The 2024 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby union competition that took place in February and March 2024, and featured the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It was the 130th season of the competition (including its incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and the Five Nations Championship), but the 25th since it expanded to become the Six Nations Championship in 2000. It started on 2 February 2024 with a Friday night match between France and Ireland, and concluded with France against England on 16 March. France played their home fixtures away from their normal venue, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, as the stadium was being prepared for use in the 2024 Summer Olympics later in the year.
Ireland entered the competition as reigning champions, having won the Grand Slam for the fourth time in 2023. They retained the championship âÂÂàthe third time they had won back-to-back championships, having done so previously in 1949 and 2015 âÂÂàbut did not secure a second successive Grand Slam. Wales finished bottom of the table, and was also the only team not to win any of their five matches.
Participants
Squads
Table
Table ranking rules
- Four points are awarded for a win.
- Two points are awarded for a draw.
- A bonus point is awarded to a team that scores four or more tries, or loses by seven points or fewer. If a team scores four or more tries, and loses by seven points or fewer, they are awarded both bonus points.
- Three bonus points are awarded to a team that wins all five of their matches (a Grand Slam). This ensures that a Grand Slam winning team would top the table with at least 23 points, as there would otherwise be a scenario where a team could win all five matches with no bonus points for a total of 20 points and another team could win four matches with bonus points and lose their fifth match while claiming one or more bonus points giving a total of 21 or 22 points.
- Tiebreakers
- If two or more teams are tied on table 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 scores the higher number of total tries (including penalty tries) in their matches is ranked higher.
- If two or more teams remain tied after applying the above tiebreakers then those teams will be placed at equal rank; if the tournament has concluded and more than one team is placed first then the title will be shared between them.
Fixtures
The fixtures for the 2024 Six Nations were announced on 28 February 2023, beginning with France hosting Ireland in a Friday night clash at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 2 February 2024. The final round of matches was played on 16 March 2024, beginning with Wales vs Italy, followed by Ireland vs Scotland and France vs England.
Round 1
Notes:
- Romain Taofifénua was originally named among the replacements in the France squad; however, he was withdrawn the day before the match because of illness, and his place on the bench was taken by Posolo Tuilagi.
- Nolann Le Garrec and Posolo Tuilagi (both France) made their international debuts.
- This was Ireland's biggest ever away win over France (by both total points scored and margin of victory).
- This was France's heaviest home defeat in the competition in 110 years.
Notes:
- Ange Capuozzo was originally named in the starting line-up for Italy; however, he was withdrawn the day before the match because of illness. He was replaced by Lorenzo Pani, whose place on the bench was taken by Federico Mori.
- Edoardo Iachizzi was originally named among the replacements for Italy; however, he was withdrawn the day of the match because of injury, and his place on the bench was taken by Alessandro Izekor.
- Ellis Genge was originally named among the replacements for England; however, he was withdrawn the day of the match because of a foot injury, and his place on the bench was taken by Beno Obano.
- Federico Ruzza (Italy) earned his 50th test cap.
- Alessandro Izekor, Mirco Spagnolo (both Italy), Chandler Cunningham-South, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ethan Roots and Fin Smith (all England) made their international debuts.
- The final score was the narrowest ever margin in a test match between England and Italy, and also Italy's highest points total against England.
Notes:
Round 2
Notes:
- Kyle Steyn was originally named in the starting line-up for Scotland; however, he was withdrawn on the day of the match for personal reasons. He was replaced on the wing by Kyle Rowe, whose place at full-back was taken by Harry Paterson.
- Harry Paterson (Scotland) and Alexandre Roumat (France) made their international debuts.
- Damian Penaud (France) earned his 50th test cap.
- France retained the Auld Alliance Trophy, and became the first of the two nations to win it on three consecutive occasions.
Notes:
- Archie Griffin (Wales) made his international debut.
- England recorded their largest ever second-half comeback in the Six Nations, and equalled their test match record for biggest half-time deficit overcome to secure victory (9 points; tied with their win against Argentina on 22 June 2002).
- Assistant referee Hollie Davidson became the first woman to be part of the on-field officiating team in a men's Six Nations match.
Notes:
- Ross Vintcent (Italy) made his international debut.
- Ireland recorded a clean sheet for the first time in the Six Nations era; their previous clean sheet in the tournament was within the Five Nations format in 1987, when they achieved a 17âÂÂ0 victory against England.
- Italy failed to score a point against Ireland for the first time.
Round 3
Notes:
Notes:
- Duhan van der Merwe became the first Scottish player to score a hat-trick against England, and the first player to score a hat-trick against England in the Six Nations era.
- Scotland recorded their fourth consecutive victory over England, matching their longest winning streaks in the fixture, set in 1896 and 1972.
- Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup.
Notes:
Round 4
Notes:
- Louis Lynagh (Italy) made his international debut.
- This was Italy's first home victory in the Six Nations for 11 years, since defeating Ireland in 2013.
- Italy won against Scotland for the first time in 9 years, since their away win in 2015, and thereby claimed the Cuttitta Cup for the first time in history.
Notes:
Notes:
Round 5
Notes:
- Wales received the Wooden Spoon after losing all five of their matches for the first time since 2003.
- Italy ended the tournament on 11 points, following two wins and a draw; their best ever performance in the Six Nations.
- Harri O'Connor (Wales) made his international debut.
- This was George North's 121st and final test cap before retirement, ending his international career as the most-capped Wales back in test history.
- George North left the field due to injury in the 79th minute; with no replacements remaining, Wales finished the match with 14 players.
- Andrea Zambonin was originally named among the replacements for Italy; however, he was withdrawn the day of the match because of illness, and his place on the bench was taken by Riccardo Favretto.
Notes:
- Ireland retained the Six Nations Championship, winning back-to-back titles for the second time in the Six Nations era (after consecutive triumphs in 2014 and 2015).
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) was originally named in the starting line-up for Ireland; however, he was withdrawn shortly before kick-off after sustaining an injury during the pre-match warm-up. He was replaced by Jordan Larmour.
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) earned his 50th test cap.
Player statistics
Most points
Most tries
Discipline
Summary
Yellow cards
2 yellow cards
1 yellow card
Red cards
1 red card
Citings/bans
<small>Note: The cited player's team is listed in bold italics.</small>
Awards
Player of the Match awards
Player of the Championship
Four players were nominated for the 2024 Six Nations Player of the Championship on 19 March 2024. The winner was announced on 5 April 2024.
Try of the Championship
Four tries were nominated for the 2024 Six Nations Try of the Championship on 22 March 2024. The winner was announced on 3 April 2024.
Team of the Championship
The 15 players voted in as the 2024 Six Nations Team of the Championship were announced on 5 April 2024.
Notes
References