The previous Six Nations champions in the year after a Rugby World Cup

David Skippers
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Six Nations-winning captains Fabien Pelous of France in 2004, Ryan Jones of Wales in 2008 and Dylan Hartley of England in 2016.

The 2024 Six Nations is rapidly approaching, with less than a month to go until the famous tournament gets underway as the northern hemisphere’s best fight for glory.

Before the action begins, Planet Rugby takes a look at the Championship’s winners in the year immediately after a Rugby World Cup was held.

2000 – England

While 2000 was the 106th overall Championship – following the original Home Nations and Five Nations – it was also the inaugural Six Nations after the addition of Italy to the competition.

The Red Rose came into the Six Nations after an underwhelming Rugby World Cup campaign where they were knocked out by South Africa in the quarter-finals, with Springbok fly-half Jannie de Beer stealing the show as he slotted a record-breaking five drop goals en route to his team’s 44-21 triumph in Paris.

Despite their unceremonious exit at the global showpiece, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) kept the faith with Clive Woodward as England’s head coach, and that decision paid dividends as they hit the ground running in the Six Nations.

Regular skipper Martin Johnson missed the entire Championship due to an Achilles injury, which resulted in Matt Dawson taking over the captaincy.

Dawson did well in the leadership role and was part of a large contingent of players in the squad who would also be part of England’s Rugby World Cup-winning squad in Australia three years later. Amongst the players who shone for England in the 2000 Six Nations were Jonny Wilkinson, who finished as the leading points-scorer (78), as well as Ben Cohen and Austin Healey, who finished as joint top try-scorers (5) – alongside Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll.

England won their first four matches – against Ireland, France, Wales and Italy – with the clash against Les Bleus proving to be their toughest challenge up to that point as the Red Rose held on for a narrow 15-9 win at the Stade de France.

Their final match was against winless Scotland at Murrayfield, and the Scots sealed a shock 19-13 victory to deny England the Grand Slam.

2004 – France

Les Bleus‘ 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign in Australia promised much – as they finished at the top of their pool and cruised to a quarter-final victory over Ireland – but came to an abrupt end when they suffered a 21-7 loss to eventual winners England in their semi-final.

Like the RFU in 2000, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) did not panic and retained the services of Bernard Laporte as their head coach, and they, too, were rewarded with a Six Nations title for that decision.

Experienced lock Fabien Pelous succeeded Fabien Galthié as France’s captain – after the veteran scrum-half and future Les Bleus coach retired after the World Cup – and that decision proved the correct one as France proved too strong for all opposition in the Six Nations.

Amongst the other players who caught the eye were the likes of Imanol Harinordoquy, who was the tournament’s joint leading try-scorer (4) – with England’s Cohen and Rhys Wiliams of Wales – and his back-row partners Olivier Magne and Serge Betsen as well as skipper Pelous and backline stars like Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Dimitri Yachvili, Christophe Dominici, Vincent Clerc, Yannick Jauzion and Frederic Michalak.

The French were in good form throughout the competition and sealed victories over Ireland, Italy, Wales and Scotland, with their Round Three triumph over the Welsh being their toughest assignment as they eventually sealed a 29-22 win in Cardiff.

That set up a highly anticipated clash with England, and they clinched a Grand Slam courtesy of a narrow 24-21 victory in Paris.

2008 – Wales

There was little to celebrate about Wales‘ overall performance at the 2007 Rugby World Cup as they came home early when they failed to advance to the global showpiece’s quarter-finals after suffering a humiliating defeat to Fiji in their final pool match.

That led to the dismissal of head coach Gareth Jenkins, who was replaced by Warren Gatland – something which proved to be one of the best decisions in the history of Welsh rugby as the New Zealander would go on to have a celebrated career in the position.

Gatland made some key personnel changes with players like Shane Williams, Mike Phillips, James Hook, and Lee Byrne leading the charge from the back while the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Jones, Ryan Jones and Martyn Williams – who he persuaded to come out of international retirement – were the core players in his pack as he started a genuine revolution in the Welsh game.

Williams was the undoubted star of the Championship as he finished as the competition’s top try-scorer (6) as well as its player of the tournament.

A big reason for Wales’ success was their start to the Championship as they claimed a shock 26-19 win over England in their tournament opener at Twickenham, and things only went better after that as they followed that up with impressive victories over Scotland and Italy in Cardiff.

Gatland’s troops then faced their toughest challenge against Ireland in Dublin but did well to pip their hosts 16-12 before going on to clinch the Grand Slam in style when they beat France 29-12 in Cardiff.

2012 – Wales

Under Gatland’s guidance, Wales became a genuine force in the international arena, and following that maiden Six Nations triumph under Gatland in 2008, they continued to impress and did well at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, where they reached the semi-finals.

They started that campaign in the same pool as the defending champions, South Africa, and despite losing narrowly to the Boks (17-16) in Wellington, they still advanced to the knockout rounds, where they beat Ireland in the quarter-finals, before suffering another one-point defeat (9-8) against France in their semi-final in Auckland.

Despite losing in the Bronze final to Australia, Wales had shown that they could compete with the world’s leading nations, and they had plenty of confidence in their ranks as they approached the 2012 Six Nations.

Young tearaway Sam Warburton was a player who was crucial to Wales’ success during that period, and after becoming the youngest-ever World Cup captain in 2011, he also led his country into battle during the Six Nations the following year.

Other players who made their mark during the 2012 Championship were Warburton’s back-row partner Dan Lydiate, who walked off with the Player of the Tournament award, and Leigh Halfpenny, who finished as the tournament’s leading point-scorer (66).

Just like in 2008, Wales went to Dublin and clinched a narrow win over Ireland (23-21) and continued to impress as the tournament progressed with victories over Scotland and England at Murrayfield and Twickenham, respectively.

That set them up nicely for their final two matches in Cardiff, and after sealing a comfortable win over Italy, they faced a tricky assignment against France but got the job done courtesy of a 19-12 win, which secured them another Grand Slam.

2016 – England

The Red Rose had a lot to prove in the 2016 Six Nations after they failed to impress at the Rugby World Cup, which took place in their backyard the previous year.

It truly was an annus horribilis for the English as they battled in a pool which included Australia and Wales, and losses of those countries – after they started their campaign with a victory over Fiji – meant they became the first host nation to be knocked out of a Rugby World Cup, despite finishing their campaign with a one-sided win over Uruguay.

Their woeful World Cup campaign proved costly for head coach Stuart Lancaster, and he resigned from his position after the tournament, with former Wallabies and Japan boss Eddie Jones coming in to replace him.

One of the first decisions Jones made was to strip Chis Robshaw of the Red Rose captaincy, with experienced hooker Dylan Hartley taking over the leadership role.

Robshaw was still part of Jones’ 33-man squad for the Championship, which also included seven uncapped players in Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje, Sam Hill, Jack Clifford, Josh Beaumont, Ollie Devoto and Paul Hill. England’s standout player during the campaign was Owen Farrell, who was the Championship’s top points-scorer, while Jonathan Joseph caught the eye when he scored a hat-trick of tries in a one-sided away win over Italy in Round Two.

Prior to that, Jones’ charges ground out a narrow win over Scotland at Murrayfield, and they followed up that win over the Azzurri with back-to-back triumphs at Twickenham against Ireland and Wales.

England then faced France in their final match in Paris and secured the Grand Slam in style courtesy of a deserved 31-21 triumph.

2020 – England

Under Jones’ guidance, England delivered an outstanding overall performance at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, where they did well to finish at the top of their pool following victories over Argentina, Tonga and the USA.

England’s final match of the group phase against France was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, but although both sides were unbeaten up to that point, the Red Rose finished in pole position as they had accrued more bonus points than Les Bleus in their previous matches.

England continued with their fine form as they cruised to an easy win over Australia in the quarter-finals before stunning the defending champions, New Zealand, in their semi-final. That set up a clash in the final with South Africa, and despite finishing on the losing side in the marquee match, they were brimming with confidence ahead of the 2020 Six Nations.

The whole world came to a standstill due to the Covid-19 pandemic which meant the entire Six Nations was played in empty stadiums – which drastically reduced home advantage in the Championship.

Jones’ 34-man squad included 22 players who did duty at the World Cup the previous year with captain Farrell and the likes of Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Mako Vunipola, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Manu Tuilagi, Daly, Ben Youngs, Henry Slade and Anthony Watson amongst those players.

England’s campaign got off to a poor start as they were beaten 24-17 by France in Paris in their first match, but despite that loss, they secured a losing bonus point, which proved crucial in the bigger scheme of things.

Despite that setback, they soon found their mojo and won all their remaining matches. They were eventually crowned champions after finishing above France on the table by virtue of a superior points difference.

READ MORE: Shaun Edwards still ‘aggrieved’ over France’s Rugby World Cup ‘injustice’

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