Six Nations Trivia
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48 free Six Nations trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Every February the oldest international rugby tournament takes over six countries' weekends. It began in 1883 as a four-team Home Nations contest, grew when the French arrived, shrank when they were thrown out, and became the Six Nations when Italy joined in 2000. Along the way it collected a trophy cabinet of rivalry cups, a scoring system that rewards tries, and a habit of last-minute drama. This quiz covers the whole span: the slams and crowns and the wooden spoon, the cups played for between pairs of nations, the record scorers and appearance-makers, the deciders that are still argued about, the grounds from Edinburgh to Rome, the sponsors and broadcasters of each era, and the women's and under-20 championships. Every answer is anchored to the completed 2026 season. It suits anyone who watches the championship with friends, runs a clubhouse quiz, or simply wants to know why a penalty in Paris in March 2026 mattered so much.
30 of 48 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What happened to the Six Nations trophy midway through the 2026 championship?
It was damaged by fire
It was damaged by fire when the vehicle carrying it was caught in an incident in Ireland; the maker said it could not be restored, so the champions lifted an identical stand-in and a new trophy was ordered for 2027.
Q 02Whose last-kick penalty in Paris beat England 48–46 in March 2026 and earned France a second straight title?
Thomas Ramos
Thomas Ramos, the championship's top scorer for a fourth year running, landed the kick that edged Ireland out of the title by two table points.
Q 03Which two forwards were banned in 1988 for kicking the Calcutta Cup along Edinburgh's Princes Street?
Dean Richards and John Jeffrey
Dean Richards and John Jeffrey knocked the 1878 trophy about after a few drinks; Jeffrey got a six-month ban from the Scottish union while Richards was suspended for one match.
Q 04Italy's 23–18 win in Rome in 2026 was their first ever over which Six Nations rival, after 32 straight defeats?
England
England led 18–10 in the second half, then had Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje sin-binned, and Leonardo Marin scored under the posts eight minutes from time.
Q 05Why was the 2026 opener between France and Ireland played on a Thursday night, a championship first?
A Winter Olympics ceremony clash
A Winter Olympics ceremony clash: Milan's opening night fell on the Friday, so the game moved a day earlier to protect French television audiences, and France won it 36–14.
Q 06Which Ireland fly-half became the Six Nations' record points scorer during the 2023 Grand Slam season?
Johnny Sexton
Johnny Sexton took the record with a first-half penalty against England in Dublin, in his last championship match, and by the end of the day Ireland had completed a Grand Slam in Dublin for the first time.
Q 07Which Ireland centre holds the championship try record with 26, having passed Scotland's Ian Smith in 2011?
Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll's record try came in a 24–8 win in Dublin in 2011 that wrecked England's Grand Slam bid, and it passed a mark Ian Smith had held for 78 years.
Q 08Which team, Grand Slam winners in 2019, finished bottom of the Six Nations table in 2024, 2025 and 2026?
Wales
Wales lost 15 championship matches in a row between 2023 and 2026; before that slump, Italy had finished last in 18 of the first 24 Six Nations.
Q 09Which France wing scored a record nine tries in the 2026 championship, four of them in the last match in Paris?
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Louis Bielle-Biarrey broke his own record of eight, set a year earlier, with four tries in a 48–46 win over England settled by the last kick, and was Player of the Championship both years.
Q 10A hidden drawer in the 1993 championship trophy stored which swappable part?
Lid emblems
Lid emblems: the reigning champions' finial sat on top while those of the other teams waited in a hidden drawer in the plinth.
Q 11The 1993 championship trophy had fifteen sides for the players and three handles honouring whom?
The match officials
The match officials got the three handles, one for the referee and one for each touch judge; champagne tarnished the silver bowl so badly that it was later lined with gold.
Q 12France were expelled from the Five Nations after the 1931 tournament over allegations of what in their domestic game?
Professionalism
Professionalism allegations and administrative failings kept France out until 1947, so the four Home Nations played alone again through the 1930s.
Q 13Why did England miss the 1888 and 1889 Home Nations championships?
Q 21Which Scotland captain chose the slow walk onto Murrayfield before the 1990 Grand Slam decider against England?
David Sole
David Sole led his men out at a walk against the hot favourites, and Tony Stanger's try sealed a 13–7 win that brought the Grand Slam, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup in one afternoon.
Q 22Which anthem was sung without incident at Croke Park in 2007, scene of the Bloody Sunday shootings of 1920?
God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen was sung without interruption and applauded by both sets of supporters; Ireland then won 43–13, which was still their biggest win over England in 2026.
Q 23England's refusal to shift from Ireland's 'lucky' side in 2003 forced President Mary McAleese to do what?
Refusing to join the IRFB
Refusing to join the IRFB cost England two seasons: the board grew out of a disputed try against Scotland in 1884, and when England signed up in 1890 they got six of its twelve votes.
Q 14Because no silverware existed for it until 2006, the Triple Crown was sometimes known by what nickname?
The invisible cup
The invisible cup gained a body when sponsor RBS commissioned a trophy in 2006; Ireland, who had won the 2004 Triple Crown with nothing to lift, were the first to raise it.
Q 15In 1975 retired Durham miner Dave Merrington carved an unofficial Triple Crown trophy, now at Twickenham, from what?
A lump of coal
A lump of coal hewn from the Haig Colliery in Cumbria became a crown on a four-sided base bearing a rose, a shamrock, a thistle and the Prince of Wales's feathers.
Q 16Before 1994, what happened when two or more teams finished the Five Nations level on match points?
The title was shared
The title was shared, so England's Triple Crown sides of 1954 and 1960 beat all three home rivals and still had to split the championship.
Q 17Which nation waited until 1968 for a first Grand Slam, then won ten of them by 2022?
France
France needed 58 years: they joined in 1910, were thrown out after 1931 and did not return until 1947, then swept the board in 1968 and nine more times by 2022.
Q 18Which Scottish ex-teacher, 'the voice of rugby', commentated on the championship for the BBC until retiring in 2002?
Bill McLaren
Bill McLaren was on the verge of a Scotland cap in 1947 when tuberculosis nearly killed him; he made his first commentaries while recovering, describing table tennis for the hospital radio.
Q 19Scotland won the last Five Nations, in 1999, finishing above England on which tiebreaker?
Points difference
Points difference gave Scotland the title a day after their own campaign ended: England only had to beat Wales at Wembley and led as the clock passed 80 minutes, then lost by a point.
Q 20Whose last-minute try at Wembley in 1999, converted by Neil Jenkins, denied England a Five Nations Grand Slam?
Scott Gibbs
Scott Gibbs shrugged off several tacklers from about 20 metres out with the clock past 80 minutes, and Wales's one-point win handed the championship to Scotland.
Walk on the grass
Walk on the grass she did, because the red carpet no longer reached the Irish line-up; the IRFU sent her a written apology the next day and England won the Grand Slam.
Q 24Whose late drop goal in Cardiff sealed Ireland's 2009 Grand Slam, their first since 1948?
Ronan O'Gara
Ronan O'Gara's kick made it 17–15 before Stephen Jones missed a long penalty for Wales, ending a 61-year wait for a second Irish slam.
Q 25Ireland's 2018 Grand Slam began with an 83rd-minute drop goal in Paris that came after how many phases of play?
41
41 phases through the rain gained so little ground that the winning drop goal still had to travel 45 metres, deep into overtime.
Q 26Whose try in the final two minutes in Cardiff in 2022 ended Italy's run of 36 straight Six Nations defeats?
Edoardo Padovani
Edoardo Padovani finished a counter-attack from deep by full-back Ange Capuozzo, making his first start, and Paolo Garbisi's conversion with the final kick beat the defending champions 22–21.
Q 27Which Wales full-back, the 2013 Player of the Championship, kicked four penalties in the record 30–3 rout of England?
Leigh Halfpenny
Leigh Halfpenny's kicks put Wales 9–3 up at the break, still short of the seven-point win they needed for the title; two Alex Cuthbert tries then ended England's Grand Slam bid with a record defeat.
Q 28Whose last-play try earned England a 38–38 draw after Scotland recovered from 31–0 down in 2019?
George Ford
George Ford converted his own try with the last play, and the 38–38 draw still sent the Calcutta Cup home with Scotland as holders.
Q 29Italy's first Six Nations home, the Stadio Flaminio used from 2000 to 2011, was built for which event?
The 1960 Olympic football
The 1960 Olympic football final was played there; half a century on it was the smallest ground in the Six Nations, and when a promised expansion stalled Italy moved to the Stadio Olimpico.
Q 30What did Scottish rugby introduce after 104,000 squeezed into Murrayfield for the 1975 Wales game?
All-ticket matches
All-ticket matches became the rule: fans had paid at the gate that day, ticket holders were locked out, and the 104,000 stayed rugby's record crowd until 1999.