The Six Nations rugby tournament has swung into action with reigning champions Ireland making a strong start with a 27-22 victory over England.
Scotland defeated Italy 31-19 and France hammered Wales 43-0 at the Stade de France in Paris over the course of Friday and Saturday.
All six teams are competing for the coveted Six Nations Championship Trophy.
There are also other cups in contention during the tournament, sponsored by Guinness, including the Triple Crown Trophy, awarded if England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales defeats the other three home nations.
And the Calcutta Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland during the tournament.
Aside from the silverware, there is also a sizeable prize fund up for grabs which could mean millions of pounds go to the winning team.
We take a look at the detail.
The Guinness Men’s Six Nations trophy (Photo: Adam Davy/PA)How much is the prize money for the Six Nations?
There is a substantial sum of money at stake in the Six Nations tournament.
Last year’s winners Ireland walked away with £5m and the runners-up France took home £3.5m, according to online data platform Statista.
This year the prize pot is estimated to be about £18m with the winners collecting £6.5m, according to ruck.co.uk.
The reported prize fund breakdown is:
Winners – £6.5m Runners-up – £3.5m Third Place – £2.5m Fourth Place – £2m Fifth Place – £1.5m Sixth Place – £1mThere is also a Grand Slam Bonus of £1m for any nation which wins all five games, as Ireland did in 2023.
If no one claims the bonus then the extra cash is evenly split among the six teams.
Harry Randall of England is tackled by Mack Hansen and Jack Conan of Ireland during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match at the Aviva Stadium (Photo: Dan Mullan – RFU/Getty)England rugby union players used to be paid fee of around £23,000 per international match they played.
However, under new Enhanced Elite Player Squad contracts, negotiated last year, England players are now paid a salary.
They earn around £160,000 per year, which is paid by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The new contracts also mean the England coach Steve Borthwick has tighter control over all sports science and medical matters in relation to the players.
He said at the time: “I am confident that these contracts, and our strong relationship with the Premiership clubs, will play a significant role in England Rugby’s continued development.”
Outside of their commitments for the England team, the players also play and earn at club level with separate salaries which can range from tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
England lock Maro Itoje plays for north London club Saracens and is reported to have a salary of £800,000.
But many players will be receiving salaries much lower than this from their clubs.
France’s hooker Peato Mauvaka (C) is tackled by Wales’ fly-half Dan Edwards (C) during the Six Nations international rugby union match between France and Wales (Photo: Franck Fife/ AFP/Getty)Six Nations 2025 schedule
The first weekend of the tournament has passed but there are still four more weekends of rugby to look forward to for fans of the sport.
Here is the schedule for the remainder of the Six Nations tournament:
Saturday 8 February
Italy v Wales at 2.15pm at Stadio Olimpico, Rome England v France at 4.45pm at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, LondonSunday 9 February
Scotland v. Ireland at 3pm at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, EdinburghSaturday 22 February
Wales v. Ireland at 2.15pm at Principality Stadium, Cardiff England v. Scotland at 4.45pm Alliaz Stadium Twickenham, LondonSunday 23 February
Italy v. France at 3pm at Stadio Olimpico, RomeSaturday 8 March
Ireland v. France at 2.15pm at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin Scotland v. Wales at 4.45pm at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, EdinburghSunday 9 March
England v. Italy at 3pm at Allianz Stadium, TwickenhamSaturday 15 March
Italy v. Ireland at 2.15pm at Stadio Olimpico, Rome Wales v. England at 4.45pm at Principality Stadium, Cardiff France v. Scotland at 8pm at Stade de France, Paris Read More Details
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