2024 Six Nations Championship
| 2024 Six Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 2 February – 16 March 2024 | ||
| Countries | |||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions |  Ireland (16th title) | ||
| Matches played | 15 | ||
| Attendance | 982,687 (65,512 per match) | ||
| Tries scored | 79 (5.27 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) |  Thomas Ramos (63) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Dan Sheehan Duhan van der Merwe (5) | ||
| Player of the tournament |  Tommaso Menoncello | ||
| |||
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.[1] 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.[2]
Ireland entered the competition as reigning champions, having won the Grand Slam for the fourth time in 2023.[3] They retained the championship – the third time they had won back-to-back championships, having done so previously in 1949 and 2015 – but did not secure a second successive Grand Slam.[4][5]
Participants
[edit]| Nation | Stadium | Coach | Captain | World Rugby Ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home stadium | Capacity | Location | Start[a] | End[b] | |||
 England | Twickenham Stadium | 82,000 | London | Steve Borthwick | Jamie George[7] | 5th | 5th |
| France | Orange Vélodrome | 67,394 | Marseille (vs Ireland) | Fabien Galthié | Grégory Alldritt[8] | 4th | 4th |
| Groupama Stadium | 59,186 | Décines-Charpieu (vs England) | |||||
| Decathlon Arena | 50,186 | Villeneuve-d'Ascq (vs Italy) | |||||
| Ireland | Aviva Stadium | 51,700 | Dublin | Andy Farrell | Peter O'Mahony[9] | 2nd | 2nd |
| Italy | Stadio Olimpico | 73,261 | Rome |  Gonzalo Quesada | Michele Lamaro[10] | 11th | 8th |
| Scotland | Murrayfield Stadium | 67,144 | Edinburgh | Gregor Townsend | Rory Darge[11] | 6th | 6th |
| Finn Russell[11] | |||||||
 Wales | Principality Stadium | 73,931 | Cardiff |  Warren Gatland | Dafydd Jenkins[12] | 8th | 10th |
Squads
[edit]Table
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | GS | TB | LB | Pts | IRE | FRA | ENG | SCO | ITA | WAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 144 | 60 | +84 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 | — | 17–13 | 36–0 | 31–7 | |||
| 2 | France | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 128 | 122 | +6 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 17–38 | — | 33–31 | 13–13 | |||
| 3 | England | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 118 | 123 | −5 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 23–22 | — | 16–14 | ||||
| 4 | Scotland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 115 | 115 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 16–20 | 30–21 | — | ||||
| 5 | Italy | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 126 | −34 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 24–27 | 31–29 | — | ||||
| 6 | Wales | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 92 | 143 | −51 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 24–45 | 26–27 | 21–24 | — |
Source: Six Nations Rugby
Table ranking rules[13]
- 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
[edit]Round 1
[edit]| 2 February 2024 21:00 CET (UTC+1) |
| France | 17–38 | Ireland (1 BP) |
| Try: Penaud 39' c Gabrillagues 52' c Con: Ramos (2/2) 40+1', 52' Pen: Ramos (1/2) 26' | Report | Try: Gibson-Park 15' c Beirne 29' c Nash 45' c Sheehan 61' c Kelleher 77' c Con: Crowley (5/5) 17', 30', 46', 62', 78' Pen: Crowley (1/2) 6' |
| Orange Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Karl Dickson (England)[14] |
| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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.[15]
- Nolann Le Garrec and Posolo Tuilagi (both France) made their international debuts.[15]
- This was Ireland's biggest ever away win over France (by both total points scored and margin of victory).[16]
- This was France's heaviest home defeat in the competition in 110 years.[citation needed]
| 3 February 2024 15:15 CET (UTC+1) |
| (1 BP) Italy | 24–27 | England |
| Try: A. Garbisi 10' c Allan 25' c Ioane 80+4' c Con: Allan (2/2) 12', 26' P. Garbisi (1/1) 80+5' Pen: Allan (1/2) 4' | Report | Try: Daly 19' m Mitchell 44' c Con: Ford (1/2) 45' Pen: Ford (5/5) 15', 32', 37', 53', 66' |
| Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 57,000 Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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.[17]
- 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.[17]
- 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.[18]
- Federico Ruzza (Italy) earned his 50th test cap.[19]
- 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.[20]
- 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.[21]
| 3 February 2024 16:45 GMT (UTC+0) |
| (2 BP) Wales | 26–27 | Scotland |
| Try: Botham 47' m Dyer 52' c Wainwright 60' c Mann 68' c Con: I. Lloyd (3/4) 53', 61', 69' | Report | Try: Schoeman 10' c Van der Merwe (2) 29' c, 42' c Con: Russell (3/3) 11', 30', 43' Pen: Russell (2/2) 6', 22' |
| Principality Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,500 Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Alex Mann, Cameron Winnett (both Wales) and Elliot Millar-Mills (Scotland) made their international debuts; Alec Hepburn made his debut for Scotland, having previously played six times for England.[22]
- This was Scotland's first win at the Millennium Stadium for 22 years. Their previous victory in Cardiff (27–22) occurred on 6 April 2002.[23]
- Scotland retained the Doddie Weir Cup.[24]
Round 2
[edit]| 10 February 2024 14:15 GMT (UTC+0) |
| (1 BP) Scotland | 16–20 | France |
| Try: White 7' c Con: Russell (1/1) 8' Pen: Russell (3/3) 21', 29', 57' | Report | Try: Fickou 30' c Bielle-Biarrey 69' c Con: Ramos (2/2) 32', 71' Pen: Ramos (2/2) 11', 76' |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,144 Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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.[25]
- Harry Paterson (Scotland) and Alexandre Roumat (France) made their international debuts.[26]
- Damian Penaud (France) earned his 50th test cap.[27]
- France retained the Auld Alliance Trophy, and became the first of the two nations to win it on three consecutive occasions.[28]
| 10 February 2024 16:45 GMT (UTC+0) |
| England | 16–14 | Wales (1 BP) |
| Try: Earl 19' m Dingwall 62' m Pen: Ford (2/2) 47', 71' | Report | Try: Penalty try 16' Mann 37' c Con: I. Lloyd (1/1) 38' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,596 Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Archie Griffin (Wales) made his international debut.[29]
- 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).[30]
- Assistant referee Hollie Davidson became the first woman to be part of the on-field officiating team in a men's Six Nations match.[31]
| 11 February 2024 15:00 WET (UTC+0) |
| (1 BP) Ireland | 36–0 | Italy |
| Try: Crowley 7' m Sheehan (2) 23' c, 49' m Conan 36' c Lowe 61' m Nash 77' c Con: Crowley (2/5) 24', 38' Byrne (1/1) 78' | Report |
| Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,700 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)[14][c] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Ross Vintcent (Italy) made his international debut.[33]
- 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 17–0 victory against England.[34]
- Italy failed to score a point against Ireland for the first time.[35]
Round 3
[edit]| 24 February 2024 14:15 WET (UTC+0) |
| (1 BP) Ireland | 31–7 | Wales |
| Try: Sheehan 20' c Lowe 31' c Frawley 66' c Beirne 80' c Con: Crowley (4/4) 21', 32', 67', 80' Pen: Crowley (1/1) 6' | Report | Try: Penalty try 42' |
| Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,700 Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Oli Jager (Ireland) and Mackenzie Martin (Wales) made their international debuts.[36]
- Ireland equalled England's record of 11 consecutive wins in the Six Nations set between 2015 and 2017.[37]
- Andrea Piardi became the first Italian to officiate as referee in the Six Nations Championship.[38]
| 24 February 2024 16:45 GMT (UTC+0) |
| Scotland | 30–21 | England |
| Try: Van der Merwe (3) 19' c, 29' c, 44' c Con: Russell (3/3) 20', 30', 46' Pen: Russell (3/3) 34', 56', 65' | Report | Try: Furbank 4' c Feyi-Waboso 66' m Con: Ford (1/1) 6' Pen: Ford (2/2) 14', 49' Drop: Ford (1/1) 35' |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,144 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Duhan van der Merwe became the first Scottish player to score a hat-trick against England,[39] and the first player to score a hat-trick against England in the Six Nations era.[citation needed]
- Scotland recorded their fourth consecutive victory over England, matching their longest winning streaks in the fixture, set in 1896 and 1972.[40]
- Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup.[39]
| 25 February 2024 16:00 CET (UTC+1) |
| France | 13–13 | Italy |
| Try: Ollivon 6' c Con: Ramos (1/1) 7' Pen: Ramos (2/2) 13', 44' | Report | Try: Capuozzo 69' c Con: Garbisi (1/1) 70' Pen: Page-Relo (1/1) 40+3' Garbisi (1/2) 60' |
| Decathlon Arena, Villeneuve-d'Ascq Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Louis Bielle-Biarrey was originally named in the starting line-up for France; however, he was withdrawn the day before the match due to a neck injury. He was replaced by Matthis Lebel.[41]
- Esteban Abadie (France) made his international debut.[42]
- This was the first ever draw between France and Italy across 49 test matches.[43]
Round 4
[edit]| 9 March 2024 15:15 CET (UTC+1) |
| Italy | 31–29 | Scotland (2 BP) |
| Try: Brex 15' c Lynagh 44' m Varney 58' c Con: P. Garbisi (2/3) 16', 59' Pen: P. Garbisi (3/3) 2', 35', 73' Page-Relo (1/1) 39' | Report | Try: Z. Fagerson 6' c Steyn 12' c Schoeman 28' m Skinner 78' c Con: Russell (3/4) 8', 13', 78' Pen: Russell (1/1) 25' |
| Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 69,800 Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Louis Lynagh (Italy) made his international debut.[44]
- This was Italy's first home victory in the Six Nations for 11 years, since defeating Ireland in 2013.[45]
- 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.[46]
| 9 March 2024 16:45 GMT (UTC+0) |
| England | 23–22 | Ireland (1 BP) |
| Try: Lawrence 4' m Furbank 48' m Earl 60' c Con: M. Smith (1/1) 61' Pen: Ford (1/2) 17' Drop: M. Smith (1/1) 80+1' | Report | Try: Lowe (2) 44' m, 73' m Pen: Crowley (4/4) 3', 20', 35', 40+1' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,686 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- England reclaimed the Millennium Trophy for the first time since 2020.[47]
- Danny Care (England) earned his 100th test cap, becoming the sixth England player to reach this milestone (after Jason Leonard, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Dan Cole and Courtney Lawes).[48]
- Chandler Cunningham-South left the field due to injury in the 78th minute; with no replacements remaining, England finished the match with 14 players.[49]
| 10 March 2024 15:00 GMT (UTC+0) |
| Wales | 24–45 | France (1 BP) |
| Try: Dyer 8' c Williams 24' c Roberts 42' c Con: Costelow (3/3) 9', 25', 44' Pen: Costelow (1/1) 1' | Report | Try: Fickou 21' c Le Garrec 28' c Colombe 64' c R. Taofifénua 68' c Lucu 80' m Con: Ramos (4/5) 22', 29', 65', 69' Pen: Ramos (4/4) 6', 14', 60', 73' |
| Principality Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,242 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Ryan Elias was originally named in the starting line-up for Wales; however, he was withdrawn the day of match because of injury. He was replaced by Elliot Dee, whose place on the bench was taken by Evan Lloyd.[50]
- Elliot Dee (Wales) earned his 50th test cap.[51]
- Evan Lloyd (Wales), Léo Barré, Nicolas Depoortère, Georges-Henri Colombe and Emmanuel Meafou (all France) made their international debuts.[52]
Round 5
[edit]| 16 March 2024 14:15 GMT (UTC+0) |
| (1 BP) Wales | 21–24 | Italy |
| Try: Dee 64' c Rowlands 79' c Grady 80+2' c Con: Costelow (1/1) 65' I. Lloyd (2/2) 80', 80+3' | Report | Try: Ioane 20' m Pani 46' c Con: P. Garbisi (1/2) 47' Pen: P. Garbisi (3/3) 6', 13', 71' Page-Relo (1/1) 74' |
| Principality Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 72,121 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Wales received the Wooden Spoon after losing all five of their matches for the first time since 2003.[53]
- Italy ended the tournament on 11 points, following two wins and a draw; their best ever performance in the Six Nations.[54]
- Harri O'Connor (Wales) made his international debut.[55]
- 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.[56]
- George North left the field due to injury in the 79th minute; with no replacements remaining, Wales finished the match with 14 players.[57]
- 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.[58]
| 16 March 2024 16:45 WET (UTC+0) |
| Ireland | 17–13 | Scotland (1 BP) |
| Try: Sheehan 13' c Porter 64' c Con: Crowley (2/2) 14', 65' Pen: Crowley (1/1) 42' | Report | Try: Jones 78' Con: Russell (1/1) 78' Pen: Russell (2/2) 7', 17' |
| Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,700 Referee: Matthew Carley (England)[14] |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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).[59]
- 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.[60]
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) earned his 50th test cap.[61]