1996 Five Nations Championship
The 1996 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship, and the first in the sport's professional era, which officially began in August 1995. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 20 January to 16 March. England were the winners, losing only the first game with France, thus missing the Grand Slam, but winning the Triple Crown. France went into the final week needing a victory to clinch the championship themselves thanks to superior points difference, but lost by a single point to Wales, who not only avoided a whitewash but climbed above Ireland on points difference in doing so.
| 1996 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 20 January - 16 March 1996 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | England (22nd title) | ||
| Triple Crown | England (19th title) | ||
| Calcutta Cup | England | ||
| Millennium Trophy | England | ||
| Centenary Quaich | Scotland | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 30 (3 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Paul Grayson (64 points) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Michael Dods Émile Ntamack (3 tries) | ||
| |||
Scotland missed out on a fourth Grand Slam after losing to England at Murrayfield, this was the second successive season Scotland lost out on a Grand Slam.
Participants
The teams involved were:
Squads
Standings
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
| 1 | England |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 54 | +25 | 6 |
| 2 | Scotland |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 56 | +4 | 6 |
| 3 | France |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 57 | +32 | 4 |
| 4 | Wales |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 82 | −20 | 2 |
| 5 | Ireland |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 106 | −41 | 2 |
Results
20 January 1996 15:00 |
| France |
15–12 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Pen: Lacroix (3) Drops:: Castaignède Lacroix |
Pen: Grayson (2) Drops: Grayson (2) |
20 January 1996 15:00 |
| Ireland |
10–16 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Clohessy Con: Elwood Pen: Elwood |
Tries: Dods McKenzie Pen: Dods Drops: Townsend |
3 February 1996 15:00 |
| England |
21–15 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Guscott R. Underwood Con: Grayson Pen: Grayson (3) |
Tries: Howley Taylor Con: A. Thomas Pen: A. Thomas |
3 February 1996 15:00 |
| Scotland |
19–14 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Dods (2) Pen: Dods (3) |
Tries: Benazzi Pen: Castaignède Lacroix (2) |
17 February 1996 15:00 |
| France |
45–10 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Accoceberry Campan Castel (2) Ntamack (2) Saint-André Con: Castaignède (5) |
Tries: Penalty try Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys |
17 February 1996 15:00 |
| Wales |
14–16 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Proctor Pen: A. Thomas (3) |
Tries: Townsend Con: Dods Pen: Dods (3) |
2 March 1996 15:00 |
| Ireland |
30–17 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Corkery Fulcher Geoghegan Woods Con: Mason (2) Pen: Mason (2) |
Tries: I. Evans (2) Con: A. Thomas (2) Pen: A. Thomas |
16 March 1996 15:00 |
| England |
28–15 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Sleightholme Con: Grayson Pen: Grayson (6) Drops: Grayson |
Pen: Mason (4) Drops: Humphreys |
16 March 1996 15:00 |
| Wales |
16–15 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Howley Con: Jenkins Pen: Jenkins (3) |
Tries: Castaignède Ntamack Con: Castaignède Pen: Castaignède |