2008 Six Nations Championship

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The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby tournament held between six European countries. They include England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

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The first competition was held in 1883 between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and was called the Home Competition. France joined the tournament in 1910 and the name was changed to the Five Nations Championship.

France was removed from the competition in 1930 because of player violence, but was invited back after World War II in 1947. In 2000, Italy entered the fray, hence the Six Nations Championship.

The Six Nations Championship, which is the premier international rugby union competition in the Northern Hemisphere, has in the past been known as The International Championship.

The tournament is played annually with each team playing every other team once. Home field advantage alternates from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss.

Up until 1994 if teams had equal points at the end of the competition the championship was shared. Since then if teams finish with the same number of points, a point differential system is used to determine the winner.

If a team beats all the other teams and scores the maximum points (10) it is known as a Grand Slam. If one of the four original teams beats the other three clubs they win the Triple Crown.

England holds the record for Grand Slams with 12. Wales has nine, France eight, Scotland three and Ireland one. England also has the most Triple Crowns, 23. Wales has 18, Scotland 10 and Ireland eight.

France won the 2006 Six Nations Championship on a point differential over Ireland after both teams finished with eight points. The top three try scorers with three tries each were Mirco Dergamasco, Italy, and Shane Horgan, Ireland. Ronan O’Grara, Ireland, was the leading scorer for the season with 74 points in five games. Chris Paterson, Scotland, was second with 57 points, also in five games.

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