A new logo for the men’s Six Nations, which aims to encapsulate the tournament’s “electrifying action,” has attracted derision from many fans with Six Nations tickets.
Several fans are calling out the organizers for trying to fix something that didn’t need fixing.
Organizers unveiled the tournament’s rebranding on Saturday, with an orange ball symbol and ‘M6N’ in the foreground. They said it was inspired by “the vital spark of connection” created by the Six Nations.
“The modern brand signifies the optimism fans feel when they come together at the end of winter to experience the Six Nations,” they said.
However, supporters on social media were unconvinced.
“Absolutely shocking,” “terrible,” and “the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen” were among the reactions on X, with users comparing it with the branding for a Mars bar, the credits for the 1996 film Space Jam, and entries into a primary school competition.
A minority of comments praised how the logo echoes that of the women’s Six Nations, which ran alongside the men’s event until 2021 and now has its calendar.
“The launch of the new identity is intended to articulate the evolution of the Championship and the modern game of rugby,” added Six Nations organizers.
“The electrifying action and experiences that fans look forward to and enjoy every year is expressed through the versatile new identity informed by feedback from all corners of the game.”
Rob Alderson, external editor of Design Week, said the rebrand caught him off-guard but that it might age better than fans expect.
“I was surprised; it didn’t feel like the Six Nations,” he said. “But that might be exactly what they are going for.
If they are trying to expand the Six Nations to reach new people, something that doesn’t feel like the Six Nations is quite a smart move.
“The problem is we get this stuff as a visual, without the context of what they were going for or how it will be used.
“We have yet to see it in context, on kit, in stadiums or in on-screen graphics.
“The most famous example in the design world was the London 2012 logo – people hated that logo when it came out in 2007, but by the time the Games came round, and people saw it on different things and around London, minds had changed, and it had become sort of loved.
“People took a lot of patriotic, creative pride in it. That does happen once you see things in context.
“In some ways, it is a good sign you get a strong reaction because that shows people care. If you roll out a new logo and everyone shrugs, you haven’t done a good job, or people don’t care that much about what it is attached to.”
The logo will be used across next year’s tournament, which begins with France taking on Wales in Paris on 31 January.
Tough France Side for 2025 Six Nations
Following an undefeated Autumn Nations Series campaign that included a third consecutive win over the All Blacks, the Les Bleus head coach will be buoyed by the news that two of his standout players from years gone by are making their long-awaited return from injury: Toulouse duo Cyril Baille and Romain Ntamack.
And the French fans with Six Nations tickets think this could be their year.
Loosehead Cyril Baille (52 caps), who has been out for six months following a serious ankle injury, followed by a fibula fracture, is operational again. The 31-year-old trained with Toulouse on December 10 and could return to the field very soon in the Champions Cup before participating in the Top 14.
This means that the 2022 Grand Slam winner is back in the running for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, which begins on the final Friday of next month.
“I want to perform as well as possible from the start,” Baille assured the Crunch podcast. “If I’m not there, it will be one more goal to work towards I’m going to give it my all with Toulouse to win back my place.”
Baille is used to biding his time. His first lengthy spell on the sidelines came in April 2017 when he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee in the Top 14. That necessitated an eight-month recovery period.
“When I returned from the knee, I wasn’t supposed to play rugby again,” he recalled. “It was tough for 10 days, but I managed to get going again afterwards. I wasn’t allowed to get up. I was forced to stay in bed for 45 days and wasn’t allowed to take the splint off or even shower. With that first injury, I was on my own. I had played for the French team [eight times], climbed very high during the season, and fell very low.”
If there had been barely an injury issue before that, they came thick and fast after that. In 2018, he suffered a relapse (four months off). In the middle of the 2020 Championship, he dislocated his right shoulder (several weeks off) but was spared from injuries for the next two years.
In August 2022, he underwent surgery on his adductor, injuring the same area a few months later in a Test against South Africa.
In 2023, during the Rugby World Cup warm-up match on August 12 against Scotland, he suffered a calf injury. After a six-week break, he was able to participate in the last three matches of the competition and then featured in this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
Last season ended with an injury in the Top 14 semi-final—Toulouse went on to lift domestic and European silverware—which kept him off the field for six months.
But now, the fans from France lining with Six Nations tickets could see him in action at full strength.
Six Nations Tickets – Cyber Threat Averted
More gold-dust tickets to the Six Nations matches at Murrayfield will be available after the SRU isolated purchases made by bots in a cyber attack.
Scotland Supporters Club members will be able to apply for the much-sought-after tickets on Thursday, December 12, at 8 a.m., although the Ireland and Wales games have limited availability now.
Anything left over will be put on general sale to the public on Friday, December 13.
The move came after a public sale was cancelled last week due to unusual activity.
A statement issued at the time read: “Tomorrow’s scheduled public sale of Guinness Men’s Six Nations tickets has been postponed, as we believe a bot attack targeted this week’s Supporters Club pre-sales.
“Scottish Rugby is committed to ensuring Scotland match tickets are purchased by genuine fans, and we are working closely to review today’s sale and identify any suspicious activity.
“We will provide a further update next week with a revised schedule of sale dates for these games.”
Trusted secondary marketplaces also are listing Six Nations tickets for key games.
