The Six Nations: A time for rugby fans to put EU disagreements aside

Britain may be leaving the EU, but that certainly won't stop rugby fans flocking to cities across Europe this weekend as the 2020 Six Nations kicks off.

French fans mingling with Irish fans. This will be a similar sight during this season's Six Nations tournament (Credit: AP)

The tournament, which is in its 21st year as a six-member cup, features the top six ranked nations in Europe, which will battle it out over five match weekends across Britain, France, Ireland and Italy.

On the opening weekend, holders Wales host Italy in Cardiff, World Cup finalists England travel to Paris to take on a young French team, while Ireland face Scotland in the only all-Britain tie of the first round of matches.

The last time England were due to play France was in last year's World Cup, but it was one of two games canceled due to typhoon Hagibis in Japan, something that was unprecedented before in a World Cup tournament.

World Cup finalists England travel to Paris to take on France in their opening game of this year's Six Nations on Sunday (Source: AP)

With more than 200,000 fans expected over the three matches across the weekend, local businesses as well as the wider economy will certainly expect to see a boost in income.

Wales are expecting around 70,000 fans for their opening game against Italy at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Fans are always looking for a bite to eat and something to drink before, during and after the game and with these attendance numbers it's a big opportunity for catering teams to make a substantial profit. The Welsh RFU said it expects to sell around 60,000 pints of beer at the stadium alone, let alone pre- and post-match in the pubs around Cardiff. This will follow a similar trend at the other two matches.

More than 200,000 fans will attend the three games this weekend, most of them looking for a drink or something to eat during the match (Credit: AP)

This year's tournament is a real show of unity between these six European countries, being the first year that any of the competing nations aren't members of the European Union.

The timing hasn't been lost on the competition's title sponsor, Guinness, which released a video on the eve of the tournament with the slogan: "Where this union of rugby never falters."

Regardless of the country's views on politics, regardless of its EU status, players and fans alike are likely to come together to help each other's economies as well as watching a spectacle of high-quality rugby together.