1998, the Championship had no title sponsor. Sponsorship rights were sold to Lloyds TSB Group for the 1999 tournament and the competition was titled the Lloyds TSB 5 Nations and Lloyds TSB 6 Nations until 2002. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group took over sponsorship from 2003 until 2017, with the competition being branded the RBS 6 Nations. A new title sponsor was sought for the 2018 tournament and beyond. However, after struggling to find a new sponsor, organisers agreed a one-year extension at a reduced rate. As the RBS brand was being phased out, the tournament was named after the NatWest banking subsidiary, becoming the NatWest 6 Nations. On 7 December 2018, Guinness was announced as the Championship's new title sponsor, with the competition to be named the Guinness Six Nations from 2019 to 2024. Due to the Loi Évin laws which prohibit alcohol sponsorship in sport, "Guinness" cannot be used as part of the branding of the tournament in France. The French-language logo for the tournament replaces the Guinness logo with the word "Greatness" in the same color and typeface as the Guinness wordmark. See also The Rugby Championship, an analogous tournament of national teams in the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Europe International Championships, for second- and third-tier national teams in Europe Six Nations Under 20s Championship Women's Six Nations Championship British Home Championship, a similar tournament in association football References Sources External links Official website 1883 establishments in Europe Rugby union competitions in Europe for national teams Recurring sporting events established in 1883 International rugby union competitions hosted by England International rugby union competitions hosted by France International rugby union competitions hosted by Ireland International rugby union competitions hosted by Scotland International rugby union competitions hosted by Wales International rugby union competitions hosted by Italy England national rugby union team France national rugby union team Ireland national rugby union team Scotland national rugby union team Wales national rugby union team Italy national rugby union team