Le rugby

The British rugby tournament, the Home Internationals or Home Nations Championship, was played yearly between teams representing the four nations of Great Britain : England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland .

It was the first international rugby union competition. It has been held annually since 1884 (all of Ireland was then a possession of the British Crown). In 1910 France was invited to compete, the tournament was from then on called the Five Nations Championship, later the Six Nations Championship since Italy first took part in 2000. Until the setting up of the professional Rugby World Cup in 1987, it was the only official tournament for amateur national teams.

Le Tournoi des IV nations a été créé en 1884. Il ne réunit à l'origine que l'Angleterre, l'Écosse, l'Irlande et le Pays de Galles. La France rejoint la compétition en 1910 et l'Italie fait de même au début de l'année 2000. On parle désormais du Tournoi des VI nations. Jusqu'à la création de la Coupe du Monde en 1987, le Tournoi est la seule compétition officielle pour les équipes nationales.