From time to time Rugby-Talk is approached by rugby enthusiasts, who read our content, who enquire whether they can write guest articles for publication.

My response is the same every time… send it along, if it is good, we will publish it. More aptly, I also invite these people to register and become part of our wonderful website, to join in the comments with us and should we see value in their style and knowledge, there will be no hesitation to make them fullyfledged authors here on Rugby-Talk.

I hope this is an inspiration to more people to contribute…

Here is a wonderful piece on the history of the Six Nations:

By David Frederick

Rugby: A History of the Six Nations

The Six Nations is the oldest rugby tournament in the world, dating right the way back to 1882. Originally held between Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England, France joined the tournament in 1910 and Italy joined in 2000.

When the English travelled to Swansea on a cold rainy day in 1882, few would have anticipated the huge importance of the occasion. England beat Wales by four tries and two goals to none in a game that sparked rugby into popularity and has since become one of the great prides of the northern hemisphere. Referred to in its early years as the international championship with only Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland competing – it was a lot less organized than today’s tournaments.

In the early years of the championship there were no point systems. Instead, teams were controversially judged on whether they had won or lost. Before the turn of the century the championship was threatened by disputes and on three occasions could not be completed. Even after the turn on the century, it continued to cause controversy.

During the early years England and Scotland were the most successful, but by 1893 Wales had developed a formidable side and a new style that would completely alter the face of rugby. In 1893,the welsh teams “four three quarter” style came into its own when Wales won the championship for the first time and the triple Crown, beating all of the other home nations.

The success of the Welsh team showed other home nations that the nine forwards/six backs game would no longer be effective against the Welsh tactics and four three quarters became the norm at both club and international level. By the early 1900’s all four of the home nations had become successful at a game that was rapidly increasing in popularity.  During the first decade of the 20^th century, Wales were the team that everyone wanted to beat.

When four became five

France didn’t join the championship until 1910, and despite their later dominance, they found it hard to compete at first.  The addition of the French did however result in the championship changing its name to ‘five nations. In their first four years of playing in the five nations, the French had just one victory; this was by one point over Scotland in 1911. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 resulted in the tournament being put on hold until 1920 and the interwar years were largely dominated by the English who won nine championships, including five grand slams.

In 1925 Scotland won their first Grand Slam, with an emphatic victory against the English at Murrayfield. The French continued to struggle and in 1931 there was outrage that a number of their players had been paid by their clubs, forcing them to withdraw from the tournament. Because of this, the five nations became an domestic affair for eight years and France then rejoined the tournament in 1939, with World War Two then delaying their re-entry for another eight years.

Here come the French

War again resulted in the curtailment of the five nations in 1940. When the tournament resumed in 1947 it market a real turning point in rugby. Ireland were dominant during the early post war seasons, winning three titles on the bounce that included two consecutive Triple Crowns. Ireland and France shared the title in 1954 and 1955, the Irish then won it outright in 1958, inspired by key players such as second rower Lucien Mias, blindside flanker Francois Moncla and Fullback Pierre Lacaze.

France held the championship for four years and in 1968 won their first ever Grand Slam. In 1972 the five nations could not be completed after Wales and Scotland refused to Play in Dublin due to the escalating political issues. The next year was completely unique, with all teams finishing with two wins and two losses.

Welsh Domination

The 1970’s is known as the golden era of Welsh rugby. Led by phenomenal players such as Gareth Edwards and JPR Williams, the Welsh side was an unstoppable force. They would have won another Grand Slam if it wasn’t for an outstanding French team. The English struggled throughout the 1970s and for most of the following decade. In 1980 a strong England side led by Bill Beaumont won a grand slam. France dominated most of the 80s, winning the five nations three times on the bounce, including two Grand Slams in 1981 and 1987.

England and France dominate the 1990’s

The dominance of France and England during the 90s led to criticism that the Five Nations was not creating a high enough standard of competition. A Celtic revival in 1999 saw Scotland win the last ever Five Nations and Wales finish third, having defeated both France and England in 2000 and 2001.

The addition of Italy… the Six Nations!

Italy started the new Six Nations championship fantastically in 2000, winning their first game against Scotland, and in 2007 had their best tournament yet, finishing in fourth place after back to back wins against Scotland and Wales.

The French then entered a purple patch winning the six nations in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007 with Only the English in 2003 and Wales in 2005 preventing what would have been a significant period of domination for the French. In 2008 Wales put a disappointing World Cup behind them by winning the Grand Slam. In 2009 Ireland won a Grand Slam for the first time since 1948.

The 2010 Six Nations belonged to France, who strolled to a Grand Slam for the first time since 2004. In 2011, England won the Six Nations and came close to winning the Grand Slam, only to be undone by Ireland in the penultimate game of the championship.

The 2012 Six Nations was a tail of two teams, with Wales winning their second grand slam in five years and Stuart Lancaster turning England into a competitive outfit. The 2013 Six Nations went right down to the last game with England playing for a grand slam and Wales needing to win by 8 points to take the championship, the Welsh ran out winners with a comprehensive 30-3 win.

This is a guest article by David Frederick, a rugby enthusiast at Venatour Six Nations Tickets