Six Nations Championship
Home Championship, was the premier international rugby union tournament in the northern hemisphere. After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. The addition of the French in 1910 brought the number of nations to five. Following the 1930 competition, France was expelled from the Five Nations amid allegations of professionalism and concerns over on-field violence. France was readmitted following the 1939 competition, but World War II caused the suspension of the Five Nations until 1947. After the competition resumed, it remained the Five Nations for over a half-century. Then a sixth team, Italy, joined the competition in 2000. Since then it has been known as the Six Nations Championship. The competition is something of an anomaly since the Irish team is comprised of players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Played annually, the format is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Victory in every game results in a so-called "Grand Slam"; victory by a home nation (i.e. excluding France and Italy) over the three other home nations is a
"Triple Crown". The victors of the game between England and Scotland win the Calcutta Cup.
The importance of the competition has decreased slightly since the introduction of the Rugby Union World Cup, but the long standing rivalries between teams mean that it remains a passionate and fiercely contested prize.
Results
Results of the Four (1883 — 1909), Five (1910 — 1999) and Six Nation championships. Prior to 1994, teams equal on points shared the championship. After that date, ties were broken by considering the points difference of the teams.
Four Nations 1883 — 1909
| 1883 | England |
| 1884 | England |
| 1885 | Incomplete |
| 1886 | England and Scotland |
| 1887 | Scotland |
| 1888 | Incomplete |
| 1889 | Incomplete |
| 1890 | England and Scotland |
| 1891 | Scotland |
| 1892 | England |
| 1893 | Wales |
| 1894 | Ireland |
| 1895 | Scotland |
| 1896 | Ireland |
| 1897 | Incomplete |
| 1898 | Incomplete |
| 1899 | Ireland |
| 1900 | Wales |
| 1901 | Scotland |
| 1902 | Wales |
| 1903 | Scotland |
| 1904 | Scotland |
| 1905 | Wales |
| 1906 | Wales and Ireland |
| 1907 | Scotland |
| 1908 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1909 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
Five Nations 1910 — 1999
| 1910 | England |
| 1911 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1912 | England and Ireland |
| 1913 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1914 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1915-19 | Not held due to World War I |
| 1920 | England, Scotland and Wales |
| 1921 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1922 | Wales |
| 1923 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1924 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1925 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1926 | Scotland and Ireland |
| 1927 | Scotland and Ireland |
| 1928 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1929 | Scotland |
| 1930 | England |
| 1931 | Wales |
| 1932 | England, Wales and Ireland |
| 1933 | Scotland |
| 1934 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1935 | Ireland |
| 1936 | Wales |
| 1937 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1938 | Scotland |
| 1939 | England, Wales and Ireland |
| 1940-46 | Not held due to World War II |
| 1947 | Wales and England |
| 1948 | Ireland (Grand Slam) |
| 1949 | Ireland |
| 1950 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1951 | Ireland |
| 1952 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1953 | England |
| 1954 | England, France and Wales |
| 1955 | France and Wales |
| 1956 | Wales |
| 1957 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1958 | England |
| 1959 | France |
| 1960 | France and England |
| 1961 | France |
| 1962 | France |
| 1963 | England |
| 1964 | Scotland and Wales |
| 1965 | Wales |
| 1966 | Wales |
| 1967 | France |
| 1968 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1969 | Wales |
| 1970 | Wales and France |
| 1971 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1972 | Incomplete |
| 1973 | Five way tie |
| 1974 | Ireland |
| 1975 | Wales |
| 1976 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1977 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1978 | Wales (Grand Slam) |
| 1979 | Wales |
| 1980 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1981 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1982 | Ireland |
| 1983 | France and Ireland |
| 1984 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1985 | Ireland |
| 1986 | France and Scotland |
| 1987 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1988 | Wales and France |
| 1989 | France |
| 1990 | Scotland (Grand Slam) |
| 1991 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1992 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1993 | France |
| 1994 | Wales |
| 1995 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1996 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 1997 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1998 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 1999 | Scotland |
Six Nations 2000 — present
| 2000 | England |
| 2001 | England |
| 2002 | France (Grand Slam) |
| 2003 | England (Grand Slam) |
| 2004 | France (Grand Slam) |
| | England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales |
|---|
| Tournaments | 104 | 74 | 104 | 5 | 104 | 104 |
| Outright Wins | 25 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 22 |
| Shared Wins | 10 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Triple Crowns | 23 | - | 7 | - | 10 | 17 |
| Grand Slams | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
The "Triple Crown" is awarded when one of the four British and Irish teams beats the other three. The Grand Slam is said to occur when a team wins all of its matches. A team that loses all of its matches is said to have won the "Wooden Spoon" (although this phrase is also sometimes used to describe teams finishing last, regardless of whether they lost all their matches). All three titles were awarded in 2004; France won the Grand Slam, while Ireland won the Triple Crown and Scotland were left with the Wooden Spoon.
See also
