Home Nations - Rugby Union

Rugby Union

In 1883, the first Home Nations Championship was played between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. At this point in Ireland's history, the country was still under British rule and therefore these teams were referred to as the Home Nations. In 1910, France officially joined the competition and it was renamed the Five Nations Championship. Despite the partition of Ireland into Northern Ireland and Irish Free State (including subsequent political developments leading to the Republic of Ireland), Ireland continues to have a single team representing the entire island and is therefore sometimes still referred to as a Home Nation - despite not being a Home Nation of the United Kingdom. When France was expelled from the international championship in 1932, the tournament reverted back to being known simply as the Home Nations tournament until the readmission of France immediately after the 1939 tournament, just before World War II caused its suspension until 1947. Since the admission of Italy in 2000, the tournament has been known by its current name, the Six Nations Championship.

Victory by any Home Nation over the other three Home Nations is a Triple Crown. The Home Nations also contribute players to a unified team known as the British and Irish Lions. Southern Hemisphere teams who beat all four home nations in one tour are said to have a Grand Slam Tour.