How Does the Six Nations Work? Teams, Format, Points and History
The short version
- The Six Nations is a round-robin championship in which England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales each play one another once over 15 matches each February and March.
- Since 2017 a win is worth four points and a draw two, with bonus points for four or more tries or a loss by seven points or fewer, plus three extra points for a Grand Slam.
- A Grand Slam means winning every match, the Triple Crown is a Home Nations-only prize, and the Wooden Spoon goes to the last-place team.
- The event grew from the 1883 Home Nations Championship to the Five Nations in 1910 and the Six Nations in 2000.
- France are the championship holders after winning the 2026 tournament.
How the Six Nations Works
The Six Nations is an annual international rugby union championship for the men's teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It works as a round-robin: each country plays the other five once, producing 15 matches between the first weekend in February and the second Saturday in March. The champion is the team that finishes with the most match points.
Home advantage alternates from one year to the next, so a fixture hosted by one side is staged at the opponent's ground in the following edition. The full set of 15 fixtures fits inside that February-to-March window each year.
The unions of the six participating nations run the event through Six Nations Rugby, which promotes and operates the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments along with the Autumn International Series, and manages their centralised commercial rights. Since 2024 the men's event has been styled M6N, matching W6N and U6N for the women's and under-20s events, and it is branded Guinness M6N. France are the holders after winning the 2026 tournament.
The Six Teams and How the Tournament Grew
The field consists of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The tournament began in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship among England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the first international rugby union tournament ever played and the oldest sports tournament contested by the Home Nations. England missed the 1888 and 1889 editions after declining to join the International Rugby Football Board.
France joined in 1910 to form the Five Nations Championship, and Italy's entry in 2000 created the six-team line-up behind the modern name. England and Wales share the all-time record with 39 championship titles each, though England hold more outright titles with 29 to Wales's 28. Since 2000, Italy and Scotland are the only teams without a title.
A women's competition dates to the Women's Home Nations in the 1996 season, and the men's Under 20s Championship grew out of an Under 21s tournament that began in 2004. After Tier 2 nations enjoyed relative success at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Rugby Europe president Octavian Morariu called for Georgia and Romania to be added, citing their consistent record in the European Nations Cup and their ability to compete at a Rugby World Cup.
Points, Bonus Points and Tiebreakers
Scoring was simple before 2017: two points for a win, one for a draw and nothing for a loss, with no bonus points of any kind, which set the championship apart from many other rugby union competitions.
A bonus-point system arrived for the 2017 Championship and follows the model used in most rugby competitions. Teams receive four points for a win, two for a draw and zero for a loss, plus one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and another for losing by seven points or fewer. The one twist is that a side winning every game, a Grand Slam, is automatically given 3 extra points so that no beaten team can overtake them on bonuses.
Tiebreakers have changed over time. Championships were shared between teams level on match points before 1994, but since then ties have been settled on points difference, the gap between total points scored and total points conceded. If teams also match on points difference, the title goes to whoever scored the most tries, and only if that is tied as well is the championship shared; match points and points difference have been sufficient to decide every championship to date.
Grand Slam, Triple Crown and Wooden Spoon
Winning every match in a championship delivers the Grand Slam. The Triple Crown is a prize only the Home Nations can claim: it goes to England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales when one of them beats the other three in the same tournament. The idea is as old as the original Home Nations Championship, but a physical trophy has been awarded only since 2006, when primary sponsor the Royal Bank of Scotland commissioned Hamilton & Inches to design and make one.
Ireland have won that trophy six times, Wales four times and England three times as of 2026, while Scotland have yet to win it. The Wooden Spoon is the informal tag for the team finishing last, and a side that loses all of its matches is said to be whitewashed. Since the first Six Nations in 2000, England and Ireland are the only teams never to finish bottom; Italy have placed last 18 times and lost every match in 12 of those championships.
The Championship Trophy
The winners lift the Championship Trophy, an idea originally conceived by the Earl of Westmorland and first awarded to France after the 1993 Five Nations. That first cup was sterling silver, designed by James Brent-Ward and made by eight silversmiths from the London firm William Comyns.
It featured 15 side panels representing the 15 members of a team and three handles standing for the referee and two touch judges. The cup held 3.75 litres, enough for five bottles of champagne, and a concealed drawer in the mahogany base stored six silver finials, each a replica of one team emblem, which screw onto the detachable lid.
The current trophy was designed and made in 2015 by Thomas Lyte, London silversmiths. Built from more than fifty pieces of sterling silver and standing 75 cm tall, it carries a six-sided design representing the six competing nations. Fire damaged it after the third round of the 2026 championship, leading to its retirement from ceremonial use; a replica went to the 2026 winners and a new trophy will be commissioned for the 2027 Championship.
Rivalry Trophies
Several head-to-head prizes run inside the main championship, and a number of them are also contested when the same two teams meet outside the Six Nations. Scotland are unique in playing for a rivalry or challenge trophy in every championship match they play, a run that includes the oldest such prize, the Calcutta Cup.
Wales were the final nation to take up a trophy of this kind, the Doddie Weir Cup in 2018, and the newest addition is the Solidarity Trophy, introduced between Ireland and France in 2026. Not every fixture carries an extra prize.
Frequently asked questions
How many matches are played in the Six Nations?
Each of the six teams plays the other five once, giving a total of 15 matches between the first weekend in February and the second Saturday in March.
How do bonus points work in the Six Nations?
Since 2017, wins are worth four points, draws two and losses none, with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries and one for losing by seven points or fewer. A team that wins all of its games receives three additional points.
What is the difference between a Grand Slam and a Triple Crown?
A Grand Slam is won by any team that wins all of its matches, while the Triple Crown can only be claimed by England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales when one of them beats the other three Home Nations.
What happens if teams finish level on points?
Since 1994, ties are settled by points difference and then by tries scored, with the title shared only if both are equal. Match points and points difference have been enough to decide every championship so far.
Who has won the championship the most?
England and Wales have each won the championship 39 times, though England have more outright titles with 29 to Wales's 28. In the era since 2000, only Italy and Scotland have failed to win it.
