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After the competition resumed, it remained the Five Nations for over a half-century. Then a sixth team, Italy, joined the competition in 2000. Since then it has been known as the Six Nations Championship. The competition is something of an anomaly since the Irish team is comprised of players from both Northern Ireland and the RepublicThe Republic of Ireland ( Irish: Poblacht na hEireann is the common term for a state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of northwest Europe. It is the western-most state of the European Union. The remaining sixt. It is only in Rugby Union that the North and South of Ireland provide a combined team.
Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Victory in every game results in a so-called "Grand Slam"; victory by a home nation (i.e. excluding France and Italy) over the three other home nations is a " Triple CrownIn rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the national teams of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. If any one team manages to beat the other three (which does not necessarily happen every season), they win the Triple Crown.". The victors of the game between England and Scotland win the Calcutta CupThe Calcutta Cup is a rotating trophy awarded to the winner of an annual rugby union match between the national teams of England and Scotland. Currently, the Calcutta Cup is contested in the annual match between the two nations in the Six Nations Champion. The last-placed nation is said to have won the wooden spoonThe wooden spoon was originally associated with the Cambridge University mathematical tripos exams, and was a booby prize awarded by students to the student ranked lowest in the final exams. The last one was awarded to C. Holthouse in 1909 at the graduati.
The importance of the competition has decreased slightly since the introduction of the Rugby Union World CupThe Rugby World Cup is the premier international Rugby Union contest in the world, first held jointly in Australia and New Zealand in 1987 and now held every four years. The prize is the William Webb Ellis Trophy (known in Australia as 'Bill') named after, but the long standing rivalries between teams mean that it remains a passionate and fiercely contested prize.
Results of the Four (1883–1909), Five (1910–1999) and Six Nation championships. Prior to 1994, teams equal on points shared the championship. After that date, ties were broken by considering the points difference of the teams.