The New Year is here, Champions Cup play has started, Europe’s top professional leagues, such as the United Rugby Championship and Top 14 are in midseason and spring is around the corner. 

That can only mean one thing: The Six Nations Championship is about to begin. 

The Six Nations Rugby Championship begins Feb. 2, as six of Europe’s best internationals squads compete in a round-robin tournament over the course of a month and a half to determine who is the best in 2024. 

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The event comes just a few months after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where only one of the teams competing in the Six Nations, England, reached the semifinals. 

As of Jan. 4, Ireland, which entered the Rugby World Cup as the No. 1-ranked team in the world, is the highest-ranked team in the Six Nations, according to the World Rugby rankings. 

Here’s what you need to know about the Six Nations Rugby Championship:

When Is The Six Nations 2024 Rugby Championship?

Matches begin on Friday, Feb. 2, with France hosting 2023 Six Nations champion, Ireland, at Orange Velodrome. 

How Many Rounds Is The Six Nations Rugby Championship?

The Six Nations is five rounds, with each team playing one another once. 

Six Nations Fixtures 2024: Here’s The Six Nations Schedule

Here is the schedule for the Six Nations:

Six Nations 2024 Round 1 Fixtures: 

• Feb. 2: France vs. Ireland, 3 p.m. EST, Marseille, France 
• Feb. 3: Italy vs. England, 9:15 a.m. EST, Rome
• Feb. 3: Wales vs. Scotland, 11:45 a.m. EST, Cardiff, Wales

Six Nations 2024 Round 2 Fixtures

• Feb. 10: Scotland vs. France, 9:15 a.m., Edinburgh, Scotland
• Feb. 10: England vs. Wales, 11:45 a.m., London
• Feb. 11: Ireland vs. Italy, 10 a.m., Dublin

Six Nations 2024 Round 3 Fixtures

• Feb. 24: Ireland vs. Wales, 9:15 a.m., Aviva Stadium, Dublin
• Feb. 24: Scotland vs. England, 11:45 a.m., Edinburgh, Scotland
• Feb. 25: France vs. Italy, 10 a.m., Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France

Six Nations 2024 Round 4 Fixtures

• March 9: Italy vs. Scotland, 9: 15 a.m., Rome
• March 9: England vs. Ireland, 11:45 a.m., London
• March 10: Wales vs. France, 11 a.m., Cardiff, Wales

Six Nations 2024 Round 5 Fixtures

• March 16: Wales vs. Italy, 10:15 a.m., Cardiff, Wales
• March 16: Ireland vs. Scotland, 12:45 p.m. 
• March 16: France vs. England, 4 p.m., Décines-Charpieu, France

How To Watch The Six Nations Rugby Championship

The Six Nations Rugby Championship will be broadcast on NBC Sports in the United States and a variety of different networks across Europe. 

However, the U20 Six Nations tournament, which also begins on Feb. 2, can be streamed on FloSports in the United States. 

In March, the 2024 Women's Six Nations tournament also will stream on FloSports.

Who Won The 2023 Six Nations? It Was Ireland Rugby

The Irish, who spent most of 2023 as the No.1 team in the world, pulled off the Grand Slam when they beat England on St. Patrick's Day in 2023. 

It was the fourth Grand Slam win for Ireland. 

Six Nations Betting Odds

While Ireland went 5-0 and completed the Grand Slam in 2023, according to a collection of betting sites, including Draftkings and Fanduel, France is the betting favorite to win the Six Nations in 2024, followed by Ireland and England. 

How Does The Six Nations Scoring Work?

Here’s how the scoring system works:

• The team that wins a match gets four points or (if the team scores four tries or more) five points.
• The team that loses gets no points or (if the team scores four tries or more by a margin of seven points or fewer) one point or (if the team scores four tries or more and loses by a margin of seven points or fewer) two points.
• Teams that draw each get two points, and any team that scores four tries or more gets one more point.
• A team that wins all five of its matches (a “Grand Slam”) will get three more points.

Who Wins The Six Nations Rugby Championship If Teams Tie?

If the teams have the same number of match points, the tiebreaker is point differential during the tournament. The second tiebreaker is the number of points scored. There is no third tiebreaker. The last time two rugby teams tied for the championship was 1988, when France and Wales split the title.

How Do Teams Win The Grand Slam At The Six Nations Rugby Championship?

If one team goes 5-0 during the tournament, it wins the Grand Slam. England holds the record for the most Grand Slams at 13. 

Who Has Won The Six Nations The Most Times?

England, having the record for most Grand Slams, also has won the Six Nations the most. England has won the tournament 29 times and shared the title 10 times. 

Wales trails England by one, having won the tournament 28 times, and shared the title 11 times. 

Wales last won the event in 2021, while England last won in 2020. France’s win in 2022 was its first since 2010. 

Has Italy Ever Won The Six Nations Rugby Championship?

Italy joined the Six Nations in 2000, as the tournament hoped it would make the field more competitive, but Italy has never won the event. 

Since 2000, Italy has earned the “wooden spoon” 18 times, including the last eight years. Since Italy joined the tournament, only Wales and Scotland have finished last. 

Why Is It Called Six Nations?

The name is, unsurprisingly, derived from the six nations that play in the tournament, but it wasn’t always known as the six nations. 

The tournament once was called the Five Nations Championship. The name changed to Six Nations when Italy joined the original five countries in 2000. 

World Rugby Rankings Ahead Of 2024 Six Nations Tournament

Here are the rankings before the 2024 Six Nations Rugby Championship: 

1. South Africa 94.54
2. Ireland 90.57
3. New Zealand 89.80
4. France 87.81
5. England 85.46
6. Scotland 83.43
7. Argentina 80.68
8. Wales 80.64
9. Australia 77.48
10. Fiji 76.38
11. Italy 75.93
12. Japan 74.27
13. Portugal 72.78
14. Georgia 72.68
15. Samoa 72.23
16. Tonga 71.57
17. USA 67.94
18. Uruguay 67.39
19. Romania 63.28
20. Spain 62.86
21. Canada 60.90
22. Namibia 60.56
23. Chile 60.49
24. Hong Kong China 59.80
25. Russia 58.06

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