The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 125th edition of the competition (including all the tournament's previous versions as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship).
Wales won the championship for the first time since 2013, beating defending champions Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on the final day to claim their first Grand Slam since 2012.
Participants NationStadiumHead coachCaptainHome stadiumCapacityLocationTwickenham Stadium82,000London Eddie JonesOwen FarrellStade de France81,338Saint-Denis Jacques BrunelGuilhem GuiradoAviva Stadium51,700Dublin Joe SchmidtRory BestStadio Olimpico73,261Rome Conor O'SheaSergio ParisseMurrayfield Stadium67,144Edinburgh Gregor TownsendGreig LaidlawMillennium Stadium73,931Cardiff Warren GatlandAlun Wyn Jones
Squads
Table
Table ranking rules Four points were awarded for a win. Two points were awarded for a draw. A bonus point was awarded to a team that scored four or more tries in a match or loses a match by seven points or fewer. If a team scored four tries in a match and loses by seven points or fewer, they were awarded both bonus points. Three bonus points were awarded to a team that wins all five of their matches (a Grand Slam). This ensured that a Grand Slam winning team would top the table with at least 23 points – a team could lose a match but still win two bonus points and win the other four matches with four try bonus points for a maximum of 22 points. Tiebreakers If two or more teams were tied on match points, the team with the better points difference (points scored less points conceded) were ranked higher. If the above tiebreaker failed to separate tied teams, the team that scored the higher number of total tries in their matches were ranked higher. If two or more teams remained tied for first place at the end of the championship after applying the above tiebreakers, the title would be shared between them.
Fixtures The fixtures were announced on 16 May 2017. The first game of the championship was a Friday night game between France and Wales.
Round 1
FB 15Maxime MédardRW 14Damian Penaud OC 13Romain NtamackIC 12Wesley Fofana LW 11Yoann HugetFH 10Camille LopezSH 9 Morgan Parra N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Arthur IturriaBF 6 Wenceslas LauretRL 5 Paul Willemse LL 4 Sébastien VahaamahinaTP 3 Uini Atonio HK 2 Guilhem Guirado (c) LP 1 Jefferson Poirot Replacements:HK 16Julien Marchand PR 17Dany Priso PR 18Demba Bamba LK 19Félix Lambey N8 20Grégory Alldritt SH 21Baptiste Serin CE 22Gaël Fickou CE 23Geoffrey Doumayrou Coach:Jacques Brunel FB 15Liam Williams RW 14George NorthOC 13Jonathan DaviesIC 12Hadleigh Parkes LW 11Josh AdamsFH 10Gareth Anscombe SH 9 Tomos Williams N8 8 Ross MoriartyOF 7 Justin TipuricBF 6 Josh Navidi RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c)LL 4 Adam Beard TP 3 Tomas Francis HK 2 Ken Owens LP 1 Rob Evans Replacements:HK 16Elliot Dee PR 17Wyn Jones PR 18Samson Lee LK 19Cory Hill FL 20Aaron Wainwright SH 21Gareth Davies FH 22Dan Biggar CE 23Owen Watkin Coach:Warren Gatland Man of the Match: George North (Wales)
Touch judges: Andrew Brace (Ireland) Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand) Television match official: Rowan Kitt (England) Notes: Paul Willemse, Grégory Alldritt and Romain Ntamack (all France) made their international debuts. After trailing 16–0 at half time, Wales' win was the biggest comeback in Six Nations history as well as their biggest in any match.
FB 15Stuart HoggRW 14Tommy SeymourOC 13Huw Jones IC 12Sam JohnsonLW 11Blair KinghornFH 10Finn Russell SH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c) N8 8 Ryan Wilson OF 7 Jamie RitchieBF 6 Sam Skinner RL 5 Grant GilchristLL 4 Ben ToolisTP 3 WP Nel HK 2 Stuart McInally LP 1 Allan Dell Replacements:HK 16Jake Kerr PR 17Jamie Bhatti PR 18Simon Berghan FL 19Gary Graham N8 20Josh Strauss SH 21Ali Price FH 22Adam Hastings CE 23Chris Harris Coach:Gregor Townsend FB 15Jayden HaywardRW 14Angelo EspositoOC 13Luca Morisi IC 12Tommaso Castello LW 11Michele CampagnaroFH 10Tommaso Allan SH 9 Guglielmo PalazzaniN8 8 Sergio Parisse (c)OF 7 Braam SteynBF 6 Sebastian Negri RL 5 Dean Budd LL 4 Dave SisiTP 3 Simone Ferrari HK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini LP 1 Andrea Lovotti Replacements:HK 16Luca Bigi PR 17Cherif Traorè PR 18Tiziano Pasquali LK 19Federico Ruzza FL 20Jimmy Tuivaiti CE 21Tommaso Benvenuti FH 22Ian McKinley FB 23Edoardo Padovani Coach:Conor O'Shea Man of the Match: Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)
Touch judges: Mathieu Raynal (France) Shuhei Kubo (Japan) Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland) Notes: Sam Johnson, Jake Kerr, Gary Graham (all Scotland) and Dave Sisi (Italy) made their international debuts. Leonardo Ghiraldini earned his 100th cap for Italy. This was Sergio Parisse's 66th Six Nations appearance, the most by any player in the history of the competition. Blair Kinghorn's hat-trick was the first by a Scottish player in the Five/Six Nations since Iwan Tukalo managed the feat against Ireland in 1989. This was Scotland's fourth consecutive Six Nations win over Italy, the first time they have won four in a row against any team in the Six nations.
FB 15Robbie HenshawRW 14Keith Earls OC 13Garry Ringrose IC 12Bundee AkiLW 11Jacob StockdaleFH 10Johnny SextonSH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 CJ Stander OF 7 Josh van der FlierBF 6 Peter O'MahonyRL 5 James RyanLL 4 Devin Toner TP 3 Tadhg Furlong HK 2 Rory Best (c) LP 1 Cian Healy Replacements:HK 16Seán Cronin PR 17Dave Kilcoyne PR 18Andrew Porter LK 19Quinn Roux FL 20Seán O'Brien SH 21John Cooney FH 22Joey Carbery FB 23Jordan Larmour Coach:Joe Schmidt FB 15Elliot DalyRW 14Jack Nowell OC 13Henry SladeIC 12Manu Tuilagi LW 11Jonny MayFH 10Owen Farrell (c)SH 9 Ben YoungsN8 8 Billy VunipolaOF 7 Tom Curry BF 6 Mark WilsonRL 5 George Kruis LL 4 Maro Itoje TP 3 Kyle Sinckler HK 2 Jamie George LP 1 Mako Vunipola Replacements:HK 16Luke Cowan-Dickie PR 17Ellis Genge PR 18Harry Williams LK 19Courtney Lawes N8 20Nathan Hughes SH 21Dan RobsonFH 22George Ford WG 23Chris Ashton Coach:Eddie Jones Man of the Match: Mako Vunipola (England)
Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) Alexandre Ruiz (France) Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand) Notes: Jonny May's try after less than 90 seconds was England's first at the Aviva Stadium since Steve Thompson scored in 2011. This was Ireland's first home defeat since they lost to New Zealand during the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, ending a 12-match home winning streak. This was Ireland's first home loss in the Six Nations with Joe Schmidt as coach. This was England's first win against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium since their 12–6 victory in 2013, which was also Ireland's last Six Nations loss there (a run of 14 games unbeaten). England won the Millennium Trophy for the first time since 2016.
Round 2
FB 15Stuart Hogg RW 14Tommy SeymourOC 13Huw JonesIC 12Sam Johnson LW 11Sean MaitlandFH 10Finn RussellSH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c) N8 8 Josh StraussOF 7 Jamie Ritchie BF 6 Ryan Wilson RL 5 Jonny GrayLL 4 Grant GilchristTP 3 Simon Berghan HK 2 Stuart McInally LP 1 Allan Dell Replacements:HK 16Fraser Brown PR 17Jamie Bhatti PR 18D'Arcy Rae LK 19Ben ToolisFL 20Rob Harley SH 21Ali Price CE 22Peter Horne WG 23Blair Kinghorn Coach:Gregor Townsend FB 15Rob KearneyRW 14Keith EarlsOC 13Chris FarrellIC 12Bundee AkiLW 11Jacob Stockdale FH 10Johnny Sexton SH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 Jack ConanOF 7 Seán O'Brien BF 6 Peter O'MahonyRL 5 Quinn Roux LL 4 James RyanTP 3 Tadhg Furlong HK 2 Rory Best (c) LP 1 Cian Healy Replacements:HK 16Seán Cronin PR 17Dave Kilcoyne PR 18Andrew Porter LK 19Ultan Dillane FL 20Josh van der Flier SH 21John Cooney FH 22Joey Carbery FB 23Jordan Larmour Coach:Joe Schmidt Man of the Match: Peter O'Mahony (Ireland)
Touch judges: Pascal Gaüzère (France) Alexandre Ruiz (France) Television match official: Rowan Kitt (England) Notes: D'Arcy Rae (Scotland) made his international debut. This was Scotland's first loss at Murrayfield in the Six Nations since the opening round of the 2016 tournament, bringing an end to a run of seven consecutive home wins in the championship, their longest run of home wins in the Six Nations era. The nine-point margin was Scotland's biggest defeat in any international at Murrayfield since Ireland won 40–10 on the final day of the 2015 Six Nations tournament. Ireland retained the Centenary Quaich.
FB 15Jayden HaywardRW 14Edoardo PadovaniOC 13Michele CampagnaroIC 12Luca MorisiLW 11Angelo EspositoFH 10Tommaso Allan SH 9 Guglielmo Palazzani N8 8 Sergio Parisse (c)OF 7 Braam SteynBF 6 Sebastian Negri RL 5 Dean Budd LL 4 Dave SisiTP 3 Simone Ferrari HK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini LP 1 Nicola Quaglio Replacements:HK 16Luca Bigi PR 17Cherif Traorè PR 18Tiziano Pasquali LK 19Federico Ruzza FL 20Marco Barbini SH 21Edoardo Gori FH 22Ian McKinley CE 23Tommaso BenvenutiCoach:Conor O'Shea FB 15Liam Williams RW 14Jonah HolmesOC 13Jonathan Davies (c)IC 12Owen WatkinLW 11Josh AdamsFH 10Dan Biggar SH 9 Aled Davies N8 8 Josh Navidi OF 7 Thomas YoungBF 6 Aaron WainwrightRL 5 Adam BeardLL 4 Jake Ball TP 3 Samson Lee HK 2 Elliot Dee LP 1 Nicky Smith Replacements:HK 16Ryan Elias PR 17Wyn Jones PR 18Dillon Lewis LK 19Alun Wyn Jones N8 20Ross Moriarty SH 21Gareth Davies FH 22Gareth Anscombe WG 23Hallam Amos Coach:Warren Gatland Man of the Match: Josh Navidi (Wales)
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England) Shuhei Kubo (Japan) Television match official: David Grashoff (England) Notes: Jonathan Davies captained Wales for the first time. Alun Wyn Jones made his 50th Six Nations appearance, making him only the fourth Wales player to reach that mark. This was Wales' 11th consecutive win in international rugby, equalling their all-time record, set between 1907 and 1910.
FB 15Elliot DalyRW 14Chris Ashton OC 13Henry SladeIC 12Manu Tuilagi LW 11Jonny MayFH 10Owen Farrell (c)SH 9 Ben Youngs N8 8 Billy Vunipola OF 7 Tom Curry BF 6 Mark WilsonRL 5 George Kruis LL 4 Courtney LawesTP 3 Kyle Sinckler HK 2 Jamie George LP 1 Mako Vunipola Replacements:HK 16Luke Cowan-Dickie PR 17Ben Moon PR 18Dan Cole LK 19Joe Launchbury N8 20Nathan Hughes SH 21Dan Robson FH 22George Ford WG 23Jack Nowell Coach:Eddie Jones FB 15Yoann Huget RW 14Damian Penaud OC 13Mathieu BastareaudIC 12Geoffrey DoumayrouLW 11Gaël Fickou FH 10Camille Lopez SH 9 Morgan Parra N8 8 Louis PicamolesOF 7 Arthur IturriaBF 6 Yacouba CamaraRL 5 Félix Lambey LL 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina TP 3 Demba Bamba HK 2 Guilhem Guirado (c) LP 1 Jefferson Poirot Replacements:HK 16Pierre Bourgarit PR 17Dany Priso PR 18Dorian Aldegheri LK 19Paul Willemse N8 20Grégory Alldritt SH 21Antoine Dupont FH 22Romain Ntamack FB 23Thomas Ramos Coach:Jacques Brunel Man of the Match: Jonny May (England)
Touch judges: Andrew Brace (Ireland) Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand) Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand) Notes: Dan Robson (England), Dorian Aldegheri and Thomas Ramos (both France) made their international debuts. Jonny May's hat-trick was the first by an England player against France since Jake Jacob in 1924. This was France's biggest defeat to England since they lost 37–0 in 1911, as well as their biggest loss to any team in the Five/Six Nations since that date.
Round 3