The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by

The Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Ba ...

, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere

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 ...

championship. It was contested by

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 ...

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 ...

, defending champions

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 122nd edition of the tournament. England won the Championship on 13 March with a game to play, winning their first Championship since 2011. On 19 March, they earned the

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 ...

for the 13th time, their first since 2003. The 2016 Championship was the first time in the Six Nations era that both the champions and 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 ...

"winners" had been decided before the final day, as Italy were confirmed to finish in sixth place for the 11th time on 13 March with Scotland's victory over France. Italy went on to lose their final match, and were thus whitewashed for the seventh time. The 29 tries conceded by Italy was also a Championship record, exceeding the 25 tries they conceded in 2000 and 2003.

Participants

* Except the final match at home against Italy, when Warburton was ruled out due to concussion protocol.

Dan Lydiate Dan Lydiate (born 18 December 1987) is a Wales international rugby union player. A flanker, Lydiate was raised in Llandrindod Wells and is a product of the Newport Gwent Dragons academy. Early life The younger of two boys born to English dock ...

took his place as captain, with championship vice-captain

Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a Rugby union/lock, lock for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. He is List of rugby u ...

also ruled out injured.

Squads

Story of the tournament

Round 1 (6–7 February)

The tournament started with a surprisingly narrow 23–21 win for France over Italy. At one point, Italy had led 18–10 and then 21–20, but a late penalty from

Jules Plisson Jules Plisson (born 20 August 1991) is a French rugby union player. His position is Fly-half and he currently plays for Clermont in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created i ...

gave France the points. The same day, another tight game saw England retain 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 ...

in a narrow 15–9 win over Scotland, with tries from

George Kruis George Edward John Kruis (born 22 February 1990) is an English former professional rugby union player. He played Rugby union positions#Locks, lock for Saracens F.C., Saracens and represented England national rugby union team, England and the Br ...

and Jack Nowell. The following day, two of the three tournament favourites, Ireland and Wales, drew 16–16 in Dublin. Ireland had led 13–0 before Wales battled back to lead 16–13.

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

's late penalty gave Ireland a share of the spoils.

Round 2 (13–14 February)

Ireland's defence of the title was damaged further in Week 2 when they were beaten 10–9 in a second successive narrow victory for France. Ireland had led 9–3 from before half-time, but Maxime Médard's 69th minute converted try proved to be the winner. Another comeback later that day saw Wales beat Scotland 27–23 in Cardiff. Scotland had led 13–10 at half time, but tries from

Jamie Roberts Jamie Huw Roberts (born 8 November 1986) is a former Wales, Welsh rugby union player, who most recently played for the New South Wales Waratahs, Waratahs. His usual position is Rugby union positions#Centre, centre. Beginning in 2005, Roberts ...

and

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and the Wales national team. He has also represented the British & Irish Lions and currently has th ...

gave Wales a 27–16 lead before a late Scotland score. On Sunday, England easily beat Italy 40–9 after a tight first half, with Jonathan Joseph scoring a hat-trick of tries.

Round 3 (26–27 February)

In the Friday evening kick-off, Wales maintained their title hopes with a 19–10 win over France. Another George North try helped them to a comfortable 19–3 lead before a France try in the last minute. On Saturday, Scotland won their first Six Nations game in 10 attempts, winning 36–20 in Rome with

Greig Laidlaw Greig Laidlaw (born 12 October 1985) is a Scottish professional rugby union player. He plays as a scrum-half and as a fly-half for Shining Arcs. Laidlaw holds the record for most caps as captain, 39, of the Scottish national team. He also rep ...

kicking 21 points. Ireland's title hopes were extinguished when they were beaten 21–10 by England at Twickenham; Ireland had led 10–6 early in the second half, but conceded 15 unanswered points in 13 minutes with tries by Anthony Watson and Mike Brown.

Round 4 (12–13 March)

Entering the fourth round of matches, the England-Wales game was touted as a Championship decider, although France – a point behind Wales and two behind England – still had an outside chance of winning it. The first match of the weekend saw Ireland trounce Italy 58–15, running in nine tries. England then beat Wales 25–21 in a thrilling encounter at Twickenham; England had led 25–7 with less than 10 minutes remaining before two converted Wales tries made it a tense ending. England thus won the

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 * Tri ...

, and the next day won the Championship outright, as France, needing to win to take the tournament to a final week, lost 29–18 to Scotland in Edinburgh, the Scots' first win over the French in 10 years. In addition to guaranteeing that England would win the tournament, Scotland's victory over France also guaranteed that Italy would finish last and "win" the wooden spoon as a result.

Round 5 (19 March)

All three matches were played on the same day in the last round, with England needing to win in Paris to complete the

for the first time since 2003. In the first match, Wales scored nine tries to easily beat Italy 67–14 in Cardiff, effectively whitewashing Italy; they had lost all five of their matches. Ireland then beat Scotland 35–25 in Dublin in an open game where the sides shared seven tries. In the final game in Paris, England scored two early tries through

Danny Care Daniel Stuart Care (born 2 January 1987) is an English rugby union player who plays for Harlequins in the Premiership as a scrum-half. He has played for England national team since 2008 and has won 87 caps. He previously played for England ...

and Dan Cole but the excellent kicking of Maxime Machenaud – who scored all of his side's points with seven penalties – kept France in the game until two late

Owen Farrell Owen Andrew Farrell (born 24 September 1991) is an English professional rugby union player, currently captain of Gallagher Premiership side Saracens. Farrell has played international rugby for England since 2012. Farrell is one of the top poi ...

penalties stretched England's lead to 31–21, enough to win the game and the Grand Slam, and to leave Farrell the leading points scorer in the Championship.

Table

Fixtures

Round 1

Notes: * Sébastien Bezy,

Yacouba Camara Yacouba Mandingo Camara (born 2 June 1994) is a French rugby union player who currently plays for Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Montpellier in the French Top 14. His regular playing position is as a Flanker. Club career Camara made his debut for St ...

, Jonathan Danty, Paul Jedrasiak, Jefferson Poirot, Virimi Vakatawa (all France), Mattia Bellini, Ornel Gega,

Andrea Lovotti Andrea Lovotti (born 28 July 1989) is an Italian rugby union player who plays as a Prop. He currently plays for Colorno in Top10. He grew up in the youth sporting team of Piacenza Gossolengo, in 2008-09 season he passed to Rugby Calvisano. Aft ...

, David Odiete, Dries van Schalkwyk and Matteo Zanusso (all Italy) made their international debuts. * France retained 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 ...

for the third consecutive year. ---- Notes: *

Zander Fagerson Zander James Ragnar Fagerson (born 19 January 1996) is a Scottish international rugby union player who plays for Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship. His regular playing position is Prop. Rugby union career Amateur career Fage ...

(Scotland) and Jack Clifford (England) made their international debuts. * England retained the

. ---- Notes: *

CJ Stander Christiaan Johan Stander (born 5 April 1990) is a South African-Irish former rugby union player. Stander's career began in his native South Africa, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup between 2010 and 2012 and for the Bulls in ...

(Ireland) made his international debut. * Bradley Davies (Wales) earned his 50th test cap. * This was the first time that Ireland and Wales had drawn since the 21–21 draw in Cardiff during the 1991 Five Nations Championship.

Round 2

Notes: *

Camille Chat Camille Chat (born 18 December 1995) Aka The Neck is a French professional rugby union player. His position is hooker, and he currently plays for Racing 92 in the Top 14. He was named in the French squad for the 2016 Six Nations Championship. H ...

(France) made his international debut. * This was France's first victory over Ireland since their 26–22 win during the 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. ---- Notes: * Jonathan Davies (Wales) earned his 50th test cap. * This was Scotland's ninth consecutive loss in the competition, their worst run of losses ever in the six-team format. ---- Notes: *

Braam Steyn Abraham Jurgen Steyn (born 2 May 1992) is a South African-born rugby union player who plays for the Italy national rugby union team. His usual position is as a flanker, and he currently plays for Benetton. For 2014–15 Pro12 season, he named a ...

and Edoardo Padovani (both Italy), Paul Hill and

Maro Itoje Oghenemaro Miles "Maro" Itoje (born 28 October 1994) is an English professional rugby union player, who plays as a lock or as a blindside flanker for Gallagher Premiership club Saracens and the England national team. He signed his first pro ...

(both England) made their international debuts.

Round 3

Notes: * Djibril Camara and

Vincent Pelo Vincent Pelo (born 22 April 1988) is a French rugby union player. He is the cousin of Dimitri Pelo and Aliki Fakate. He currently plays for French club Bayonne as a Loosehead Prop. Pelo is a native of Wallis. He was part of the French national ...

(France) made their international debuts. ---- Notes: *

Edoardo Gori Edoardo Ugo Gori (born 5 March 1990, in Borgo San Lorenzo) is an Italian rugby union player and currently he plays as Scrum-half for Colomiers in Pro D2. From 2010 to 2019 he played for Benetton Rugby. He was selected to the 25-man Italian squ ...

(Italy) earned his 50th test cap. * The 36 points scored by Scotland was the most they have scored in any Six Nations game. ---- Notes: * Ultan Dillane, Stuart McCloskey and

Josh van der Flier Josh van der Flier () (born 25 April 1993) is an Irish rugby union player for Leinster and Ireland. His preferred position is flanker, but plays at other positions if needed. Van der Flier is of Dutch descent through his paternal grandparents, ...

(all Ireland),

Elliot Daly Elliot Daly (born 8 October 1992) is an English professional rugby union player who plays for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and for England. Youth Daly played his early rugby at Beckenham from age five before moving to Dorking in 200 ...

(England) made their international debuts. * England regained the Millennium Trophy, having lost it in 2015.

Round 4

Notes: * Finlay Bealham (Ireland),

Oliviero Fabiani Oliviero Fabiani (born 13 July 1990) is an Italian rugby union player. His usual position is as a Hooker, and he currently plays for Colorno in Top10. After the experience with Lazio, from 2014 to 2022 he played with Zebre. In 2013 and 2014 Fab ...

, Pietro Ceccarelli and Alberto Lucchese (all Italy) made their international debuts. *

Seán Cronin Seán Cronin (29 August 1922 – 9 March 2011) was a journalist and former Irish Army officer and twice Irish Republican Army chief of staff.Brian Hanley and Scott Millar, ''The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers Pa ...

(Ireland) earned his 50th test cap. *

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 ...

equalled

Martin Castrogiovanni Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

's record as Italy's most capped player. * The nine tries scored by Ireland is the most tries they have scored in a Six Nations match. ---- Notes: * England secured their 25th

Triple Crown trophy The Triple Crown Trophy is a silver trophy awarded to the winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The Triple Crown trophy has come to represent the pinnacle achievement in horseracing. Commissioned in 1950 by the Thorou ...

; the previous one was in 2014. ---- Notes: *

(Scotland) earned his 50th test cap, and equalled

David Sole David Michael Barclay Sole (born 8 May 1962) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1993 New Year Honours. Rugby Union career Amateur career He was e ...

's record of 25 matches as Scottish captain. * Scotland beat France for the first time since their 20–16 victory at Murrayfield during the 2006 Six Nations Championship. * This was also Scotland's first win at Murrayfield in the Six Nations since they beat Ireland in round three of the 2013 Championship, breaking a 7-game losing streak at home. * France's loss guaranteed that England won the championship. This was the first time that a nation has been sure of winning the championship title before their final match during the competition's current six-team format. * Scotland's win also guaranteed Italy would win the "wooden spoon" for coming last. This was also the first time that a nation has been confirmed as coming bottom of the Championship table before their final match in the competition's current six-team format.

Round 5

Notes: * Jacopo Sarto (Italy) made his international debut. * Wales' 53-point margin of victory was their biggest winning margin over Italy, surpassing the previous record of 41 set during last year's tournament. * This was Wales' biggest winning margin in a Six Nations match, surpassing the 48-point winning margin set against Scotland in 2014. ---- Notes: * Ireland retained 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 ...

for the third consecutive year. * Rory Sutherland (Scotland) made his international debut. *

Keith Earls Keith Gerard Earls (born 2 October 1987) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. Internationally, Earls plays for Ireland and represented the British & Irish Lions on their ...

(Ireland) and John Barclay (Scotland) earned their 50th test caps. *

Ross Ford Ross William Ford (born 23 April 1984) is a Strength and Conditioning coach for the Scottish Rugby Academy. He was previously a Scotland international rugby union player who played as a hooker. He made 110 test appearances for Scotland, mak ...

(Scotland) made his 100th international appearance; 99 for Scotland, 1 for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. ---- Notes: * England secured their first Grand Slam since the 2003 Six Nations Championship * Owen Farrell became England's second-highest points scorer in history, behind only

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...

and overtaking Paul Grayson.

Statistics

Points scorers

Try scorers

Broadcasting

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, 2016 marked the first year that the tournament was broadcast across both the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...