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In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the national teams of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales as part of the Six Nations Championship.

If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three then they win the Triple Crown. This was most recently achieved by Ireland in 2007, as they have done 3 times in the last 4 years.

The RBS 6 Nations Championship also involves France and Italy, but they do not take part in the Triple Crown. A team that beats all five other teams in the RBS 6 Nations is said to have won the Grand Slam.

The team that finishes bottom is said to have won the proverbial wooden spoon, if they lose every game then they are said to have been whitewashed.

No-one is altogether sure what the origins of the name 'Triple Crown' are. The Irish Times has the first recorded use of the term in its introduction to the newspaper’s Ireland v Wales match report on Monday, 12 March 1894:

After long years of seemingly hopeless struggle Ireland has achieved the triple crown honours of Rugby football. For the first time in the annals of the game have the Hibernians proved beyond cavil or doubt their right to be dubbed champions of the nations and that the Irishmen fully deserve the great distinction no one will deny … Hurrah for Hibernia!

The name may derive from the Triple Crown of James I/VI who was the first King to rule over England, Scotland and Ireland. Wales at that time was treated as being part of England and not a separate entity. In Act 4, scene I of Macbeth, Macbeth refers to King James' "treble sceptre".

In 1975 a retired miner by the name of Dave Marrington got to work with his penknife and turned a lump of coal hewn from the Haig Colliery in Cumbria into a surprisingly ornate work. It has a crown sitting on a four-sided base on which are represented a rose, a shamrock, a thistle and the Prince of Wales feathers.

Despite a campaign to have it awarded to the Triple Crown winners, it was rejected by all four Home unions. It is kept in the Museum of Rugby at Twickenham.

As no trophy was historically awarded for winning the Triple Crown, it was often called 'the invisible cup'. However, in 2006, the primary sponsor of the competition, the Royal Bank of Scotland, commissioned a trophy to be awarded to Triple Crown winners. The award, a silver dish known as the Triple Crown Trophy, was contested for the first time in the 2006 Six Nations. Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll claimed the trophy for Ireland at Twickenham on March 18 after a last-minute try from Shane Horgan gave Ireland a 28-24 win over England.

England	1883, 1884, 1892, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1934, 1937, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003 (23 times)
Ireland	1894, 1899, 1948, 1949, 1982, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2007 (9 times)
Scotland	1891, 1895, 1901, 1903, 1907, 1925, 1933, 1938, 1984, 1990 (10 times)
Wales	1893, 1900, 1902, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1950, 1952, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 2005 (18 times)

1883	England
1884	England
1885	Not achieved
1886	Not achieved
1887	Not achieved
1888	Not achieved
1889	Not achieved
1890	Not achieved
1891	Scotland
1892	England
1893	Wales
1894	Ireland
1895	Scotland
1896	Not achieved
1897	Not achieved
1898	Not achieved
1899	Ireland
1900	Wales
1901	Scotland
1902	Wales
1903	Scotland
1904	Not achieved
1905	Wales
1906	Not achieved
1907	Scotland
1908	Wales
1909	Wales
1910	Not achieved
1911	Wales
1912	Not achieved
1913	England
1914	England
1915-19	Not held due to World War I
1920	Not achieved
1921	England
1922	Not achieved
1923	England
1924	England
1925	Scotland
1926	Not achieved
1927	Not achieved
1928	England
1929	Not achieved
1930	Not achieved
1931	Not achieved
1932	Not achieved
1933	Scotland
1934	England
1935	Not achieved
1936	Not achieved
1937	England
1938	Scotland
1939	Not achieved
1940–46	Not held due to World War II
1947	Not achieved
1948	Ireland
1949	Ireland
1950	Wales
1951	Not achieved
1952	Wales
1953	Not achieved
1954	England
1955	Not achieved
1956	Not achieved
1957	England
1958	Not achieved
1959	Not achieved
1960	England
1961	Not achieved
1962	Not achieved
1963	Not achieved
1964	Not achieved
1965	Wales
1966	Not achieved
1967	Not achieved
1968	Not achieved
1969	Wales
1970	Not achieved
1971	Wales
1972	Not achieved
1973	Not achieved
1974	Not achieved
1975	Not achieved
1976	Wales
1977	Wales
1978	Wales
1979	Wales
1980	England
1981	Not achieved
1982	Ireland
1983	Not achieved
1984	Scotland
1985	Ireland
1986	Not achieved
1987	Not achieved
1988	Wales
1989	Not achieved
1990	Scotland
1991	England
1992	England
1993	Not achieved
1994	Not achieved
1995	England
1996	England
1997	England
1998	England
1999	Not achieved
2000	Not achieved
2001	Not achieved
2002	England
2003	England
2004	Ireland
2005	Wales
2006	Ireland
2007	Ireland

• Six Nations Championship
• Grand Slam
• Calcutta Cup
• Millennium Trophy
• Wooden spoon
• England national rugby union team
• Ireland national rugby union team
• Scotland national rugby union team
• Wales national rugby union team

• "Triple Crown becomes tangiable (sic)", RugbyRugby.com, 25 January 2006
• Official Six Nations Site
• Link to image of Triple Crown Trophy