In 1871 England played Scotland in the first ever rugby union international match. This led to the staging of the Home International Championship in 1883, contested between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England won that first championship and also completed the Triple Crown. Scotland won their first championship outright in 1887, Wales in 1893 and Ireland in 1894.

France Join the Rugby Five Nations

In 1910 France officially joined the tournament and so the 'Five Nations' was born. France won their first Five Nations outright in 1959. In 2000 Italy joined the tournament to produce the Six Nations Championship.

Apart from the overall Championship Trophy, there are also other trophies at stake in individual matches: Calcutta Cup, England v Scotland; Millennium Trophy, England v Ireland; Centenary Quaich, Ireland v Scotland; Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, France v Italy.

Famous stadia which play host to these matches have included Twickenham in England, Murrayfield in Scotland, Stade de France in France, Lansdowne Road and Croke Park in Ireland, Stadio Flaminio in Italy, and the Arms Park and the Millennium Stadium in Wales.