Few sporting competitions carry the emotional weight and historic continuity of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship. For over a century, the tournament has shaped rivalries, national identity, and moments that resonate far beyond the pitch. At the centre of many of those moments stands a rugby trophy crafted by Thomas Lyte, a workshop whose relationship with elite rugby silverware is not peripheral, but deeply embedded in the fabric of the sport.
Thomas Lyte designed and handcrafted the current Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship Trophy, unveiled in 2015. Its six-sided form represents each of the competing nations, engraved with their names and histories, combining heritage with contemporary design. This trophy was created not simply to be lifted, but to endure as a permanent symbol of international rugby excellence, silverware designed to move through decades, and perhaps centuries, of rugby history, carried by generations of champions.
Each year, after journeys across stadiums, cities, and celebrations, the championship rugby trophy returns to Thomas Lyte’s London workshops for restoration. Marks of changing room parties, victory parades and presentation ceremonies are carefully repaired by the same hands that first handcrafted it from sheets of 925 sterling silver. As Royal Warrant holders to His Majesty King Charles III, and world-renowned designers and makers of elite sporting trophies, we do not simply create gold and silverware, we serve as its long-term custodians.
With yesterday’s victory in the inaugural Solidarity Trophy fixture, France now holds four major rugby trophies crafted by Thomas Lyte:
Together, they form a remarkable snapshot of how deeply rugby is woven into French culture, the emergence of a golden generation, and how rugby silverware reflects international relationships as much as results.
France’s possession of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship Trophy following their 2025 title brought them level with England as the most successful nation of the Men’s Six Nations era, with seven titles each. The championship trophy represents the pinnacle of the tournament. Yet French rugby’s connection to Thomas Lyte silverware extends beyond the title itself, into shared commissions with Ireland and Scotland that commemorate history, partnership, and enduring rivalry.
Commissioned in 2018, the Auld Alliance Trophy is contested whenever France and Scotland meet in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship. It honours the historic ties between the two nations and remembers the courageous rugby internationals who gave their lives during the First World War. In total, 22 French and 30 Scottish internationals were killed in action, alongside countless club players from both countries.
The trophy’s contemporary sweeping form rises upward in remembrance, while its clipped edge speaks to lives so tragically cut short. Encircling the piece is a band of poppies and cornflowers, exquisitely engraved in fine line to invite closer attention and quiet reflection.
Contemporary in form yet restrained in expression, the Auld Alliance Trophy transforms the fixture each year into a moment of remembrance. Here, rugby silverware becomes both a memorial and a symbol, a reminder that international sport carries the shared history of nations alongside rivalry.
The Solidarity Trophy, unveiled ahead of the 2026 tournament, continues that tradition. Played for between France and Ireland during the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship, its spiral design symbolises partnership, resilience, and cultural connection. In a championship built on fierce physical competition, the trophy quietly celebrates friendship and mutual respect. It is also a particularly important milestone that this is the first trophy awarded in a Six Nations match not only between men’s teams, but also to women’s teams. Together, the Auld Alliance trophy and the Solidarity Trophy demonstrate how a rugby trophy can act as a cultural bridge, embedding meaning that extends far beyond the final score.
France also remarkably hold the Under 20’s Six Nations trophy, totalling four rugby trophies crafted by Thomas Lyte.
Thomas Lyte’s commitment to Six Nations rugby includes a long-standing role in the women’s game. The company created the first Women’s Six Nations Championship Trophy in 2008, marking a milestone in the tournament’s professional evolution. As women’s rugby expanded in visibility and ambition, Thomas Lyte was again entrusted with shaping its future.
In 2023, our fine silver workshops designed and handcrafted the current Guinness Women’s Six Nations Championship trophy in a bold architectural form, with six rising elements representing the competing nations. The design reflects the confidence and momentum of a new generation of international players driving the rapid growth of the women’s game. It is a rugby trophy built for a new era, carrying the same weight of prestige as its male counterpart.
Across both competitions, Thomas Lyte’s craftsmanship reinforces a simple principle that we share with our clients: excellence in rugby deserves silverware of equal stature.
Beyond the Guinness Six Nations, Thomas Lyte’s credentials extend across world rugby. Our workshops design, craft, restore, and safeguard some of the sport’s most recognisable trophies. We maintain the Rugby World Cup trophies for both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and in 2025 were entrusted to design and create the current Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy, a landmark commission in the evolution of the global game.
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The same world-class craftsmanship underpins trophies for the United Rugby Championship, the European Champions Cup, and the European Challenge Cup. Our partnership with the British & Irish Lions, introducing elite sporting silverware for recent tours, further extends the presence of Thomas Lyte’s craftsmanship at rugby’s most historic moments.
A piece of silverware connecting rugby nations on opposite sides of the globe, the Sir Edmund Hillary Shield, contested between England and New Zealand, reflects the same philosophy seen in the Solidarity and Auld Alliance trophies: rugby silverware as a symbol of shared respect, international identity, and sporting diplomacy.
Across men’s and women’s competitions, both elite tournaments and youth pathways, Thomas Lyte’s trophies form part of a quiet architecture around the sport. Our pieces witness victories, defeats, generational shifts, and cultural change. They are lifted in celebration, engraved with the names of nations, restored, and returned to the pitch to be the focus of so many hearts and minds. Through that cycle, each rugby trophy becomes a living artefact of the game.
Thomas Lyte is proud of its deep connection to rugby and committed to supporting the sport’s continued international growth, across the men’s and women’s games, at elite and grassroots levels. Just as importantly, the company remains dedicated to safeguarding the rugby silverware it has created long into the future, preserving the physical symbols of achievement that carry deep meaning for players and supporters alike.
For those seeking to create their own legacy through bespoke sporting trophies, we welcome you to get in touch with our talented team of bespoke silverware experts at Thomas Lyte. Every commission begins with a story. Our craft exists to give that remarkable story a permanent form.
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