<p>The oldest bragging rights in northern hemisphere rugby, exclusive to the Home Nations since 1883.</p> <p>The Triple Crown sits in a unique spot <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/rugby-union/the-six-nations">within Six Nations rugby</a>. It's not the main prize, but winning one carries serious weight.</p> <p>Only four nations can compete for it, and claiming it means you've beaten your closest rivals in the same campaign.</p> <p>Ireland won the 2025 Triple Crown after victories over England, Scotland and Wales in the opening three rounds.</p> <p>They finished third overall after losing to France, which tells you everything about how the Triple Crown and the Championship can pull in different directions.</p> <p>Here's everything you need to know about rugby's original Home Nations honour.</p> <h2>What Is the Rugby Triple Crown?</h2> <p>The Triple Crown is an honour contested exclusively between the four Home Nations: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.</p> <p>These teams compete within the broader Six Nations Championship, but the Triple Crown exists as a separate prize with its own history and meaning.</p> <p>A team wins the Triple Crown by defeating all three of the other Home Nations during a single Six Nations campaign.</p> <p>France and Italy have no involvement in the Triple Crown, even though they're part of the tournament. Their matches against Home Nations don't count towards it.</p> <p>The concept dates back to 1883 and the original Home Nations Championship, years before France joined in 1910 or Italy in 2000. For over a century, the Triple Crown was purely an informal honour with no physical trophy.</p> <p>That changed in 2006 when the Royal Bank of Scotland commissioned Edinburgh jewellers Hamilton &amp; Inches to create a dedicated trophy.</p> <p>Ireland have won the trophy seven times since its introduction. Wales have four, England three, and Scotland are yet to get their hands on it in the modern era.</p> <h2>How Do You Win the Rugby Triple Crown?</h2> <p>The path is straightforward on paper. Beat the other three Home Nations in your Six Nations matches that year. No playoffs, no points calculations, just three wins from three.</p> <p>Fixture order matters more than people realise. A team chasing the Triple Crown might face their toughest Home Nations opponent last, turning that match into a winner-takes-all showdown. Or they might knock it off early, as Ireland did in 2025 by securing their crown in Round 3 against Wales in Cardiff.</p> <p>Home advantage plays a significant role. The Six Nations alternates home fixtures each year, so a team might have two Home Nations matches at home one year and only one the next.</p> <p>Dublin's Aviva Stadium has become a fortress for Ireland, while Twickenham and the Principality Stadium carry their own intimidation factor.</p> <p>The catch is that winning all three Home Nations matches doesn't guarantee anything beyond the Triple Crown itself. You could beat England, Scotland and Wales, then lose to France and Italy and finish mid-table. It's happened before.</p> <h2>Triple Crown vs Grand Slam vs Six Nations Title</h2> <p>These three achievements overlap but aren't the same thing. Punters and casual fans often confuse them, so here's the breakdown.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Six Nations Championship: </strong>Win the tournament by finishing top of the table. Four points for a win, two for a draw, plus bonus points for scoring four or more tries or losing by seven points or fewer. The team with the most points after all 15 matches takes the title.</li> <li><strong>Grand Slam:</strong> Beat all five opponents in a single campaign. Only the Championship winner can claim a Grand Slam, and it adds three bonus points to your total. France won their most recent Grand Slam in 2022, Ireland in 2023.</li> <li><strong>Triple Crown:</strong> Beat the other three Home Nations. You don't need to win the Championship or even finish second. Ireland proved this in 2025 by claiming the Triple Crown while finishing third behind France and England.</li> </ul> <p>A Home Nation winning the Grand Slam automatically claims the Triple Crown as well, since beating all five opponents includes the three other Home Nations. But the reverse isn't true. You can have the Triple Crown without the Slam if you drop points to France or Italy.</p> <p>The 2025 Championship was the first time a Triple Crown winner finished lower than second place.</p> <p>Ireland beat England, Scotland and Wales but lost to France in Round 4, ultimately finishing third on bonus points. France took the title without completing a Grand Slam, and no team went through unbeaten.</p> <h2>A Brief History of the Rugby Triple Crown</h2> <p>England won what we now recognise as the first Triple Crown in the inaugural 1883 Home Nations Championship, though nobody called it that at the time. The phrase first appeared in print in The Irish Times in 1894, after Ireland completed their first clean sweep against the other Home Nations.</p> <p>For over a century, the Triple Crown remained an informal honour. No trophy, no ceremony, just the recognition that you'd dominated your closest rivals. The bragging rights were the reward.</p> <p>That changed in 2006 when tournament sponsor Royal Bank of Scotland decided the achievement deserved something tangible. They commissioned Hamilton &amp; Inches to design a trophy, and Ireland became the first recipients after beating the other three Home Nations that year.</p> <p>Wales went on a remarkable run in the late 1970s, winning four consecutive Triple Crowns from 1976 to 1979. England matched that streak from 1995 to 1998. No other nation has managed more than two in a row.</p> <p>Scotland's most recent Triple Crown came in 1990, part of their Grand Slam season. They've come close since but haven't managed to beat all three Home Nations in the same year during the Six Nations era.</p> <h2>Triple Crown Winners by Nation</h2> <ul> <li><strong>England:</strong> 26 Triple Crowns (most recent: 2020)</li> <li><strong>Wales:</strong> 22 Triple Crowns (most recent: 2021)</li> <li><strong>Ireland: </strong>14 Triple Crowns (most recent: 2025)</li> <li><strong>Scotland:</strong> 10 Triple Crowns (most recent: 1990)</li> </ul> <p>Ireland have been the dominant force in the modern era. Their 2025 success marked their seventh Triple Crown since the trophy was introduced in 2006, and their 14th overall. They've won more Triple Crowns in the Six Nations era than any other nation.</p> <p>Scotland's 35-year drought is the longest current gap. They've finished as high as second in the Championship during that time but haven't managed to beat all three Home Nations in the same campaign.</p> <h2>FAQs</h2> <h3>Can France or Italy win the Triple Crown?</h3> <p>No. The Triple Crown is exclusive to the four Home Nations: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. France and Italy compete in the Six Nations but aren't eligible for this particular honour.</p> <h3>What happens if no team beats all three Home Nations?</h3> <p>No Triple Crown is awarded that year. This has happened in 57 of the 131 Championships held since 1883, most recently in 2024.</p> <h3>Has a team ever won the Triple Crown but lost the Six Nations?</h3> <p>Yes, multiple times. Wales in 1977, England in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2014, and Ireland in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2022 and 2025 all won Triple Crowns without taking the Championship title.</p> <h3>When was the Triple Crown Trophy introduced?</h3> <p>The physical trophy was first awarded in 2006, though the honour itself dates back to 1883.</p>