In 1871, England and Scotland played the first rugby union international.  After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home International Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. England won the first series, along with a Triple Crown. Up until 1893, England and Scotland were the only champions, with Wales winning their first title that season. Ireland won their first title the following season. The 1908 and 1909 championships won by Wales, although won during the Home Nations era, could be regarded as Grand Slams, as they also defeated France both seasons.

In 1910 the French, who had played in four of the tournaments up to that point, officially joined the competition and coined the phrase "Five Nations".  England won the first championship of the new era, with the Welsh achieving the first Grand Slam the following year. The competition was suspended during World War I (1914-18).  In 1931, France were ejected from the tournament, which reverted to being the "Home Nations" from 1932 through to 1939. The competition was suspended again during World War II (1939-1945). With France back in the competition, the Five Nations resumed in 1947, with a shared victory for England and Wales.  France won their first shared title in 1954, and their first outright title in 1959.

By the 1970s the Five Nations Championship had become the pre-eminent series in Northern hemisphere rugby union with matches becoming all-ticket affairs, gaining huge popularity and a large television audience. The 1972 tournament was not finished after Scotland and Wales refused to play in Dublin. The season after was unique for a five-way tie, with every nation having won and lost two games. The 1970s marked the golden age for Welsh rugby; winning three Grand Slams and one Triple Crown during the decade. Until 1993, there was no tangible reward for winning the Five Nations championship. The Trophy was presented for the first time in 1993 to France.

France were the first winners of the new trophy, followed by Wales and then England. Scotland's first success came in season 1998-99 with Ireland being the latest winners in 2009. Scotland was the last nation to win the Five Nations Trophy as such because Italy joined the competition in 2000 and the tournament became known as the "Six Nations Championship". England were the first nation to win the trophy under the new format, winning the 2000 competition.

Played annually, the format of the Championship 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. Unlike most other rugby union competitions the bonus point system is not used.

Victory in every game results in a 'Grand Slam'. Back to back Grand Slams have been achieved on five occasions, by Wales in 1908/1909, by England in 1913/1914, 1923/1924 and 1991/1992 and by France in 1997/1998. England holds the record for the number of Grand Slams won with 12, followed by Wales with 10, France with 8, Scotland with 3 and Ireland with 2.

Victory by any Home Nation over the other three Home Nations is a 'Triple Crown'. The Triple Crown has twice been won on four consecutive occasions, once by Wales in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 and once by England in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998. England hold the record for the number of Triple Crowns won with 23, followed by Wales with 19, Scotland with 10 and Ireland with 10. Although this achievement has long been a feature of the tournament, it was not until 2006 that a physical trophy, commissioned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was awarded.

The last-placed nation at the end of the tournament is said to have won the (purely figurative) Wooden Spoon.

Several individual competitions take place under the umbrella of the tournament. The oldest such regular competition is for the Calcutta Cup, contested annually between England and Scotland since 1879. Since 1988, the Millennium Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the game between England and Ireland. Since 2007, France and Italy also have their own trophy: the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy; it was created for the 200th anniversary of the Italian hero who helped unify Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was born in Nizza in 1807; the city became subsequently French with the current name of Nice in 1859.

Prior to 1994, teams equal on points shared the championship. After that date, ties were broken by considering the points difference of the teams. In 2005 Wales won the Grand Slam, becoming the first team ever to win a Grand Slam playing more games away than at home, a feat repeated by Ireland winning the last Grand Slam in 2009.

In 2006, France won the competition on points difference over Ireland. Ireland received the consolation prize of the Triple Crown Trophy, presented for the first time that year. Italy once more collected the Wooden Spoon, but showed considerable improvement over past years, earning a first-ever competition point away from home in a draw against Wales.

In 2007, France again won on points difference after four teams had at least a mathematical chance of topping the table going into the final week. The Italians achieved their first away win of the tournament beating Scotland in Edinburgh. It was also the first time they won two of their matches as they went on to beat Wales in Rome. Scotland won the wooden spoon and Ireland won the Triple Crown for the second straight year and third time in four years.

The following year, Wales repeated their Grand Slam heroics of 2005 and their triumph owed everything to a startling comeback in their opening match against England. New coach Warren Gatland saw his side trailing by a 13-point deficit only for England to press the self-destruct button as Mike Phillips’ 70th minute try sealed an incredible 26-19 victory. Wales never looked back after that, dispatching Scotland 30-15, Italy 47-8, Ireland 16-12, and finally France 29-12. Winger Shane Williams’ six tries earned him the RBS Player of the Championship award. England, who reached the final of the World Cup in 2007, were forced to play runners-up as they finished ahead of France with both teams winning three of their matches. Italy finished bottom but had the consolation of a 23-20 victory over Scotland in Rome.

2009 was the year Ireland finally broke their Grand Slam hoodoo dating back to 1948. And while the fireworks of the previous year took place in the opening match, all the drama of the 2009 Championship was concentrated into the final match between Wales and Ireland at the Millennium Stadium. The Triple Crown was on the line for both teams and a 13-point Welsh victory would have been enough for Warren Gatland to lift his second consecutive Championship. Ultimately Irish fly-half Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal was the kick that secured a 17-15 victory but there was so nearly one final twist in the tale.
With the final kick of the game Welsh stand-off Stephen Jones just missed with a 50m penalty that would have seen the 61 years of Irish agony continue. That defeat allowed England to take second place in Martin Johnson’s first RBS 6 Championship in the Twickenham hotseat while winless Italy took the Wooden Spoon for the second year running. The match between France and Wales in Paris was the first Championship game to be played on a Friday night. 

Women’s

The Women's Six Nations Championship is run at the same time as the men’s competition; February through to March. The competition is also contested between the six elite European women’s national teams. The women’s tournament was introduced in the 2001 season, and included the same national teams as the men’s competition did, with the exception of Italy, with Spain included instead. The participating nations remained unchanged for several seasons until 2007, when Spain was replaced with Italy.

The tournament has been dominated by two countries with France winning three Championships to England’s five. The 2009 Championship did see Wales break England’s 11-year Triple Crown monopoly after Non Evans’ last-minute penalty secured a dramatic 16-15 victory. That was the first time Wales had ever beaten England and Ireland took a leaf out of their book by securing their maiden win over France – both Celtic nations would go on to record their highest ever finishes. Wales’ defeat to France though meant England, for the fourth straight year, lifted the Championship thanks to their huge points difference.