1972 Five Nations Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1972 Five Nations Championship was the forty-third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship
. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The championship was not completed for the first time since World War II
. Scotland
and Wales
did not want to travel to Dublin to play Ireland
because of the escalating political situation. Although the remaining fixtures of the schedule were fulfilled, as both Ireland and Wales won all their matches, neither could claim the title. To fill the gap of the missing two fixtures, France
played a friendly match in Dublin (in addition to the scheduled match in Paris). In total nine matches were played between 15 January and 29 April. It was contested by England
, France
, Ireland
, Scotland
and Wales
.
This tournament saw France play its last matches at its decades-long home ground of Colombes
. The opening of the rebuilt Parc des Princes
that June saw France move its Five Nations matches to that ground.
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The championship was not completed for the first time since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
did not want to travel to Dublin to play Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
because of the escalating political situation. Although the remaining fixtures of the schedule were fulfilled, as both Ireland and Wales won all their matches, neither could claim the title. To fill the gap of the missing two fixtures, France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
played a friendly match in Dublin (in addition to the scheduled match in Paris). In total nine matches were played between 15 January and 29 April. It was contested by England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
.
This tournament saw France play its last matches at its decades-long home ground of Colombes
Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
The Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir - stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France . Named in memory of French rugby player Yves du Manoir in 1928. Was the main stadium for the 1924 Summer Olympics and had a capacity of 45,000 at the time...
. The opening of the rebuilt Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
that June saw France move its Five Nations matches to that ground.
Table
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 21 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 21 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 53 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 66 | −4 | 2 | |
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 88 | −52 | 0 | |