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)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Crown (rugby union)</span> Rugby competition between Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England

In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the "Home Nations" – i.e. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship. If any one of these teams defeat all three other teams, they win the Triple Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales national rugby union team</span> National rugby team

The Wales national rugby union team represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Six Nations Championship</span> Rugby union competition

The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Six Nations Championship</span> Rugby championship

The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship.

The French national rugby union team first competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

The Ireland women's national rugby union team represents Ireland in international women's rugby union competitions such as the Women's Six Nations Championship and the Women's Rugby World Cup. They have also represented Ireland in the FIRA Women's European Championship. Ireland won the 2013 and 2015 Women's Six Nations Championships. In 2013 they also achieved both a Triple Crown and Grand Slam. They finished fourth in the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup after defeating New Zealand in the pool stages. Ireland hosted the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup. The team was originally organised by the Irish Women's Rugby Football Union. However, since 2009 it has been organised by the Irish Rugby Football Union

The 1995 Five Nations Championship was the 66th Five Nations Championship, the annual Northern Hemisphere rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was also the last Five Nations held in the sport's amateur era, as rugby union's governing body, the International Rugby Football Board, opened the sport to professionalism on August 26 of that year. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-first series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 21 January to 18 March. It was also the fifth occasion, after 1978, 1984, 1990 and 1991, on 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, and the second time that the Triple Crown had also been at stake at the same time, as a result of England and Scotland's earlier victories over the other Home Nations. The tournament took a surprisingly similar course to five years earlier, where England and Scotland both won their first three matches and met in the final week, with an undefeated record, a Grand Slam, Triple Crown and the Calcutta Cup all at stake for the victor: however, this time it was England who prevailed in the deciding match. Even the minor placings were the same as in 1990, as France came third, Ireland fourth and Wales were whitewashed.

The 1994 Five Nations Championship was the 65th series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 15 January and 19 March 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Five Nations Championship</span>

The 1993 Five Nations Championship was the 64th series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of 10 matches held between 16 January and 20 March 1993.

The 1992 Five Nations Championship was the 63rd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 18 January and 21 March 1992.

The 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 62nd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 19 January and 16 March 1991.

The 1990 Five Nations Championship was the 61st series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major rugby union national teams in Europe. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 20 January and 24 March 1990.

The 1980 Five Nations Championship was the 51st Five Nations Championship series of the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 86th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament began on 19 January and concluded on 15 March.

The 1977 Five Nations Championship was the forty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 15 January and 19 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Six Nations Championship</span> Rugby union tournament

The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national teams: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The tournament was held between 7 February and 21 March 2009.

The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition between the six major European national teams. The tournament was held between 6 February and 20 March 2010.

The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship.

The history of the Ireland national rugby union team began in 1875, when Ireland played its first international match, a 0–7 loss against England. Ireland has competed in the Six Nations rugby tournament since 1883. Ireland has also competed at the Rugby World Cup every four years since its inception.

The 2018 Six Nations Championship was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations.

The 2022 Six Nations Championship was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 128th edition of the competition. Wales entered the tournament as defending champions.

References