England against Scotland had begun before the Championship itself.

Wales increasingly emerged as a major rugby force towards the end of the 19th century, while Ireland won their first Championship outright in 1894.

By the beginning of the 20th century, international rugby had become an important sporting occasion across Britain and Ireland.

And another rugby nation was about to become part of the story.

France and the Birth of the Five Nations

France began playing matches against the Home Nations before becoming a full member of the Championship.

In 1910, France officially joined England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Five Nations Championship was born.

England won the first Five Nations Championship in 1910, before Wales completed a Grand Slam in 1911.

The new five-team format immediately broadened the competition beyond the British Isles and helped establish the Championship as Europe’s leading international rugby tournament.

However, its early development was interrupted by global events.

The competition was suspended during the First World War, with no Championship played between 1915 and 1919.

It returned in 1920.

France were excluded from the Championship after the 1931 tournament, and from 1932 the competition reverted to the four-team Home Nations format.

Competition was halted once again during the Second World War.

The Post-War Five Nations

The Championship returned in 1947, with France once again participating.

This restored the Five Nations format that would remain in place for more than half a century.

France gradually became one of the tournament’s leading nations.

They shared their first Championship in 1954 and won their first outright title in 1959.

By the 1960s and 1970s, the Five Nations had become one of international rugby’s major annual sporting events.

Crowds grew, matches increasingly became all-ticket occasions and television helped bring the Championship into millions of homes.

The era also produced some extraordinary chapters.

The unfinished 1972 Championship

The 1972 Five Nations was never completed.

Scotland and Wales did not travel to Dublin for their scheduled matches against Ireland amid security concerns during the Troubles.

With the fixtures unplayed, no Championship winner was declared.

The remarkable five-way tie of 1973

One year later came something that could not happen under today’s points-difference rules.

Every one of the five participating nations finished with two wins and two defeats.

England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales therefore shared the Championship.

It remains one of the most extraordinary results in the tournament’s history.

How the Championship Modernised

For much of its history, the Championship had no physical trophy.

That changed in 1993, when a Championship trophy was presented for the first time.

France became its first recipient.

Another significant change followed.

Historically, teams level on Championship points could share the title.

From the 1990s, points difference was introduced to separate teams finishing level, making outright Championship winners the norm.

The wider game was changing too.

Rugby union officially became professional in 1995.

That transformed the environment around the Championship.

Players became full-time professionals, coaching and analysis became increasingly sophisticated, stadiums developed, commercial investment increased and television coverage expanded enormously.

But an even bigger structural change was approaching.

Italy Joins: The Six Nations Era Begins

The final Five Nations Championship was played in 1999, with Scotland crowned champions.

The following year, Italy joined.

In 2000, the Five Nations became the Six Nations Championship.

The participating countries have remained unchanged ever since:

England
France
Ireland
Italy
Scotland
Wales

Italy made an immediate impact.

Their first Six Nations match came against defending Five Nations champions Scotland in Rome on 5 February 2000.

The Azzurri won 34–20.

It was a remarkable introduction to the competition and marked the beginning of the modern Six Nations era.

England went on to win the first Six Nations Championship.

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How the Six Nations Format Has Changed

The modern Six Nations uses a straightforward round-robin structure.

Each nation plays every other country once, producing:

6 teams
5 matches per team
15 matches in total
5 Championship rounds

Home advantage alternates between seasons.

That means a country generally has either two or three home matches in any given year.

The tournament traditionally runs across February and March, culminating in Super Saturday, when all six nations play on the final day.

Bonus points

The modern Championship uses a bonus-point system.

Teams receive:

• 4 points for a win
• 2 points for a draw
• 0 points for a defeat
• 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries
• 1 losing bonus point for losing by seven points or fewer

A team completing a Grand Slam receives an additional bonus designed to ensure an unbeaten Grand Slam winner cannot lose the Championship because of bonus points accumulated by another nation.

For a full explanation of the tournament format:

Read our Six Nations Beginner’s Guide →

The Grand Slam and Triple Crown

Some achievements carry significance beyond simply winning the Championship.

🏆 The Grand Slam

A Grand Slam is achieved when a nation defeats all five opponents during the same Championship.

It represents a perfect campaign.

Winning the Six Nations is difficult.

Winning it without losing or drawing a single match is considerably harder.

Some of the most celebrated campaigns of the modern era have been Grand Slams, including England in 2003, Wales in 2005 and 2019, France in 2010 and 2022, and Ireland in 2009, 2018 and 2023.

👑 The Triple Crown

The Triple Crown is contested only by the four original Home Nations:

England
Ireland
Scotland
Wales

A country wins it by defeating the other three Home Nations during the same Championship.

That means a team can win the Triple Crown without winning the Six Nations — and can win the Championship without winning the Triple Crown.

It is effectively a historic competition within the wider Championship.

Historic Six Nations Rivalries and Trophies

One reason the Championship has endured for so long is that it contains numerous historic rivalries within the same tournament.

Several matches now have their own trophies.

England v Scotland — Calcutta Cup

England and Scotland compete for the Calcutta Cup, one of rugby’s oldest international trophies.

Their rivalry dates back to the first rugby international in 1871.

England v Ireland — Millennium Trophy

England and Ireland compete for the Millennium Trophy.

England v Wales — Triple Crown rivalry

Although there is no equivalent longstanding bilateral trophy defining the fixture, England v Wales remains one of the Championship’s defining Home Nations rivalries.

Scotland v Ireland — Centenary Quaich

Scotland and Ireland compete for the Centenary Quaich.

Scotland v Wales — Doddie Weir Cup

Scotland and Wales play for the Doddie Weir Cup, named in honour of the former Scotland and British & Irish Lions lock.

Scotland v Italy — Cuttitta Cup

The Cuttitta Cup honours former Italy captain and Scotland scrum coach Massimo Cuttitta.

France v Italy — Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy

France and Italy compete for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy.

France v Scotland — Auld Alliance Trophy

The Auld Alliance Trophy reflects the historic relationship between France and Scotland.

France v Ireland — Solidarity Trophy

France and Ireland now compete for the Solidarity Trophy, introduced in 2026 to celebrate the cultural and diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

These trophies give individual fixtures significance even when neither side remains in contention for the Championship itself.

Six Nations Winners 2000–2026

The modern Six Nations era began in 2000 when Italy joined the Championship. The table below records every champion since then, alongside the Grand Slam, Triple Crown and the team finishing at the foot of the table.

Year	Champions	Grand Slam	Triple Crown	Wooden Spoon
2000	England	n/a	n/a	Italy
2001	England	n/a	n/a	Italy
2002	France	France	England	Italy
2003	England	England	England	Wales
2004	France	France	Ireland	Scotland
2005	Wales	Wales	Wales	Italy
2006	France	n/a	Ireland	Italy
2007	France	n/a	Ireland	Scotland
2008	Wales	Wales	Wales	Italy
2009	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Italy
2010	France	France	n/a	Italy
2011	England	n/a	n/a	Italy
2012	Wales	Wales	Wales	Scotland
2013	Wales	n/a	n/a	France
2014	Ireland	n/a	England	Italy
2015	Ireland	n/a	n/a	Scotland
2016	England	England	England	Italy
2017	England	n/a	n/a	Italy
2018	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Italy
2019	Wales	Wales	Wales	Italy
2020	England	n/a	England	Italy
2021	Wales	n/a	Wales	Italy
2022	France	France	Ireland	Italy
2023	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland	Italy
2024	Ireland	n/a	n/a	Wales
2025	France	n/a	Ireland	Wales
2026	France	n/a	Ireland	Wales

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Which Teams Have Been Most Successful?

Looking only at the modern Six Nations era doesn’t tell the entire story.

The Championship stretches back to 1883, meaning England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland had already accumulated more than a century of history before Italy entered.

France joined later but became one of the dominant forces of the Five Nations era.

Across the Championship’s complete history, England hold the greatest number of outright titles, with Wales close behind.

In the modern Six Nations era, the balance has shifted repeatedly.

England dominated much of the early period.

Wales enjoyed Grand Slam-winning generations.

Ireland became increasingly successful during the professional era.

France have repeatedly combined Championship success with Grand Slams.

Scotland have yet to win the title since the competition expanded to six nations, despite being the final Five Nations champions in 1999.

Italy continue to pursue their first Championship title.

That changing balance of power is one reason the tournament remains compelling.

A dominant period rarely lasts forever.

The Modern Six Nations

Today’s Six Nations is dramatically different from the tournament first played in 1883.

Players are full-time professionals.

Matches take place in stadiums holding tens of thousands of spectators.

Supporters travel across Europe for rugby weekends.

Games are broadcast internationally, analysed in extraordinary detail and watched by audiences far beyond the six participating nations.

But the Championship retains something unusually traditional.

There are no qualifying rounds.

There is no knockout stage.

There is no neutral final.

England still travel to Edinburgh.

Wales still host Ireland in Cardiff.

France still welcome Scotland to Paris.

Supporters still measure seasons by familiar rivalries that have been played for generations.

That continuity is perhaps the most important part of Six Nations history.

The tournament has changed repeatedly.

Its rivalries have endured.

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Six Nations History FAQs

When did the Six Nations start?

The competition began in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The modern Six Nations name dates from 2000, when Italy joined.

What was the Six Nations called before?

The tournament has had three main identities:

Home Nations Championship — originally England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Five Nations Championship — after France joined.

Six Nations Championship — after Italy joined in 2000.

When did France join the Championship?

France officially joined in 1910, creating the Five Nations Championship.

France left after 1931 before returning when the competition resumed after the Second World War in 1947.

When did Italy join the Six Nations?

Italy joined in 2000.

Their first Six Nations match was against Scotland in Rome, which Italy won 34–20.

Who won the first Six Nations?

England won the first Championship after Italy joined in 2000.

Who won the final Five Nations?

Scotland won the final Five Nations Championship in 1999.

Who won the first Home Nations Championship?

England won the inaugural Championship in 1883.

What is a Six Nations Grand Slam?

A Grand Slam occurs when one country wins all five of its matches during the Championship.

What is the Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown is contested between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

A nation wins it by defeating each of the other three Home Nations in the same Championship.

Has every Six Nations team won the Championship?

No.

England, France, Ireland and Wales have all won the Championship during the Six Nations era.

Scotland’s most recent Championship success came in the final Five Nations tournament in 1999.

Italy have not yet won the Championship.

Was the Championship ever cancelled?

Yes.

The tournament was suspended during both World Wars.

The 1972 Championship was also left unfinished after Scotland and Wales did not travel to Dublin for their matches against Ireland.

Has the Championship ever ended in a tie?

Yes.

Shared Championships were once possible.

Most famously, all five nations shared the 1973 Championship after every team recorded two wins and two defeats.

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🏉 From 1883 to Today

The names have changed.

Home Nations.
Five Nations.
Six Nations.

The players, stadiums and rules have changed too.

But more than 140 years after the first Championship, the same nations still meet each spring to renew rivalries passed between generations of supporters.

That history is what makes the Six Nations more than simply another international rugby tournament.