Who to look out for
What is the Six Nations?
An annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides – England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales – the Six Nations Championship is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland and the current holders of the title are England. The Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship (1883–1909 and 1932–39), played between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament. With the addition of France, this became the Five Nations Championship (1910–31 and 1947–99), which in turn became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of Italy. The winners of the Six Nations Championship are sometimes unofficially referred to in the media as the European Champions or Northern Hemisphere Champions. England hold the record for outright wins of the Home Nations, Five Nations and Six Nations tournaments, with 27 titles, although Wales follow closely with 26 outright wins with the addition of 12 shared victories to England’s 10. Since the Six Nations era started in 2000, only Italy and Scotland have failed to win the title, although Scotland were the last outright winners of the Five Nations.
The Trophy
The winners of the Six Nations are presented with the Championship Trophy. This was originally conceived by the Earl of Westmorland, and was first presented to the winners of the 1993 championship, France. It is a sterling silver trophy, designed by James Brent-Ward and made by a team of eight silversmiths from the London firm William Comyns. It has 15 side panels representing the 15 members of the team and with three handles to represent the three officials (referee and two touch judges). The cup has a capacity of 3.75 litres. Within the mahogany base is a concealed drawer which contains six alternate finials, each a silver replica of one of the team emblems, which can be screwed on the detachable lid. A new trophy was introduced for the 2015 Championship. The new trophy was designed and crafted by Thomas Lyte silversmiths and replaces the 1993 edition, which was retired as it represented the nations that took part in the Five Nations Championship.
England
France
Ireland
Italy
Scotland
Wales
Scotland: Greig Laidlaw Position: Scrum-half Club: Gloucester Age: 30 Caps: 46 Height: 1.76m (5ft 9ins) Weight: 80kg (12st 8lb) England: Maro Itoje Position: Lock/back-row Club: Saracens Age: 21 Caps: 0 Height: 1.95m (6ft 5ins) Weight: 110kg (17st 4lbs)
Played
Won
Ireland: Stuart McCloskey Position: Centre Club: Ulster Age: 23 Caps: 0 Height: 1.91m (6ft 3ins) Weight: 109kg (17st 1lb)
Drawn
Lost
Wales: Dan Biggar Position: Fly-half Club: Ospreys Age: 26 Caps: 39 Height: 1.85m (6ft 1ins) Weight: 94kg (14st 11lbs)
For
France: Gael Fickou Position: Centre Club: Toulouse Age: 24 Caps: 15 Height: 1.90m (6ft 3ins) Weight: 99kg (15st 8lbs)
Against
Points
Winner
Italy: Sergio Parisse Position: Number Eight Club: Stade Francais Age: 32 Caps: 114 Height: 1.96m (6ft 5ins)
We
ROUND 1
ROUND 2
Sat, Feb 4
9:25pm
Scotland
V
Ireland
Sat, Feb 11
9:25pm
Italy
V
Ireland
Sat, Feb 4
11:50pm
England
V
France
Sat, Feb 11
11:50pm
Wales
V
England
Sun, Feb 5
9pm
Italy
V
Wales
Sun, Feb 12
10pm
France
V
Scotland
ROUND 3
ROUND 4
Sat, Feb 25
9:25pm
Scotland
V
Wales
Sat, Mar 11
3:05am
Wales
V
Ireland
Sat, Feb 25
11:50pm
Ireland
V
France
Sat, Mar 11
8:30pm
Italy
V
France
Sun, Feb 26
10pm
England
V
Italy
Sat, Mar 11
11pm
England
V
Scotland
ROUND 5 Sat, Mar 18
7:30pm
Scotland
V
Italy
Sat, Mar 18
9:45pm
France
V
Wales
Sun, Mar 19
Midnight
Ireland
V
England