What's at stake in the Six Nations

We're nearing the business end of the Six Nations and three teams are still in contention for the overall spoils - France, Ireland and England.

But it's not all about the one cup. That would be so soccer.

Quirky old bird that she is, the Championship offers up more silverware than an average edition of The Antiques Roadshow.

Let's have a look at the bit and pieces that will be dished out over the next fortnight.

The Championship Trophy is handed to the side that ends at the top of the Six Nations table.

The prize has only been tangible since 1993. Before that the nations played for the International Championship title - and honour alone.

Having an actual trophy was first proposed by the Earl of Westmorland, and, fittingly as the Earl is a descendant of William the Conqueror, the cup was first presented in 1993 to France.

The trophy is made of 200 ounces of sterling silver and is insured for £55,000. It was designed by James Brent-Ward, a silversmith designer, and made by eight craftsmen at the London silversmith firm William Comyns.

The inside of the Trophy was originally silver, but it became so tarnished from repeated fillings with champagne that it has been lined with 22 carat gold to protect it!

The capacity of the Trophy is exactly five bottles of champagne, one for each of the original Five Nations, and the trophy has a lip at the rim, designed so that it is easy to drink from.

There are fifteen sides to the Trophy, representing each player, and three handles representing each official - the referee and two touch judges. Around the wooden base of the Trophy is the emblem of each of the six national unions.

The handle, or finial, on the lid is interchangeable and represents the current champions. The current finial is the one decorated with the three shamrocks of the reigning champions, Ireland. The finials of the five challenging teams are kept in a hidden drawer in the plinth throughout the Championship.

Next up in the is the Triple Crown Trophy. That is for contest among the Four Home Unions - England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The winner is the one who wins all three head-to-head matches, and thus it sometimes fails to make it out of the cabinet, although that hasn't happened since 2001.

It used to be a mythical crown, but now it is tangible thanks to The Royal Bank of Scotland who commissioned a silver dish in 2006. England and Scotland have yet to hoist the new prize aloft.

Now we are into the realms of the private battles, of which the fight for the Calcutta Cup is the most famous.

The oldest trophy in the history of international rugby originated in 1878 at the Calcutta Rugby and Cricket Club in India.

After finding themselves with no opposition clubs to play against, the British-dominated club reluctantly opted to disband. Finding 270 silver Indian rupees in the kitty, they melted them down and made a cup, with three cobras as handles and an elephant adoring the lid.

An ex-member of the club then approached the Rugby Football Union offering the Cup as a prize and it was decided that the winner of England versus Scotland clashes would be awarded the trophy.

The first Calcutta Cup encounter - in 1879, some eight years after the first England v Scotland international - actually ended in a draw, but the following year England won the cup with a win over their opponents in Manchester.

One of the most famous incidents in the history of the Calcutta Cup took place off the field in 1988 when it was 'kidnapped' from Murrayfield and taken on a tour of the pubs and clubs of Edinburgh by Scotland great John Jeffrey and England legend Dean Richards.

Returned the next morning in a grievously damaged state, wags immediately re-christened the trophy 'The Calcutta Plate'. The repair bill came in at thousands of pounds.

Although unable to fully recall the events of the evening, both Jeffrey and Richards were punished heavily for their part in this drunken escapade, with the Scottish Rugby Union being particularly harsh on their man.

But Jeffrey later 'fessed up to what he could remember of that night in Edinburgh.

"There were two fights between England and Scotland players at the dinner and it degenerated into an unholy scrap," he said.

"In fact, four of the players didn't even see it to dinner. They were in their beds. Unfortunately I had a better constitution, so I stayed a bit longer.

"In those days the captain used to take the Calcutta Cup around, filling it with drink and offering it to the punters. I remember me and Dean Richards decided we would tip it over Brian Moore's head, full of whisky.

"He started chasing us, so we just ran on and once the next set of doors opened we were on the street. We jumped into a taxi and still had the Calcutta Cup with us.

"I can't really remember after that, but the Cup certainly came back. We took it away and it was not damaged and it came back damaged, so you have to hold your hands up and say 'Yes, we were responsible'."

There are three other head-to-head trophies on offer during the Championship.

Scotland and Ireland have been playing for the Centenary Quaich since 1989. A quaich is a Gaelic drinking vessel. (Have you spotted the reoccuring theme?)

England and Ireland have played for the Millennium Trophy since 1988. The fight for the horned Viking helmet was initiated in 1988 as part of Dublin's millennial celebrations.

France and Italy have contested the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy since 2007. The prize was set up to celebrate the bicentenary of Garibaldi's birth. The Italian revolutionary is considered as one of the fathers of unified Italy and was also a general in the French army during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. The trophy was designed by France legend turned sculptor, Jean-Pierre Rives.

Of course, the most coveted prize of all is completely intangible - the Grand Slam. Or should we perhaps say, 'Grand Chelem'? France is the only side still daring to dream of the clean sweep in this year's edition of the tournament. No prize will definitely be prize enough.