FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 30th, 2020
GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP RUGBY COVERAGE BEGINS THIS WEEKEND ACROSS NBC SPORTS
Coverage of the Annual Guinness Six Nations Championship Begins Saturday Live on NBC Sports Gold’s “Rugby Pass” with Defending Champion Wales v. Italy at 9:15 a.m. ET
Saturday Doubleheader on NBCSN – Wales v. Italy at 12:30 p.m. ET, Followed by Ireland Facing Scotland at 2:30 p.m. ET
All Matches Live & Commercial-Free on NBC Sports Gold’s Rugby Pass; Available Now for $79.99
New Episode of Alex Corbisiero’s The Scrumdown Podcast Previewing Six Nations Championship Available Now
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 30, 2020 – NBC Sports begins its coverage of the annual Guinness Six Nations Championship, the world’s oldest rugby championship, this Saturday and Sunday with three Round One matches across NBC Sports Gold’s “Rugby Pass”, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. The annual tournament, which has roots that date back more than a century, consists of 15 matches played in a round-robin format among six national teams – England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
All matches will stream live, commercial-free and on-demand via “Rugby Pass” on NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product. “Rugby Pass” is available for purchase now for $79.99. Click here for more information on Six Nations coverage on NBC Sports Gold. NBC and NBCSN will combine to present linear coverage. All television coverage will stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
Round One coverage begins live on NBC Sports Gold on Saturday, Feb. 1, when defending champion Wales face Italy at 9:15 a.m. ET, followed by Ireland v. Scotland at 11:45 a.m. ET. NBCSN will present Saturday’s doubleheader action later that day, beginning with Wales-Italy at 12:30 p.m. ET and Ireland-Scotland at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Coverage continues Sunday with France v. England live on NBC Sports Gold at 10 a.m. ET (NBCSN at 2 p.m. ET).
The tournament concludes with the fifth and final round of the 2020 Six Nations Championship on Saturday, Mar. 14.
Leigh Diffey will anchor this weekend’s coverage on NBCSN alongside analysts Alex Corbisiero and Dan Lyle.
Following is this weekend’s slate of Guinness Six Nations Championship matches on NBC Sports Gold and NBCSN. Click here for more information.
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Network |
| Sat., Feb. 1 | Wales v. Italy | 9:15 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold |
| Wales v. Italy* | 12:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Ireland v. Scotland | 11:45 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold | |
| Ireland v. Scotland* | 2:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Feb. 2 | France v. England | 10 a.m. | NBC Sports Gold |
| France v. England* | 2 p.m. | NBCSN |
*Same-day delay
Corbisiero’s The Scrumdown podcast relaunched this week and is available now. On this week’s episode, Alex is joined by BBC Sports’ Chris Jones to preview the 2020 Six Nations Championship.
NBC Sports’ Six Nations coverage is part of an extensive collection of rugby programming across NBC Sports platforms which spans the calendar year, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, the HSBC Sevens Series, and last September’s 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Rugby offerings are available to U.S. commercial establishments through the NBC Sports Pub Pass – a customizable direct-to-consumer platform developed specifically for the retail pub/restaurant market in the U.S. Through the Six Nations Championship, all tournament matches will be available live, commercial-free and on-demand.
Additionally this week, NBC Sports Gold has live coverage of every match of the HSBC Sevens Series in Australia, including pool play, the semifinals and medal matches. Throughout the season, NBC Sports Gold presents every match of the HSBC Sevens Series live and commercial-free.
WALES V. ITALY – SATURDAY, 9:15 A.M ET ON NBC SPORTS GOLD (12:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN)
The Welsh, who were semi-finalists in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, look to defend their 2019 Six Nations title and earn back-to-back Six Nations Championships for their first time since 2012-13. Wales won the 2019 Six Nations Championship in dominant fashion, capturing a Grand Slam title (winning all five matches) and a Triple Crown (defeating the other three “home nations”). Wales are winners of five Six Nations Championships since 2000, tied with France for the second-most over that span and one behind England (six), and leads the competition with 39 total titles. Italy will make its 21st Six Nations tournament appearance and looks to make its first top-three finish in the standings, following its fourth consecutive sixth-place finish last year. Wales topped Italy, 26-15, in last year’s meeting.
IRELAND V. SCOTLAND – SATURDAY, 11:45 A.M ET ON NBC SPORTS GOLD (2:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN)
After finishing in fifth place last year, Scotland is in search of its first title since 1999, when the tournament was still the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Scotland has not finished higher than third place. Ireland, which finished third in last year’s Six Nations Championship, is led by 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year and team captain Johnny Sexton and new head coach Andy Farrell, who takes over for long-time head coach Joe Schmidt after he stepped down following the Rugby World Cup. Ireland defeated Scotland, 22-13, in last year’s Six Nations match.
FRANCE V. ENGLAND – SUNDAY, 10 A.M ET ON NBC SPORTS GOLD (2 P.M. ET ON NBCSN)
France aims to secure its 18th outright title and sixth Six Nations Championship but has not finished in the top two of the tournament since 2011. England, who finished in second place in last year’s tournament, look to build off of their second-place finish in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when they fell to South Africa in the Final. England has 28 outright titles, the most all-time. 2017 European Player of the Year Owen Farrell, who has 34 career caps in his Six Nations Championship career and led the 2019 tournament with 59 points, will serve as England’s captain. England and France were scheduled to face off in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but their match was cancelled due to a storm in the area. In their 2019 Six Nations match, England defeated France, 44-8.
ABOUT SIX NATIONS RUGBY
The Six Nations Championship is held annually in February and March in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy. Since 2003, The Six Nations Championship is broadcast in over 180 countries globally, and over 1 million people attend the 15 games of the Championship annually.
About NBC Sports Gold
NBC Sports Gold is NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer live streaming product that provides sports fans with access to exclusive premium sports events and content, live and on-demand, at an affordable price. Launched in 2016 with a single cycling product, NBC Sports Gold currently offers 18 individual sports “passes” – twelve domestic (PGA TOUR LIVE, Premier League, Premier League Match Day, INDYCAR, Cycling, Track & Field, Premier Lacrosse League, Speed Skating, Rugby, Rugby, Supercross, TrackPass, and Snow, consisting of seven Olympic winter sports); two regional (Blazers and Philly); one combination (Supercross and Pro Motocross), two domestic and international (Figure Skating and Pro Motocross); and one international-only (Notre Dame Football). Find NBC Sports Gold in the NBC Sports app available in the U.S. on Apple iOS & tvOS, Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast and NBCSportsGold.com, and also on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex.
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