The Six Nations first and foremost is a rugby tournament between England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and France. But there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes! In this blog, we’ll be talking about the men’s Six Nations, as they’re starting on the 4th of February. The women’s Six Nations kicks off on the 25th of March.
First, let’s talk about the big trophies that can be won throughout the Six Nations tournament.
There’s the Grand Slam, which is where a nation wins all of its games against the other five nations. The last nation to accomplish this was France last year.
Then, there’s the Triple Crown, which is where one of the home nations (England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland) win all of their matches against the other home nations. The last team to do this was Ireland last year.
Lastly, and very much least-ly, is the Wooden Spoon, which is awarded to the nation that came in last place overall. last year (and a good few more), this was taken by Italy.
That’s the most important “sub-competitions” of the Six Nations sorted! Now, onto the one-on-one trophies. These are trophies that are tied to specific matchups, with the winner of that match taking the trophy that year. We’ll be a bit more quickfire with these, as there are quite a few of them.
The Calcutta Cup – England vs Scotland.
The Millennium Trophy – England vs Ireland.
The Centenary Quaich – Ireland vs Scotland.
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy – France vs Italy.
The Auld Alliance Trophy – France vs Scotland.
The Doddie Weir Cup – Wales vs Scotland.
The Cuttitta Cup – Scotland vs Italy.
That’s pretty much everything majorly important to understanding the Six Nations. But, why not leave you with a fun little timeline of name changes?
(1883 – 1909) The tournament was originally called the Home Nations, which consisted of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland being the only competitors. (1910 – 1931) Then, France was invited, and the tournament changed to the Five Nations. (1932 – 1939) France then decided to take an eight-year hiatus, making it once again the Home Nations. (1940 – 1999) After a short break, France came back again. This time for good. Returning the name to the Five Nations. (2000 – Present) Italy finally joined the fray, making it the Six Nations we know today.
There we go, wasn’t that fun! Now, enjoy the tournament!