Learn everything you need to know about the Six Nations points system, including how bonus points are awarded.
Six Nations points system explained
The tournament previously stuck to a formula of two points for a victory and one for a draw, excluding the possibility of bonus points being awarded.
This occasionally led to games petering out, with sides on the wrong side of the result having nothing to play for and those in control of the match lacking any incentive to push on.
That changed in time for the 2017 tournament, where the widely used system of four points for a victory, two for a draw and, again, zero for a defeat was introduced.
As in the club game and other international tournaments, further points were awarded for particular match situations, with a bonus point available for scoring four or more tries and for losses by a margin of seven points or fewer.
Again, just as in domestic competitions, this has kept matches alive, as whether ahead or behind, sides have a reason to push in pursuit of a point that could help move them up the standings or even edge a rival to finish top of the table.
Because of this, there could have been an, albeit unlikely, possibility that a team wins all of their matches to complete the Grand Slam but finishes behind a rival that has won four times but picked up six bonus points across their five outings.
However, this is counteracted by the award of three further points being presented to a team that completes a clean sweep.
Bonus points system
- One point for scoring four or more tries in a single match (a try bonus)
- One point for teams that lose by seven or fewer points (a losing bonus)
- Three points to a team that wins all five of their matches (a Grand Slam bonus)
Six Nations tiebreakers
What happens if two teams are on the same points?
If multiple sides are still tied, the standings will then favour the country that has scored the most tries - including penalty scores.
In the unlikely situation that these criteria are not enough to separate the teams, they will be given equal rank, which could result in two countries sharing the Six Nations title.
That outcome has yet to occur since the change of points system in 2017, with the most recent tie coming in 1988, when France beat Wales 10-9 in Cardiff in the final round to prevent the home team from securing the Grand Slam and draw level with their opponents on six points.
Read our Six Nations Rules Explainer on site.
