Looking for 6nations tickets? If you’ve lucked out on getting tickets from your rugby union associations and clubs, despair not. There are a couple of platforms we use to grab tickets when we need to.
The Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is widely acknowledged as the oldest rugby championship, and arguably likely to be the oldest international sports championship in the world being played by four nations or more.
On a per match basis, the Six Nations rugby championships is probably the best attended annual sporting event in the world, played out in six different countries.
Where to buy 6Nations tickets
Because of its huge international following, tickets for Six Nations are in high demand. So it is inevitable that there will be a scramble for last-minute 6nations tickets.
Those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets during the initial offering cannot help but be tempted by the lucrative heights their tickets can fetch on re-seller platforms.
Buyers’ best option, thus, would be to check regularly on re-seller platforms for availability. Here are two of the main ones out there:
The prices of tickets on these platforms are determined by the general public, for the general public.
The Six Nations teams
France, Italy and the ‘home nations’, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are the six nations competing.
A brief history
- 1882: the ‘International Championship’ took shape between the four home nations, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
- 1910 France joined and coined the phrase ‘five nations’.
- 1931 France expelled on grounds of professionalism.
- 1939 France re-admitted into the championships.
- 2000 Italy joined to make up what is now the Six Nations.
2019 Team Captains
- Italy’s Sergio Parisse is one of the best No. 8s to have played the game. A very good captain, inspiring. Sometimes tries to take on too much.
- England’s Owen Farrell has proved to be a good game manager and kicker, though his tackling technique may need some work.
- Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones has always done the job well. A veteran workhorse lock for both Wales and the British Lions, for almost a decade.
- Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw is a combative scrum-half who led Scotland to the quarterfinals in the last World Cup. We’re not optimistic of his chances to taking Scotland past the quarterfinals in the 2019 RWC in Japan. Reliable kicker, when called upon.
- France’s Guilhem Guirado is a solid hooker but one of the more nondescript captains of France that we’ve seen; in keeping with a rather nondescript French team of the past few years.
- Ireland’s Rory Best is another solid customer, rather than a brilliant player. Went on two British Lions tours but never played a test. Solid leader of an outstanding Irish team.
The Trophies and Bragging Rights
The Six Nations trophy is tall with six ribbons hanging off it. The current design was done by the Thomas Lyte silversmiths:
But throughout the tournament, there are side squabbles that awards rivalry trophies and bragging right titles. As of today, here’s a full listing of all 6nations trophies as we’ve unearthed in our search:
- The Calcutta Cup: the oldest of them all and is contested by Scotland and England. The story goes that when the Calcutta Football Club dissolved, the members melted down rupees to make the cup.
- The Triple Crown: contested among Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland. Formerly an ‘invisible’ rugby trophy until they bothered to mint a cup 2006.
- The Millennium Trophy: contested between Ireland and England, was originally presented to celebrate Ireland’s millennium in 1988.
- The Centenary Quaich: contested between Scotland and Ireland since 1989.
- The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy: contested between Italy and France. Named after the leader of the Unification of Italy and who also happened to have fought for France during the Franco-Prussian war.
- Auld Alliance Trophy: contested between Scotland and France. Originally presented in 2018 to commemorate their fallen soldiers.
- The Eurostar Trophy: an ‘invisible’ trophy contested between France and England and first awarded in 2000. It’s just a bragging rights title.
- The Grand Slam: another bragging rights title bestowed on the team that has won all their Six Nations games in the year.
- The Wooden Spoon: another ‘invisible’ award given to the nation that comes last in the 6nations. Since joining, Italy has won the most Wooden Spoons (12 to date), with Ireland and England being the only ones who have yet to win one.
Oddly, there’s no trophy, invisible or otherwise, for any match with Wales.
Related readings
The Six Nations, of course, is a lead up to the Rugby World Cup. So how teams perform here have a bearing on how they will fare in September’s RWC. For some related readings:
- England Six Nations – deja vu, Eddie Jones?
- Players to watch in the Six Nations rugby.
- Ireland vs France Six Nations matches.
- This year ends in a nine. Superstitiously, this means the Welsh will win in the upcoming Wales vs England rugby clash.
Great article. Lots of things I didnt know. Thanks
Thanks. It was interesting doing the research for it. The most important fact is probably that the Six Nations Championship is probably the oldest international sports tournament in the world, though it started as the Home Nations and then became the Five Nations and the current Six Nations about 20 years ago.
One more thing to add to the Georgia comment. Maybe have a qualfying tournament too involving european countries and the winner replaces the bottom team the following year
I think they did consider this but the Six Nations said no.
I guess no one wants to go to Georgia, who really should be there instead of Italy. Rome in late wintetr/early spring is more fun than Tbilisi. But Georgian rugby has much more upward potential than Italy, who have done nothing since they joined except win wooden spoons
Well they’ve been talking about doing something like this where Italy plays the strongest of the others (Georgia, Romania, Russia and Spain mainly). But the problem is every time one of them plays Italy, the Italians really raise their game. I don’t think Italy has lost to any of them.
But we should give Italy a break. It took France at least a couple of decades to get their first win in Six Nations. And Italy only joined in 2000.
There would always be a last minute scramble for a tournament as massive as this. And those who got tickets early might even start considering reselling their tickets for higher prices. A lot of people would give tooth and nail just to be there. Only hope is that it’s worth the fuss.
Well with such a popular tournament, there’s bound to be a lot of reselling. The market will find the right price according to demand.
Personally, if money’s tight, I’d have just as much fun, if not more, at the local pub with a group of mates to cheer on Italy. Forza Italia!
An interesting article on the Six Nations Championship and tickets.
I always have it in my imagination on how it is to be there to watch the England team that has won the most.
The 20th Six Nations Championship is awesome compared to the 19th when Ireland won.
Well we’ll see whether anyone can emulate Ireland’s Grand Slam last year.
I’m still hoping Italy will win a match this year. Still got at least 3 more weekends to go. Forza Italia!
People in Australia and NZ like to criticise the Six Nations but it is much more competitive and exciting than the southern hemisphere equivalent, which is boring as hell because the same team wins every year. And the atmosphere is non-existent. They should go attend a Six Nations match – that’s what rugby should be: passionate, lively and well supported.
Well it was there for the Bledisloe Cup in days of yore.
I think the problem with the Southern Hemisphere is they play each other too much. They’re killing the Golden Goose. There are at least 3 Bledisloe Cup every year, which is way to many. By contrast, a England vs France fixture in Twickenham, for example, happens only every two years.
Excellent article. Lots of stuff I never knew. Will make it to a game one day. I hear the atmosphere in every match is fantastic and tickets can be hard to come by.
As good as the Hong Kong Sevens, I reckon. By all accounts, the stadiums are always full, with millions more watching on tv.
The Bledisloe Cup used to have the same pull. Seemed to have dwindled a little in recent years. Even the Kiwis are are unhappy their rivals have not kept up; not giving them enough of a contest before they take on teams like Ireland and England.