The Men's Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations, Guinness branded as M6N)[a] is an annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

The tournament is organised by the unions of the six participating nations under the banner of Six Nations Rugby, which is responsible for the promotion and operation of the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments, and the Autumn International Series, as well as the negotiation and management of their centralised commercial rights.

However, England was excluded from the 1888 and 1889 tournaments due to their refusal to join the International Rugby Football Board.

[6] This was originally conceived by the Earl of Westmorland, and was first presented to the winners of the 1993 Five Nations Championship; France.

It was a sterling silver trophy, designed by James Brent-Ward and made by a team of eight silversmiths from the London firm William Comyns.

Within the mahogany base is a concealed drawer which contains six alternative finials, each a silver replica of one of the team emblems, which can be screwed on the detachable lid.

[8] Designed and handcrafted over 200 hours by Thomas Lyte silversmiths in the company's London workshop, it replaced the old Five Nations Trophy which had been awarded to the winners since 1993.

The trophy was hand spun from a single sheet of 925 sterling silver and contains over fifty individual pieces.

It stands at a height of 75cm and has a distinctive six-sided design; each face representing the nations that compete annually for European rugby’s most prestigious prize.

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) had planned to build a new stadium of its own, seating 82,000 in the southern suburbs of Paris,[18] because of frustrations with their tenancy of Stade de France.

[21] In 2020, Wales played their final game at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli due to the Principality Stadium being used as Dragon's Heart Hospital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The record for tries in a match is held by Scotsman George Campbell Lindsay who scored five tries against Wales in 1887.

The Championship is run from headquarters in Dublin, Ireland by Six Nations Rugby Ltd.[29] Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO, Tom Harrison,[30] was appointed the CEO of Six Nations Rugby in January 2023 following the resignation of Benjamin Morel in November 2022.

[30][34] Ronan Dunne was appointed as the Chairman for Six Nations Rugby in November 2021 with his tenure commencing from January 2022.

Dunne has responsibility for the commercial and marketing operations for both the men's and women's Six Nations tournaments.

[38] With the end of the contract nearing, speculation once again emerged in 2020 that Sky was pursuing rights to the Six Nations from 2022 onward; under the Ofcom "listed events" rules, rights to the tournament can be held by a pay television channel if delayed broadcasts or highlights are made available on free-to-air television.

[39] It was reported that the bid for CVC Equity Partners to purchase a stake in the Six Nations was being hindered by a desire for a more lucrative broadcast contract; a call for the Six Nations to be moved to Category A (which requires live coverage to air free-to-air) was rejected.

However, in late 2015 RTÉ's free-to-air rival TV3 was awarded the rights for every game from the Six Nations on Irish television from 2018 to 2021.

[53] In January 2025, the tournament organisers confirmed that Netflix would not be taking up the option to produce a third series.

[55] The Royal Bank of Scotland Group took over sponsorship from 2003 until 2017, with the competition being branded the RBS 6 Nations.

[56] However, after struggling to find a new sponsor, organisers agreed a one-year extension at a reduced rate.

[58] Due to the Loi Évin laws which prohibit alcohol sponsorship in sport, "Guinness" cannot be used as part of the branding of the tournament in France.