The Six Nations, also known as the Guiness Six nations, is an international rugby union competition between the six nations: England, France, Italy, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It takes place once a year. But what is the history of the six nations? Why are there only a select few nations who are involved with the tournament? And what does it take to be incorporated into the games?
The first form of the six nations (then known as the Home Nations Championship) was instituted in 1883. The Home Nations consisted of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. England, however, were excluded from the 1888 and 1889 tournaments due to their refusal to join the International Rugby Football Board. By 1910, the tournament became the Five nations due to the incorporation of France. Finally, by 2000, the tournament became the six nations due to the addition of Italy.
There have been calls from Octavian Morariu (the president of Rugby Europe) to let Georgia, Romania and Portugal join the Six Nations, due to their successes in the European Nations Cup as well as the Rugby World Cup, however, whether this will happen is quite unknown. As a result, countries who seem to do well within international rugby tournaments, such as the rugby world cup, have a better chance at joining the nations competition. In conclusion, it is predominately based on whether the nation is an upcoming force.
The current championship holders are Ireland, due to their previous win in 2023. It is the 130th season of the Six Nations (including the home nations Championship and the Five Nations Championship). The competition commenced on the 2nd of February 2024 with a match between France and Ireland and is scheduled to end on the 16th of March 2024 with a match between France and England. Reviewing the current table, every team has played three matches, with matches between Italy and Scotland, England and Ireland, and Wales and France commencing this weekend. Currently, the scoreboards demonstrate that Ireland has an excellent chance at winning the tournament. But will Ireland be able to win the Triple crown? (An award given to one of the original home nations for beating all the home nations within the wider sixth nations tournament). Overall, the question we must ask, who will be the 2024 victors?