1978 Five Nations Championship

Last updated
1978 Five Nations Championship
Date21 January - 18 March 1978
CountriesFlag of England.svg  England
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales (20th title)
Grand Slam Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales (8th title)
Triple Crown Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales (15th title)
Matches played10
Tries scored24 (2.4 per match)
Top point scorer(s) IRFU flag.svg Tony Ward (38)
Top try scorer(s) Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Jérôme Gallion (3)
1977 (Previous)(Next) 1979

The 1978 Five Nations Championship was the forty-ninth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 21 January and 18 March. The tournament was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The championship was won by Wales, their twentieth outright win in the competition. The Welsh had shared another nine titles with other teams. Having won all four of their games, Wales also won the Grand Slam for a record eighth time - Wales had formerly shared the record of seven with England. Victories over England, Ireland and Scotland (the Home Nations), also meant Wales won the Triple Crown for the third consecutive time, a record, given no other team had ever won the Triple Crown more than twice in a row. It was Wales' fifteenth in total, also a record, surpassing the fourteen won by England.

Contents

The tournament was the first Five Nations Championship in which two teams each with three victories faced off against each other in the final round of matches, with both capable of completing a Grand Slam with a victory.

Participants

The teams involved were:

NationVenueCityHead coachCaptain
Flag of England.svg  England Twickenham London Peter Colston Bill Beaumont
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Parc des Princes Paris Jean Desclaux Jean-Pierre Bastiat
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Noel Murphy John Moloney
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Nairn McEwan Dougie Morgan
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales National Stadium Cardiff John Dawes Phil Bennett

Table

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 44006743+248
2Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France 43015147+46
3Flag of England.svg  England 42024233+94
4IRFU flag.svg  Ireland 4103465482
5Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 40043968290
Source: [ citation needed ]

Squads

Results

1978-01-21
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg15–6Flag of England.svg  England
Tries: Averous
Gallion
Con.: Aguirre (2)
Pen.: Aguirre
Drops: Old (2)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,643
Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)
1978-01-21
Ireland  IRFU flag.svg12–9Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Tries: McKinney
Con.: Ward
Pen.: Ward (2)
Pen.: Morgan (3)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: P. E. Hughes (England)

1978-02-04
Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg16–19Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Tries: Irvine
Shedden
Con.: Morgan
Pen.: Morgan
Drops: Morgan
Tries: Gallion
Haget
Con.: Aguirre
Pen.: Aguirre (3)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: C. G. P. Thomas (Wales)
1978-02-04
England  Flag of England.svg6–9Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Pen.: Hignell (2)Pen.: Bennett (3)
Twickenham, London
Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)

1978-02-18
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg22–14Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Tries: Edwards
Fenwick
Gravell
Quinnell
Pen.: Bennett
Drops: Bennett
Tries: Renwick
Tomes
Pen.: Morgan (2)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: J. R. West (Ireland)
1978-02-18
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg10–9IRFU flag.svg  Ireland
Tries: Gallion
Pen.: Aguirre (2)
Pen.: Ward (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,639
Referee: C. G. P. Thomas (Wales)

1978-03-04
Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg0–15Flag of England.svg  England
Tries: Nelmes
Squires
Con.: Young (2)
Pen.: Dodge
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: J. R. West (Ireland)
1978-03-04
Ireland  IRFU flag.svg16–20Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Tries: Moloney
Pen.: Ward (3)
Drops: Ward
Tries: Fenwick
Williams
Pen.: Fenwick (4)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: G. Domercq (France)

1978-03-18
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg16–7Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Tries: Bennett (2)
Con.: Bennett
Drops: Edwards
Fenwick
Tries: Skrela
Drops: Vivies
National Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: A. Welsby (England)
1978-03-18
England  Flag of England.svg15–9IRFU flag.svg  Ireland
Tries: Dixon
Slemen
Con.: Young (2)
Pen.: Young
Pen.: Ward (2)
Drops: Ward
Twickenham, London
Referee: F. Palmade (France)

References