The Men’s Six Nations Championship is an annual rugby union tournament, contested by the home nations England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, as well as France and Italy. The tournament is as infamous for its rivalries as it is for its rugby: every match-up is laced with history, and every edition adds to the fixtures’ sub-plots and significance, year-on-year.
The competition began as the Home Nations Championship in 1883, making it the oldest rugby tournament in the world. In 1910, when France joined, it became known as the Five Nations, which then became the Six Nations in 2000, upon Italy’s entry. Each team plays all the others once, with home advantage for each fixture decided on a yearly basis. As well as all competing for the Championship Trophy, awarded to the nation with the most points after the 5 rounds, many of the individual fixtures also have smaller cups and trophies at stake. If any team wins all 5 of its games, they are said to have won ‘the grand slam’, one of the most revered achievements in international rugby.
The current Men’s Six Nations champions are Ireland, who will be vying to win the title for the third year in a row in 2025.
