The 2025 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union competition scheduled to take place between January and March 2025, featuring the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the 131st season of the competition (including its incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and the Five Nations Championship), but the 26th since it expanded to become the Six Nations Championship in 2000. It is scheduled to start on 31 January 2025 with a Friday night match between France and Wales, and to end with France against Scotland on 15 March.[1]Ireland will enter the tournament as two-time reigning champions. France will return to their normal venue, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, after a year away while the stadium was being prepared for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
A bonus point is awarded to a team that scores four or more tries, or loses by seven points or fewer. If a team scores four or more tries, and loses by seven points or fewer, they are awarded both bonus points.
Three bonus points are awarded to a team that wins all five of their matches (a Grand Slam). This ensures that a Grand Slam winning team would top the table with at least 23 points, as there would otherwise be a scenario where a team could win all five matches with no bonus points for a total of 20 points and another team could win four matches with bonus points and lose their fifth match while claiming one or more bonus points giving a total of 21 or 22 points.
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are tied on table points, the team with the better points difference (points scored less points conceded) is ranked higher.
If the above tiebreaker fails to separate tied teams, the team that scores the higher number of total tries (including penalty tries) in their matches is ranked higher.
If two or more teams remain tied after applying the above tiebreakers then those teams will be placed at equal rank; if the tournament has concluded and more than one team is placed first then the title will be shared between them.