Six Nations clash: Italy pull off first ever 23-18 win over England

ROME: The Italy team 23-18 pulled off their first-ever win over England at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday as the visitors slumped to a third successive Six Nations defeat.

Italy’s victory over England ends a run of 32 losses for the winning team against the beaten ones, with 26 of those coming in the Six Nations Championship.

Scotland stunned France 50-40

In a Thrilling Six Nations clash, Scotland stunned France 50-40 at Murrayfield today, keeping the championship wide open ahead of the final round.

Wingers Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn scored two tries each as Scotland ran France ragged under the Edinburgh sun. Prop Pierre Schoeman and scrumhalf Ben White also crossed the line, giving the Scots their highest points tally against France in history.

Despite the defeat, France picked up a try-scoring bonus point and remains top of the table on points difference, both teams sitting on 16 points, with Ireland still in contention on 14.

2026 Six Nations Championship

The 2026 Six Nations Championship is currently on ground, taking place across several European cities, Edinburgh, Rome, Dublin, Cardiff, Paris, London and Twickenham.

Each national team hosts matches in their stadium, with the tournament running from February five and the final clash taking place in Paris will kick off on March 14.

The following stadiums are the spots where the Ruby is taking place between the hosts and the touring team of the championship.

Scottish Gas Murrayfield (Edinburgh)

Stadio Olimpico (Rome)

Aviva Stadium (Dublin)

Principality Stadium (Cardiff)

Stade de France (Paris)

Allianz Stadium – Twickenham (London)

Rugby Union basics

The basic rules of rugby union, as followed in the Six Nations Championship, focus on key aspects such as team structure, ball movement, scoring, tackling, rucks and mauls, set pieces, match duration, and determining the winner.

In the case of teams, each side must have 15 players on the field, and the objective is to score more points than the opponent.

When it comes to moving the ball, players have two choices: either run with it or kick it forward. However, passing by hand must go backwards or sideways, never forward.

When it comes to scoring, the teams’ score points  are considered in several ways, which include as given:

Try (5 points): When a player grounds the ball in the opponent’s in-goal area.

Conversion (2 points): A kick at goal after scoring a try.

Penalty kick (3 points): Awarded after a foul by the opponent.

Drop goal (3 points): A player drops the ball and kicks it through the goalposts during play.

Keeping the tackling rule in view, players can have the opportunity to tackle the ball carrier to stop them. However, what seems interesting is that the tackling must be below the shoulders.

After a tackle, players compete for the ball in the next formation called rucks and mauls. However, continuing with the ball comes at the hands of the only team who win the ball in rucks and mauls.

The other rule features setting pieces where two important restarts take place, called scrum (players from both teams push against each other to contest the ball), and Lineout (when the ball goes out of bounds, players jump to catch the throw-in).

The match duration lasts 80 minutes, divided into two halves of 40 minutes, and any team coming up with the most points at the end wins the clash.

The team with the most points at the end of the match wins the clash.