Six Nations Championship is famous ever since its inception, yet the 2018 championship is yet to be seen after England won the championship in 2017. Featured matches, dates, locations, and travel packages can be found on https://www.livingwiththelions.co.uk/rugby-tours/rbs-six-nations-2018/
The Six Nations Tournament is an annual rugby competition between the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales. It is the successor of the Five Nations Tournament, which was not attended by Italy, and it was the successor of the Four Nations Tournament that put the British teams one in front of another ever since 1882-1883. France has joined the tournament in 1910 while Italy has joined it in 2000.
The Six Nations Championship is the competition of the most powerful European rugby teams. The rest of European nations compete in the European Cup of Nations, a competition that is being held in a divided system.
The 1964 - 1979 period is dominated by Wales winning the tournament ten times. It is the glory period of Welsh rugby, their team achieving modest performances in upcoming years and winning the tournament only three more times.
In 1972, the tournament was disturbed by the conflict in Northern Ireland, with teams from Wales and Scotland canceling the match against Ireland for security reasons. The edition is declared unsuccessful, and in the following years the English hymn, God Save the Queen, is not played at the beginning of the matches. For the sake of balancing the situation, neither the French and Irish hymns are played. This ban has ended in 1997.
The 1980s are dominated by France, which earns 6 wins, out of which 2 Grand Slams. In 1993, there was an important change in regulation, taking into account the difference in terms of points for ranking. Additionally, a trophy started to be awarded for the winner of the tournament.
In 1996, the tournament, retaining its name, became the European Nations Cup of Rugby Nations in the 15th, England being the first national champion of Europe. With this shift, England marks continuous successes since the early 1990s.
Italy joins the tournament in 2000, Tourneau, the six nations succeeding the Tour of the Five Nations. There are currently no plans to change the number of participating nations, despite repeated calls from Argentina to participate in the tournament.
In the early 2000s, England was the team that dominated the competition with its marker, Jonny Wilkinson becoming the best marker in the history of the tournament. In recent years, France has won most of the editions (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007).
In 2018, the most important rugby matches in Six Nations Championship will be played in Rome and Paris. Italy versus England match will be played in Rome, while France versus England will be played in Paris. Options for the rest of the matches will be Dublin, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
About Living With The Lions Sports Travel
Living With The Lions is a sports travel agency created in 2000 by Patrick Arnold. The company is specialized in rugby tours, cricket tours, corporate hospitality, school tours and home nations tours. Full travel packages for Six Nations Championship matches can be obtained from the website, which include hotel accommodation, flight tickets and match tickets at special rates. More details can be found on https://www.livingwiththelions.co.uk/rugby-tours/rbs-six-nations-2018/
