1979 Five Nations Championship

Last updated
1979 Five Nations Championship
Date20 January – 17 March 1979
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 (21st title)
Triple Crown Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales (16th title)
Matches played10
Tries scored32 (3.2 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Steve Fenwick (38)
Top try scorer(s) IRFU flag.svg Colin Patterson (3) Flag of Scotland.svg Andy Irvine (3)
1978 (Previous)(Next) 1980

The 1979 Five Nations Championship was the 50th season of the Five Nations Championship, a rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Including its previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship, it was the 85th edition of the competition. Ten matches were played between 20 January and 17 March.

Contents

Wales were the champions for the second consecutive season, winning a record 21st outright title. They had also shared the championship on nine other occasions. In beating Scotland, Ireland and England they also won the Triple Crown for a record fourth successive season and extended their record number of Triple Crown wins to 16. This was the last time that Wales won back-to-back championships until 2013.

Participants

NationVenueCityHead coachCaptain
Flag of England.svg  England Twickenham Stadium London Peter Colston Roger Uttley
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Parc des Princes Paris Jean Desclaux Jean-Pierre Rives
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Noel Murphy Fergus Slattery
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Murrayfield Stadium Edinburgh Nairn McEwan Ian McGeechan
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales National Stadium Cardiff John Dawes J. P. R. Williams

Table

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 43018351+326
2Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France 42115046+45
3IRFU flag.svg  Ireland 41215351+24
4Flag of England.svg  England 41122452283
5Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 40224858102
Source: [ citation needed ]

Squads

Results

20 January 1979
Ireland  IRFU flag.svg9–9Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Pen: Ward (3)Try: Caussade
Con: Aguirre
Pen: Aguirre
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: R. C. Quittenton (England)
20 January 1979
Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg13–19Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Try: Irvine
Pen: Irvine (3)
Try: Holmes
Rees
Con: Fenwick
Pen: Fenwick (3)
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Referee: F. Palmade (France)

3 February 1979
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg24–21IRFU flag.svg  Ireland
Try: Martin
Ringer
Con: Fenwick (2)
Pen: Fenwick (4)
Try: McLennan
Patterson
Con: Ward (2)
Pen: Ward (3)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)
3 February 1979
England  Flag of England.svg7–7Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Try: Slemen
Pen: Bennett
Try: Rutherford
Pen: Irvine
Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee: C. Norling (Wales)

17 February 1979
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg14–13Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Try: Gourdon (2)
Pen: Aguirre (2)
Try: Holmes
Pen: Fenwick (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,259
Referee: D. I. H. Burnett (Ireland)
17 February 1979
Ireland  IRFU flag.svg12–7Flag of England.svg  England
Try: McLennan
Con: Ward
Pen: Ward
Drop: Ward
Try: Bennett
Pen: Bennett
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)

3 March 1979
England  Flag of England.svg7–6Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Try: Bennett
Pen: Bennett
Try: Costes
Con: Aguirre
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 67,800
Referee: J. R. West (Ireland)
3 March 1979
Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg11–11IRFU flag.svg  Ireland
Try: Irvine
Robertson
Pen: Irvine
Try: Patterson (2)
Pen: Ward
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Referee: C. Thomas (Wales)

17 March 1979
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg21–17Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Try: Bélascain
Malquier (2)
Pen: Aguerre
Aguirre
Drop: Aguerre
Try: Dickson
Irvine
Robertson
Con: Irvine
Pen: Irvine
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: R. C. Quittenton (England)
17 March 1979
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg27–3Flag of England.svg  England
Try: Rees
Richards
Ringer
Roberts
Williams
Con: Fenwick
Martin
Drop: G. Davies
Pen: Bennett
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: J. P. Bonnet (France)