Home Nations


Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. In sport, if a sport is governed by a council representing the island of Ireland, such as the Irish Rugby Football Union, the term can refer to the nations of the constituent countries on the island of Great Britain and the Irish nation.
Formerly, the term was applied in general in this same wider sense, such as the period between 1801 and 1922, when the whole island of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. The synonymous "Home Countries" is also sometimes used.
The term has yet a third meaning in the context of British Cycling, where it refers collectively to the seven teams representing the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom plus the three Crown Dependencies that participate in the Commonwealth Games. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but are politically associated with it, and together make up the British Islands.

Association football

In association football, the Home Nations originally referred to the then four national teams of the United Kingdom: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Today, the term refers to the teams of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – the teams that contested the British Home Championship until 1984 – although references to the Home Nations sometimes include the Republic of Ireland team.
A debate took place among the football associations that govern the sport in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, over whether they would allow their members to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics as a single UK team. The English Football Association, and the news media used the term Home Nations to describe the parties to the debate. In the event, a team consisting only of English and Welsh players took part.
A new arrangement was found solely for the women's tournament at the 2020 games; should the England side qualify via their placement at the 2019 World Cup, that slot will go to a Team GB assembled by the Home Nations' associations.

Rugby union

In 1883, the first Home Nations Championship was played between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. At this point in its history, the competition contained only teams from the UK. In 1910, France officially joined the competition and it was renamed the Five Nations Championship. Despite the partition of Ireland and the secession of the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom, the island of Ireland still fields a single sports team and is referred to as a Home Nation in the context of rugby union. When France was expelled from the international championship in 1932, the tournament reverted to being known simply as the Home Nations tournament until the readmission of France immediately after the 1939 tournament, just before World War II caused its suspension until 1947. Since the admission of Italy in 2000, the tournament has been known by its current name, the Six Nations Championship.
Victories by any Home Nation over all of the other three Home Nations in one Championship season is a Triple Crown. The Home Nations also contribute players to a unified team known as the British and Irish Lions. Southern Hemisphere teams who beat all four home nations in one tour are said to have a Grand Slam Tour.

Rugby league

The Amateur Four Nations competition in rugby league, run annually from 2002 to 2007 for the A sides of Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland, was also referred to as the "home nations championship".

Field hockey

Different field hockey competition see a different team split within the UK and Ireland. Some competitions see a United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland split, whereas others see a England, Scotland, Wales, and all-Ireland split.