Who has won the Six Nations? Every Men’s Championship winner from 2000 to 2024

The first Six Nations winners were crowned in 2000, after Italy joined England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the annual competition between the best rugby sides in Europe. But who has won the Six Nations since?

Below is a complete list of every winner of the men’s championship over the past 25 years.

While England have won the Six Nations the most times with seven titles, France, Ireland and Wales are all just behind on six apiece. And when it comes to Six Nations Grand Slams, France and Wales are out in front with four; Ireland have three, while England have two (and a lot of near misses).

Read more: Six Nations 2025: All you need to know

Only Scotland (champions of the last Five Nations in 1999) and newcomers Italy are yet to win the expanded competition. Below we explain who has won the Six Nations in all 25 editions (to date) of the northern hemisphere’s greatest rugby contest.

---

Who has won the Six Nations? Winners 2000-2012

2000

Champions: England
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Tournament newbies Italy got off to the perfect start, beating Scotland in Rome in their very first Championship game. They lost their four remaining games, however, and ended up propping up the table – a position that would become all too familiar for the Azzurri.

Up top, Clive Woodward’s England were the dominant side but – as they had against Wales in their last ever Five Nations match – saw the Grand Slam slip away on the final day, losing to Scotland at Murrayfield.

2001

Champions: England
Wooden Spoon: Italy

The second Six Nations Championship lasted much longer than anyone could have predicted, after a foot-and-mouth outbreak in Britain led to the postponement of Ireland’s matches against Scotland, Wales and England.

This meant that Woodward’s men had to wait until October for their latest shot at a Grand Slam, but it was a case of third time unlucky, with Ireland the latest party poopers. England were still Six Nations winners, though, and the 229 points they scored on their way to the title remains a record.

2002

Champions: France (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

England were once again the favourites heading into the tournament but their quest for that elusive clean sweep was unsuccessful yet again. This time it was France who dashed England’s dreams, with the sides’ round 3 encounter in Paris (won 20-15 by Les Bleus) proving the difference as France won the first-ever Six Nations Grand Slam. England did, however, pick up the consolation prize of a first Triple Crown since 1998.

2003

Champions: England (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Wales

If you’re going to get it right, you might as well do it in Rugby World Cup year. With a side packed with players who’d lift the Webb Ellis Cup in Australia a few months later, Martin Johnson’s men clinched the Grand Slam in Dublin in spectacular style. It was billed as the big decider, but as England ran out 42-6 winners, there was little doubt who was the best side in Europe – especially as they’d conceded a mere 46 points on their way to becoming Six Nations winners.

History was also made at the other end of the table, where Italy’s win over Wales meant they dodged the Wooden Spoon for the first time.

2004

Champions: France (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Scotland

There was something of a post-World Cup hangover for England who lost to both France and Ireland. France picked up a second Grand Slam in three years, while Ireland bagged themselves a Triple Crown.

And with Steve Hansen’s Wales much improved after bouncing back from their (then-) record 11-match losing streak, it was whitewashed Scotland’s turn to keep the Wooden Spoon out of Italian hands.

2005

Champions: Wales (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

At the start of 2005 you’d have got long odds on Wales winning their first Six Nations Championship in a decade, let alone their first Grand Slam since 1978. But Mike Ruddock’s team made a spectacular statement of intent on the opening day against England, and by the time Gavin Henson, Shane Williams, Martyn Williams and the rest claimed victory in Paris in round 3, that elusive clean sweep appeared written in the stars. Along with the 2003 World Cup, this was arguably the catalyst for a decade and a half of prolonged Welsh success.

2006

Champions: France
Wooden Spoon: Italy

But Wales would have to wait a little while longer for another title, as three defeats and a draw (their lone win came against Italy) consigned them to fifth place in the table. Instead it was France and Ireland who dominated with four wins apiece. Les Bleus were Six Nations champions on points difference, but Ireland did grab another Triple Crown.

2007

Champions: France
Wooden Spoon: Scotland

2007 introduced a new venue for the tournament. With Lansdowne Road being redeveloped, Ireland’s rugby players played at the vast Croke Park – home of the Gaelic Athletic Association – for the first time. Despite the new surroundings, the result was the same as (then-Ireland head coach) Eddie O’Sullivan’s team lost to France on points difference – while winning the Triple Crown – for the second year running.

In fact if you asked the question who has won the Six Nations in the early to mid-noughties, the chances are it was France, one of the tournament’s most underrated teams.

Meanwhile, Italy’s two victories (a first for the Azzurri) sent the Scots home with the Wooden Spoon.

Read more: The history of the Six Nations 

2008

Champions: Wales (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Warren Gatland didn’t have the best time as Ireland boss around the turn of the century but – picking up the pieces from his new employers’ disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign – he hit the ground running with Wales. Building his side around a miserly defence marshalled by Shaun Edwards (Wales only conceded just two tries all tournament), the head coach found the perfect blend between youth (even Alun Wyn Jones was young once) and the players who’d won the 2005 Slam.

2009

Champions: Ireland (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

If the Welsh thought they’d had a long wait for a Grand Slam, they had nothing on the Irish. But in 2009, after years of painful near misses, the men in green finally picked up their first clean sweep since 1948, only their second ever in the tournament’s long history. Behind them, England, France and Wales picked up three wins apiece – an indicator of how tight the tournament would become over the next decade.

Thanks to changes in International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) rules, this was the first Six Nations where coaches could unleash eight (rather than seven) replacements from the bench.

2010

Champions: France (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

A run of three consecutive Grand Slams from three different teams was completed by Les Bleus, who were the dominant side in 2010. Behind them, Scotland – at the time more likely to be found propping up the table than challenging for honours – shaped the destinies of other teams in the tournament, holding England to a draw and denying Ireland a Triple Crown with a surprise final-day victory.

2011

Champions: England
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Remarkably this was the first time England had won the Six Nations since 2003 – rebuilding a World Cup-winning team had taken much longer than anyone could have predicted – though the subsequent World Cup campaign didn’t go quite so well. Now calling the shots from the sidelines, England’s former talismanic captain Martin Johnson managed his side to victories over Wales, Italy, France and Scotland but slipped up at the final Grand Slam hurdle against Declan Kidney’s Ireland, who’d just taken up residence in their new Aviva Stadium home.

2012

Champions: Wales (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Scotland

Having missed out on a World Cup final by the narrowest of margins, Wales – powered by Sam Warburton and the rest of the “golden generation” – marched to a third Grand Slam in eight attempts. Behind them, England were the only team to pick up more than two wins, as the newly appointed Stuart Lancaster (England’s interim head coach at the time) oversaw the first of four consecutive second-place finishes.

Meanwhile, Italy’s move across Rome from the Stadio Flaminio to the Stadio Olimpico proved a sound move, as they beat Scotland to avoid the Wooden Spoon.

Who has won the Six Nations? Winners 2013-2024

2013

Champions: Wales
Wooden Spoon: France

Following Wales’ opening day defeat to Ireland, this looked like England’s tournament to lose. It all came down to a final day decider in Cardiff, in which Wales had to beat the visitors by seven points or more to claim the Championship. They did that and much more, humiliating England with a record-breaking 30-3 victory, effectively ensuring that Wales would supply more players to the British & Irish Lions touring party to Australia – including captain Sam Warburton – than any other nation.

The 2013 edition also featured the rare sight of France – Grand Slam winners just three years earlier – in last place.

2014

Champions: Ireland
Wooden Spoon: Italy

The 2014 tournament got a blockbuster finish, with England, Ireland and France all in contention to win the Six Nations on the final day. Ireland’s narrow 22-20 victory over France in Paris was enough to earn them a first title in five years, with England’s 52-11 blowout against Italy in Rome not quite enough to overhaul the points difference deficit. A first Triple Crown in over a decade softened the blow (slightly) for Stuart Lancaster’s squad.

2015

Champions: Ireland
Wooden Spoon: Scotland

A new hexagonal trophy, featuring references to all six nations for the first time, was introduced for the 2015 edition. Ireland centurion Paul O’Connell was the first man to lift the new silverware as his side won four of their five matches, only coming up short against Wales in Cardiff. Wales and England (the latter for the third year running) were pipped to the title on points difference.

2015 would also be the last year Italy sidestepped the Wooden Spoon until 2024.

2016

Champions: England (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

It’s impossible to overstate how much of a disaster it was for England when they exited their own World Cup at the pool stage. The RFU took drastic action, appointing former Australia and Japan boss Eddie Jones as the national team’s first overseas head coach, and he delivered instantly. Such was England’s dominance they were crowned champions before the closing weekend. A final day victory over France in Paris secured an impressive Grand Slam, England’s first since the glory days of 2003.

2017

Champions: England
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Jones’ England couldn’t have been much hotter favourites heading into the 2017 tournament, arriving on the back of 14 consecutive victories – a run they’d extend to a world record-equalling 18 with wins in their first four Six Nations matches. Ireland derailed dreams of a second successive Grand Slam, however, with a tight final day victory in Dublin.

Along with Ireland and France, Scotland picked up three wins – their best tally since 2006, and (with hindsight) a major signifier of their late 2010s resurgence.

This was also the first Six Nations Championship to award bonus points for tries and narrow defeats, though the new system would have made no difference to the final standings.

Read more: Six Nations fixtures 2025 – All the dates for the next instalment

2018

Champions: Ireland (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

If it’s possible to win a Six Nations Championship at a canter, Ireland did it in 2018, picking up their first Grand Slam since 2009 – a surprising statistic, given their consistency over the preceding decade. With the Welsh and the Scots both finishing on three wins apiece, the big headline of the tournament was the drop-off in England’s performance, with Eddie Jones’ men limited to victories against Italy and (more surprisingly) Wales, and a disappointing fifth-place finish.

2019

Champions: Wales (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Gatland’s players conjured up one hell of a send-off for what was supposed to be his final  Six Nations campaign. The head coach’s third Grand Slam was not one defined by free-flowing rugby, however, as Wales ground their way to five victories – every team bar Italy scored more tries than the Welsh who, remarkably, didn’t pick up a single try-scoring bonus.

England were runners-up with three wins and a draw – and 140% more tries than Wales – and would make it to the 2019 World Cup final. Wales were narrowly beaten by South Africa in the semis.

2020

Champions: England (Triple Crown)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

The Six Nations is traditionally as much about the fans as the players, so the 2020 vintage was the weirdest of all tournaments. There were echoes of 2001 in the way we had to wait over six months for a resolution to the competition, but thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the deciding games would be played out in empty stadiums.

Related: All of England upcoming fixtures for the men’s and women’s sides

England got off to the worst possible start, losing to France on the opening day, but their 31 October victory over Italy – having won the Triple Crown along the way – was enough to guarantee they won the Six Nations title ahead of Les Bleus. (Even after the introduction of bonus points, this was so tight that the two sides had to be separated by points difference.)

2021

Champions: Wales (Triple Crown)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

Rumours about the demise of Gatland’s great Wales team had been greatly exaggerated… Helped by the emergence of Louis Rees-Zammit alongside old-stagers like George North, Dan Biggar, Ken Owens and Alun Wyn Jones, new boss Wayne Pivac bounced back from 2020’s disappointing fifth-place in unexpected style. They ultimately fell short of the Grand Slam with a narrow 32-30 defeat to France on “Super Saturday”, but they’d done enough to be crowned Six Nations winners.

2022

Champions: France (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

As France’s preparations for a home World Cup in 2023 reached fever pitch, Fabien Galthié’s men delivered on the field with their first Grand Slam since 2010. Ireland ran them close, however, with the sides’ annual encounter now the de facto Six Nations decider.

There was also excitement at the other end of the table, as Italy – who’d lost 36 consecutive games in the championship, a run stretching back to 2015 – beat Wales in Cardiff. The superb last-minute Edoardo Padovani try that clinched the win was one of the all-time great Six Nations moments.

2023

Champions: Ireland (Grand Slam)
Wooden Spoon: Italy

With 2023 year’s Ireland v France clash in Dublin, the men in green always looked like favourites for the title. Indeed, with Andy Farrell’s team sitting on top of the world rankings, it could be argued that the two best teams on the planet were playing in the Six Nations, their 2023 clash (in which Grand Slam-winning Ireland claimed victory) a thrilling advert for the sport.

Scotland were the best of the rest, as – with the outspoken Jones now replaced by Steve Borthwick – England limped to a third consecutive bottom-half finish. The returning Warren Gatland was unable to inspire Wales to more than a lone victory against Italy.

2024

Champions: Ireland
Wooden Spoon: Wales

Both sides had suffered heartbreak at the 2023 World Cup, exiting at the quarter-final stage to southern hemisphere opposition. Ireland bounced back quicker, however, and from their opening day victory in Marseille, the identity of the Six Nations winners never seemed in doubt. That said, England did inflict a surprise defeat on the Irish, denying Farrell’s team a second consecutive Grand Slam.

At the other end of the table, Wales were whitewashed for the first time in two decades, saving Italy from a ninth consecutive Wooden Spoon.

Who has won the Six Nations 2025 title? Keep up to date with the next tournament with our guide page here.

---

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.