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Rugby Union Five Nations Championship

The Five Nations Championship, with its predecessor, the Home Championship, was the premier international rugby union tournament in the northern hemisphere. After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. The addition of the French in 1910 brought the number of nations to five, and it was another 90 years before a sixth team, Italy, joined the competition. Since then it has been known as the Six Nations Championship. The competition is something of an anomaly since the Irish team is comprised of players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Played annually, the format is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Victory in every game results in a so-called "Grand Slam", victory by a home nation (i.e. excluding France and Italy) over the three other home nations is a "Triple Crown". The victors of the game between England and Scotland win the "Calcutta Cup".

The importance of the competition has decreased slightly since the introduction of the Rugby Union World Cup, but the long standing rivalries between teams mean that it remains a passionate and fiercely contested prize.

Results

Results of the Four (1883-1909), Five (1910-1999) and Six Nation championships. Prior to 199?, teams equal on points shared the championship. After that date, ties were broken by considering the points difference of the teams.

1883England
1884England
1885Incomplete
1886England and Scotland
1887Scotland
1888Incomplete
1889Incomplete
1890England and Scotland
1891Scotland
1892England
1893Wales
1894Ireland
1895Scotland
1896Ireland
1897Incomplete
1898Incomplete
1899Ireland
1900Wales
1901Scotland
1902Wales
1903Scotland
1904Scotland
1905Wales
1906Wales and Ireland
1907Scotland
1908Wales (Grand Slam)
1909Wales (Grand Slam)
1910England
1911Wales (Grand Slam)
1912England and Ireland
1913England (Grand Slam)
1914England (Grand Slam)
1915-19Not held due to World War I
1920England, Scotland and Wales
1921England (Grand Slam)
1922Wales
1923England (Grand Slam)
1924England (Grand Slam)
1925Scotland (Grand Slam)
1926Scotland and Ireland
1927Scotland and Ireland
1928England (Grand Slam)
1929Scotland
1930England
1931Wales
1932England, Wales and Ireland
1933Scotland
1934England (Grand Slam)
1935Ireland
1936Wales
1937England (Grand Slam)
1938Scotland
1939England, Wales and Ireland
1940-46Not held due to World War II
1947Wales and England
1948Ireland (Grand Slam)
1949Ireland
1950Wales (Grand Slam)
1951Ireland
1952Wales (Grand Slam)
1953England
1954England, France and Wales
1955France and Wales
1956Wales
1957England (Grand Slam)
1958England
1959France
1960France and England
1961France
1962France
1963England
1964Scotland and Wales
1965Wales
1966Wales
1967France
1968France (Grand Slam)
1969Wales
1970Wales and France
1971Wales (Grand Slam)
1972Incomplete
1973Five way tie
1974Ireland
1975Wales
1976Wales (Grand Slam)
1977France (Grand Slam)
1978Wales (Grand Slam)
1979Wales
1980England (Grand Slam)
1981France (Grand Slam)
1982Ireland
1983France and Ireland
1984Scotland (Grand Slam)
1985Ireland
1986France and Scotland
1987France (Grand Slam)
1988Wales and France
1989France
1990Scotland (Grand Slam)
1991England (Grand Slam)
1992England (Grand Slam)
1993France
1994Wales
1995England (Grand Slam)
1996England (Grand Slam)
1997France (Grand Slam)
1998France (Grand Slam)
1999Scotland
2000England
2001England
2002France (Grand Slam)
2003England (Grand Slam)

 EnglandFranceIrelandItalyScotlandWales
Tournaments103731034103103
Outright Wins25131001422
Shared Wins10880811
Triple Crowns23-6-1017
Grand Slams1271038

The Triple Crown is awarded when one of the four British and Irish teams beats the other three. The Grand Slam is said to occur when a team wins all of its matches.