1977 Five Nations Championship

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.

1977 Five Nations Championship
Date15 January - 19 March 1977
Countries England
 Ireland
 France
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions France (6th title)
Grand Slam France (2nd title)
Triple Crown Wales (14th title)
Calcutta Cup England
Matches played10
Tries scored25 (2.5 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Phil Bennett (33)
Top try scorer(s) Bill Gammell (2)
J.P.R. Williams (2)
1976 (Previous) (Next) 1978

France won the championship for the sixth time outright. Including shared titles this was France's tenth championship overall. France won the Grand Slam for the second time and did so with the same fifteen players in all four matches (a unique feat for a Grand Slam winner) and without conceding a try.[1][2] England, in 1913, are the only other Grand Slam winners not to concede a try.[3] France also registered the lowest points total, 58, of any Grand Slam winner in the four point-try era (1972–92).[2] Wales won the Triple Crown for the second consecutive season and the fourteenth time overall, equalling England's record of Triple Crown wins. They were the first Triple Crown winners to finish as runners-up in the championship.[1]

The third game of the tournament — France v. Wales in Paris — was the subject of the 1978 film Grand Slam; the ending had to be rewritten when Wales unexpectedly lost.[4]

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London Peter Colston Roger Uttley
 France Parc des Princes Paris Jean Desclaux Jacques Fouroux
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Roly Meates Tom Grace
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Bill Dickinson Ian McGeechan
 Wales National Stadium Cardiff John Dawes Phil Bennett

Table

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 France 44005821+378
2 Wales 43016643+236
3 England 42024224+184
4 Scotland 41033985462
5 Ireland 40043365320

Squads

Results

1977-01-15
Wales  259  Ireland
Tries: Burgess
Davies
J.P.R. Williams
Con.: Bennett (2)
Pen.: Bennett (2)
Drops: Fenwick
Pen.: Gibson (3)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)
1977-01-15
England  266  Scotland
Tries: Kent
Slemen
Uttley
Young
Con.: Hignell (2)
Pen.: Hignell (2)
Pen.: Irvine (2)
Twickenham, London
Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)

1977-02-05
France  169  Wales
Tries: Harize
Skrela
Con.: Romeu
Pen.: Romeu (2)
Pen.: Fenwick (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,666
Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)
1977-02-05
Ireland  04  England
Tries: Cooper
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: F. Palmade (France)

1977-02-19
England  34  France
Pen.: Hignell Tries: Sangalli
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: J. C. Kelleher (Wales)
1977-02-19
Scotland  2118  Ireland
Tries: Gammell (2)
Madsen
Pen.: Irvine (2)
Drops: Morgan
Tries: Gibson
Con.: Gibson
Pen.: Gibson (2)
Quinn
Drops: Quinn
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)

1977-03-05
France  233  Scotland
Tries: Bertranne
Harize
Paco
Paparemborde
Con.: Romeu (2)
Pen.: Romeu
Pen.: Irvine (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,660
Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)
1977-03-05
Wales  149  England
Tries: Edwards
J.P.R. Williams
Pen.: Fenwick (2)
Pen.: Hignell (3)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: D. I. H. Burnett (Ireland)

1977-03-19
Ireland  615  France
Pen.: Gibson
Quinn
Tries: Bastiat
Con.: Aguirre
Pen.: Aguirre (2)
Romeu
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)
1977-03-19
Scotland  918  Wales
Tries: Irvine
Con.: Irvine
Drops: McGeechan
Tries: Bennett
J.J. Williams
Con.: Bennett (2)
Pen.: Bennett (2)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: G. Domercq (France)

References

  1. (Jenkins, p57)
  2. Seeckts, Richard. "A frugal French victory". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. Griffiths, John. "A watertight defence". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  4. Owen, Roger (15 September 2013). Gwenlyn Parry. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708326633 via Google Books.
  • Jenkins, Vivian (1977). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1977-78. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 57–68. ISBN 0-354-09020-8.
Preceded by
1976 Five Nations
Five Nations Championship
1977
Succeeded by
1978 Five Nations
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