The 2018 Six Nations Championship (known as the Natwest 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
, the annual international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
tournament for the six major European rugby union nations.
The championship was contested by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and defending champions
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Including the competition's previous iterations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 124th edition of the tournament.
The Championship was won by Ireland on 10 March 2018, with their four wins (three with try bonus points) from the first four matches sufficient to place them out of reach of the other participants ahead of the final round. This was the third tournament running where the championship and
Wooden Spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to:
* Wooden spoon, implement
* Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...
had been decided by the end of round four. After a 24–15 victory against England on the final day, Ireland secured a Grand Slam, their third ever, alongside a
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Trip ...
.
Participants
1 Dylan Hartley was ruled out of round 4 due to injury, and Owen Farrell captained England in his absence.
2 Alun Wyn Jones was dropped from the match-day team to play Italy in round 4, and Taulupe Faletau captained Wales in his absence.
3 Guilhem Guirado was ruled out of round 5 due to injury, and Mathieu Bastareaud captained France in his absence.
Squads
Table
Table ranking rules
* Four match points are awarded for a win.
* Two match points are awarded for a draw.
* A bonus match point is awarded to a team that scores four or more tries in a match or loses a match by seven points or fewer. If a team scores four tries in a match and loses by seven points or fewer, they are awarded both bonus points.
* Three bonus match points are awarded to a team that wins all five of their matches (known as a Grand Slam). This ensures that a Grand Slam winning team always ranks over a team who won four matches in which they also were awarded four try bonus points and were also awarded two bonus points in the match that they lost.
* Tiebreakers –
** If two or more teams be tied on match points, the team with the better points difference (points scored less points conceded) is ranked higher.
** If the above tiebreaker fails to separate tied teams, the team that scored the higher number of total tries in their matches is ranked higher.
** If two or more teams remain tied for first place at the end of the championship after applying the above tiebreakers, the title is shared between them.
Fixtures
The fixtures were announced on 16 May 2017. France hosted games in more than one venue, with their
Friday night game against Italy taking place at the
Stade Vélodrome
The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...
,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
.
Round 1
Notes:
*
Josh Adams (Wales) and
Murray McCallum (Scotland) made their international debuts.
* This was Wales' first try bonus point in the Six Nations.
----
Notes:
*
Matthieu Jalibert,
Geoffrey Palis,
Adrien Pélissié,
Dany Priso
Dany Priso (born 2 January 1994) is a French rugby union player. His position is prop and he currently plays for Toulon in the Top 14. He began his career at Stade Français.
International career
Priso was called up to the French national team f ...
,
Cedate Gomes Sa and
Marco Tauleigne (all France) made their international debuts.
----
Notes:
*
Alessandro Zanni
Alessandro Zanni (born 31 January 1984 in Udine) is a former Italian rugby union player who has played over 100 times for . His usual position was a number 8, but in national team and Benetton he has played openside flanker, blindside flanker an ...
(Italy) became the seventh Italian international to earn his 100th test cap.
*
Alec Hepburn (England) made his international debut.
Round 2
Notes:
*
Jordan Larmour
Jordan Ian Larmour (born 10 June 1997) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Early life
Larmour was born in Dublin, Ireland. He atte ...
(Ireland) made his international debut.
*This was Ireland's 300th Test win.
----
Notes:
* With this win, England won their 15th consecutive Six Nations home game, breaking their previous record of 14 between 1998–2003.
*
Leigh Halfpenny
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny (born 22 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback (rugby union), fullback or wing (rugby union), wing for the Scarlets, Wales national rugby union team, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Hal ...
was originally named in the starting XV but fell ill the night before the match. Gareth Anscombe replaced him in the starting XV, and centre Owen Watkin came onto the bench.
* This was the lowest aggregate score in a Six Nations match since England beat Ireland 12–6 in 2013.
----
Notes:
* Scotland claim the first ever
Auld Alliance Trophy
The Auld Alliance Trophy is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Scotland.
The Trophy was first awarded in 2018, the centenary of the end of World War I, to commemorate the ...
.
Round 3
Notes:
*
Baptiste Couilloud (France) made his international debut.
* France retain the
Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy ( it, Trofeo Garibaldi; french: Trophée Garibaldi) is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Italy.
The trophy, designed by former French internati ...
.
----
Notes:
* This was Warren Gatland's 100th test match in charge of Wales.
----
Notes:
*
Blair Kinghorn (Scotland) made his international debut.
*
Joe Launchbury
Joseph Oliver Launchbury (born 12 April 1991) is an English rugby union lock.
He represents England at international level and previously played for the under-18s and under-20s before making his Test debut in 2012.
Launchbury plays mainly ...
(England) earned his 50th test cap.
* This was Scotland's first victory over England since 2008.
* Scotland reclaimed the
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...
for the first time since
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
*
Huw Jones' first try was Scotland's first scored against England in Edinburgh since
Simon Danielli
Simon Charles Jonathan Danielli (born 8 September 1979 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for Ulster and Scotland.
Early life
Danielli who is of Italian descent, was educated at Cheltenham College ...
in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
* Scotland extended their home winning record in the Six Nations to 6 games, their best ever run in the Six Nations.
* This was Scotland's largest victory over England in the Six Nations, and their biggest since they won 33–6 in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
. That match was also the last time that Scotland had scored three tries against England at Murrayfield.
Round 4
Notes:
* Ireland reclaim the
Centenary Quaich
The Centenary Quaich (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuach nan Ceud Bliadhna''; Irish: ''Corn na Céad Bliain'') is an international rugby union award contested annually by Ireland and Scotland as part of the Six Nations Championship.
A "Quaich" is a Gae ...
.
----
Notes:
* With this English loss, Ireland claimed the Championship with the final round yet to be played.
* This was the first time since 2015 that England lost two consecutive games; 2015 was also the last time France beat England.
* This was the first time since 2010 England lost multiple games in a single Six Nations tournament.
* With Dylan Hartley's injury, Owen Farrell captained England for the first time.
----
Notes:
*
James Davies (Wales) made his international debut.
*
Samson Lee
Samson Lee (born 30 November 1992) is a Wales international rugby union player currently playing for the Scarlets having previously played for Llanelli and Ammanford. His position is prop forward. Lee has represented Wales, making his debut ag ...
was named on the bench, but withdrew from the squad due to illness on match-day. He was replaced with Rhodri Jones.
* Wales's win guaranteed Italy would win the "
wooden spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to:
* Wooden spoon, implement
* Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...
" for coming last.
Round 5
Notes:
*
Jake Polledri (Italy) made his international debut.
*
Tommaso Benvenuti (Italy) earned his 50th test cap.
* The losing bonus point obtained by Italy was their first point under the new points structure introduced in 2017.
* This loss was
Sergio Parisse
Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian rugby union player. He currently plays for French club Toulon and played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Parisse is Italy's most-capped player ...
's 100th test loss, the first time the figure has been reached.
----
Notes:
*
Marius van der Westhuizen was originally named as a touch judge, but was replaced with
Nigel Owens
Nigel Owens, (born 18 June 1971) is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international re ...
by
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
, after attending an England training session in midweek.
* England's defeat was their first loss at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2012 (a run of 15 matches), their first loss at home overall since 2015 (a run of 14 games), and Ireland's first win against England at Twickenham since 2010.
* Ireland retained the
Millennium Trophy
The Millennium Trophy () is a rugby union award contested annually by England and Ireland as part of the Six Nations Championship. It was initiated in 1988 as part of Dublin's millennial celebrations. The trophy has the shape of a horned Viking ...
for the first time since their three consecutive victories over England between 2009 and 2011.
* Ireland won their third
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
and their eleventh
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Trip ...
; the first time they had won either since 2009.
* Rob Kearney and Rory Best share the distinction of being Ireland's only players to have won multiple Grand Slams, having both played in the 2009 Six Nations.
* With this win, Ireland became the first team to earn the three-point bonus for completing a Grand Slam.
----
Notes:
*
Mathieu Babillot (France) made his international debut.
* The losing bonus point secured by France ensured that England finished 5th outright for the first time since
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
.
Statistics
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Six Nations
2018 rugby union tournaments for national teams
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
2017–18 in European rugby union
2017–18 in Irish rugby union
2017–18 in English rugby union
2017–18 in Welsh rugby union
2017–18 in Scottish rugby union
2017–18 in French rugby union
2017–18 in Italian rugby union
February 2018 sports events in France
February 2018 sports events in Italy
February 2018 sports events in the United Kingdom
February 2018 sports events in Europe
March 2018 sports events in France
March 2018 sports events in the United Kingdom
March 2018 sports events in Italy
NatWest Group