Six Nations: All you need to know

The Six Nations is back in action on the first weekend of February as rugby’s best northern hemisphere teams battle it out for the trophy, with pivotal matchups starting from the opening weekend.

Ahead of the 2024 Six Nations, we give you the lowdown on all you need to know about the upcoming competition, team-by-team, rugby odds and betting tips.

What is the Six Nations?

The Six Nations is a historic rugby union competition dating originally back to 1883 as the Home Nations, although it wasn’t until 2000 that the competition first featured six nations rather than the previous format of four (1883-1909) and five teams (1910-2000).

The Six Nations competition sees England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy compete for the trophy, from the first weekend in February, to the Super Saturday final round of games in early March.

The tournament sees each team play each other once, making for a total of 15 games. The teams accumulate points throughout the series to determine the winner; 0 points for a loss, 2 for a draw, 4 for a win, 1 for scoring four or more tries in a match, and 1 for losing by 7 points or fewer.

As well as winning the Six Nations title, each team also seeks to claim the Grand Slam title (secured by winning all of their games), and to avoid the metaphorical award of the Wooden Spoon (losing all of their matches). Wales and England hold the most title wins, each with 39. Ireland are the reigning champions after last year’s Grand Slam victory.

Where and when is the 2024 Six Nations being played?

For the first time in Six Nation’s history, France will hold their three matches in three distinct parts of the nation, providing the visiting teams, as well as the home and travelling supporters, with an unparalleled Six Nations experience throughout France. On February 2, beneath the lights in Marseille, France will play Ireland in the first round of the 2024 Championship. On Sunday, February 25, France will travel to Lille for Round Three, where they will host Italy. Le Crunch, one of the oldest rivalries in sports, will play its final Super Saturday match in round five, with England travelling to play France in Lyon, on March 16th.

Aside from the alternating French venues, the other nations will host their home games at their usual homes; England at Twickenham, Scotland at Murrayfield, Wales at the Principality Stadium, Ireland at the Aviva Stadium and Italy at the Stadio Olympico.

Full Schedule

Round 1

Friday, 2 February

France v Ireland – 20:00 GMT, Marseille

Saturday, 3 February

Italy v England – 14:15 GMT, Rome

Wales v Scotland – 16:45 GMT, Cardiff

Round 2

Saturday, 10 February

Scotland v France – 14:15 GMT, Edinburgh

England v Wales – 16:45 GMT, London

Sunday, 11 February

Ireland v Italy – 15:00 GMT, Dublin

Round 3

Saturday, 24 February

Ireland v Wales – 14:15 GMT, Dublin

Scotland v England – 16:45 GMT, Edinburgh

Sunday, 25 February

France v Italy – 15:00 GMT, Lille

Round 4

Saturday, 9 March

Italy v Scotland – 14:15 GMT, Rome

England v Ireland – 16:45 GMT, London

Sunday, 10 March

Wales v France – 15:00 GMT, Cardiff

Round 5

Saturday, 16 March

Wales v Italy – 14:15 GMT, Cardiff

Ireland v Scotland – 16:45 GMT, Dublin

France v England – 21:00 GMT, Lyon

Who are the previous winners of the Six Nations?

2023 saw Ireland take the Six Nations trophy, having won all of their five games, earning them the Grand Slam. Much Like France did in 2022.

Since 1883, England hold the record for most titles, with 29, while Wales are their nearest pursuers on 28. Wales have also won the least wooden spoons, with their last in 2003. Last year, the Triple Crown trophy was awarded to Ireland, due to their victories over all three of the original Home Nations: England, Scotland, and Wales.

England have won the most Grand Slam titles (13) out of all of the six nations, with Wales close behind on 12.

Since the Six Nations first featured six countries in 2000, England have won seven titles, Wales six, France six and Ireland four.

What are the odds for the 2023 Six Nations?

France are tournament favourites and will be looking to reverse the form with Ireland as they were just pipped to last year’s Six Nations Title and the eventual Grand Slam. Gregory Alldritt has been named France’s captain as injured Antoine Dupont will be missing for the tournament. France have unfinished business and are 5/4 to win the 2024 Six Nations.

Ahead of the series, Ireland are France’s biggest competitors, and second the betting with odds of 13/8 to win the tournament and 11/10 to win the Triple Crown. The 2024 Six Nations could well and truly be a two-horse race.

England are always impossible to forecast but see themselves at 11/2 to win the Six Nations with odds of 12/1 to achieve a Grand Slam. The new-look England side will be eager to impress their fans as they aim to secure their 30th title.

Fourth in the betting comes Scotland under captain Jamie Ritchie. The squad are 12/1 for Six Nations glory but haven’t managed to win the tournament since there were still only five nations in 1999.

Wales are another team you don’t want to count out too early, but their chances speak for themselves at 20/1 as nearly two-thirds of the 34-man squad have less than 20 caps to their name, with the relative lack of experience causing concern among some fans. They have a lot of work to do here at 50/1 to win the Grand Slam.

Gli Azzurri (the light blues) have just 13 victories from 120 Six Nations appearances since joining the competition in 2000, so it is no surprise that they are the tournament outsiders at 200/1. However, the 2022 Six Nations saw one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history result when Italy triumphed on Welsh soil and ended a run of 16 successive defeats to the reigning champions. Also putting a stop to their 36-game Six Nation losing streak. Although it’ll be near enough impossible for Italy to win the tournament, don’t be surprised if we see a shock result at the hands of the Italians.

Check out all the latest Rugby Union betting odds at William Hill