The joy of 6
We've been putting our weight behind 6 Nations rugby since 2003, helping to establish the Championship as the highlight of the northern hemisphere season – for players and fans alike.
We've been putting our weight behind 6 Nations rugby since 2003, helping to establish the Championship as the highlight of the northern hemisphere season – for players and fans alike.
The competition is the oldest of its kind in the world, producing teams, players and performances that have gone down in rugby folklore. The first three years of our sponsorship simply added to the legend as three different teams (England, France and Wales) achieved the Grand Slam.
The RBS 6 Nations continues to thrill and excite, and the 2007 tournament was one of the closest ever with England, Ireland, Italy and eventual winners France still in the running for the title on the final day.
The competition attracts a huge following, and television audiences have increased by 29% since the start of the RBS sponsorship. Ireland's match with England at Croke Park in 2007 attracted 8 million viewers at its peak.
All this means that although RBS has been supporting rugby in various forms since the 1980s, the RBS 6 Nations is now the perfect platform for all RBS group brands, with Ulster Bank, RBS Retail, NatWest, Direct Line and Tesco Personal Finance all using the property in their marketing activity.