Highly reputed as one of the biggest championships in rugby union, the six-nation has metamorphosed to become a tournament watched globally by millions of viewers every year. Every year, the event continues to set and break records, not only in a rugby game but the entire sport. However, despite its popularity, surprisingly on a few know the history behind this beautiful game.
Thus, we have created this article to answer several enquiries you may have regarding the Rugby Six Nations Championship.
The History: How it all began
The history of the tournament dated back to 1883 when the tournament was initially created as the Home Nation Championship. The participating countries are selected across Europe. At its inception, four countries partook in the competition. These include England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
As the fame of tournament spread globally with interest growing across from other European countries, France was officially added in 1910 to make the participating countries five. Thus, the name was changed to the Five Nations.
However, in the year 2000, the organizers added Italy to the tournament, and its name was subsequently changed from the Five Nations Championship to the Six Nations Championship. Since then, the fame of the game has spread gaining popularity over all continents where rugby is a popular sport.
The Top Winners of the Six Nations Championship
When the game commenced officially, England and Scotland dominated the first two years. However, their supremacy would not be long with the arrival of Wales into stardom amassing four championships in 1905 to 1909. Both Wales and Scotland had already raked in 11 championships each before the Home Nation came to an abrupt end in 1915 owing to WWI and was not resumed until 1920.
France was initially withdrawn from the tournament as a result of their underwhelming performance. The end of World War II in 1945 led to the re-introduction of France back into the fold. They would go ahead to shock the world when they shared the Five Nations titles with England and Wales in 1954 and 1955. The achieved more significant feats between 1959 and 1962 when they won four consecutive championships.
During the 1960s to 70s, the Les Blues further displayed their dominance by emerging the best among the rest, winning eight titles.
Italy’s performance since joining the tournament in the year 2003 has been nothing to write home about. The country has only managed to collect 11 points out of the possible 75. England and France remain the dominant forces in this new era, winning 6 and 4 championships respectively since the year 2000. However, Wales overtook France to take the second spot with 5 titles winning in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013 and recently, 2019.
How the Six Nations Work
In the Six Nations Championship, the away rule is also in effect, just like in football. However, it only alternates per year. For instance, if Wales is away in 2019 against England, it will be hosting England in 2020 edition. Each team only plays each other once a year. A win attracts four points while two pints go for a draw. In 2016, a bonus point was introduced as an incentive for a team that score a minimum of four tries. Also, any team that manages to lose by seven or fewer points gets a bonus.
The games are hosted n various stadia across Europe, including the Aviva Stadium, Stadio Olimpico, Twickenham, Stade de France and Millennium Stadium.
The Trophies Up for Grab
Winning the Six Nations Championship remains the ultimate goal of the tournament. However, there are other accolades up for grab.
The Grand Slam
The Grand Slam awarded to a team without a loss in their five matches. Wales emerged as the last winner of the Grand Slam in 2019, and they are also the highest winner of Grand Slam with 4 titles.
The Triple Crown
This title goes to any of the 4 Home Unions that manages to best each of the rest in a tournament. The 4 Home Unions include Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England. Ireland holds this record with 5 Triple Crown Honors.
Other minor trophies include:
- The Calcutta Cup: The winner of the England Vs. Scotland match
- The Millennium Trophy: The winner of the England Vs. Ireland match
- The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy: The winner of Italy Vs. France
- Centenary Quaich Award: The winner of the Ireland Vs. Scotland match.
The 2020 Six Nations Championships is presently on-going with the 5th round scheduled to hold on March 14, 2020.
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