2007 Six Nations Championship
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
Six Nations Championship
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 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. 15 matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.
In this year, 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...
again won on points difference, after four teams had at least a mathematical chance of topping the table going into the final week. The Italians had their first away win of the tournament beating Scotland in Edinburgh. It was also the first time they won two of their matches as they went on to beat Wales in Rome, finishing in 4th place, their best result so far. Scotland won the wooden spoon and Ireland won the Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
for the second straight year and third time in four years.
Participants
The teams involved were:| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twickenham Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000... |
London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Brian Ashton Brian Ashton (rugby player) William Brian Ashton MBE is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby union teams.-Biography:... |
Phil Vickery Phil Vickery (rugby player) Philip John Vickery MBE is a former English rugby union tighthead prop and member of the England squad. He was a member of England's World Cup winning squad in 2003, playing in all seven matches in the tournament, and is a former England captain. Vickery ended his club rugby career at Wasps,... |
|
| Stade de France Stade de France The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for... |
Saint-Denis Saint-Denis Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis.... |
Bernard Laporte Bernard Laporte Bernard Laporte is a rugby union coach and former French Secretary of State for Sport. He is currently the head coach at Toulon, having taken over in 2011 from Philippe Saint-André, who had been named the new head coach of the France national team. Laporte himself is a former head coach of France,... |
Raphaël Ibañez Raphaël Ibanez Raphaël Ibañez is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he was also a former captain of the France national team.-Club career:... |
|
| Croke Park Croke Park Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation... |
Dublin | Eddie O'Sullivan Eddie O'Sullivan Eddie O'Sullivan is an Irish rugby union coach and a former footballer. He is a former head coach of the United States national rugby union team and of the Ireland national rugby union team.... |
Brian O'Driscoll Brian O'Driscoll Brian O'Driscoll is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand... |
|
| Stadio Flaminio Stadio Flaminio The Stadio Flaminio is a stadium in Rome. It lies along the Via Flaminia, three kilometres northwest of the city centre, 300 metres away from the Parco di Villa Glori.... |
Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... |
Pierre Berbizier Pierre Berbizier Pierre Berbizier is a French former rugby union footballer, and currently head coach of Top 14 side Racing Métro. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played 56 times for France.-Biography:Berbizier was born in Saint-Gaudens... |
Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami is an Italian international rugby union player, playing club rugby for Aironi in the Celtic League. In January 2008 he was replaced as captain of Italy's national team.... |
|
| Murrayfield Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one... |
Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
Frank Hadden Frank Hadden Frank Hadden is a Scottish rugby union coach. He is a former head coach of Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby.Hadden replaced Matt Williams and was appointed on 15 September 2005. Hadden coached the Merchiston Castle School 1st XV after being appointed Head of Physical Education at the school in 1983... |
Chris Paterson Chris Paterson Chris Paterson is a Scotland internationalist who plays for RaboDirect Pro12 side Edinburgh Rugby. He is Scotland’s record cap and points holder with 109 caps and 809 points. Paterson is capable in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half. In recent years Paterson has played... |
|
| Millennium Stadium Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage... |
Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
Gareth Jenkins Gareth Jenkins Gareth Jenkins is a former Welsh rugby union footballer, and former head coach of the Welsh national team. After a long and distinguished career at Llanelli RFC, Jenkins was appointed Wales coach in 2006, succeeding Mike Ruddock... |
Stephen Jones Stephen Jones (rugby player) Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays primarily at fly-half for Wales, the British and Irish Lions and Scarlets.... |
Squads
Final table
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Tries | |||
| 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 155 | 86 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 84 | 17 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 119 | 115 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 147 | −53 | 9 | 4 | |
| 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 86 | 113 | −27 | 7 | 2 | |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 95 | 153 | −58 | 7 | 2 | |
- After Round 4 of the competition, all of the teams had lost at least one match, and as a result no one could win the Grand SlamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
. - Ireland won the Triple CrownTriple Crown (Rugby Union)In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
for the second straight year and third time in four years.
The first four rounds
In the build-up to the competition, IrelandIreland 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...
were being tipped as favourites for the Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
, having played well during the Autumn Tests. However, despite having started strongly with a win against 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...
, they lost to France 20-17 in an historic encounter at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
. In turn, Ireland went on to beat 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...
, who subsequently won against France.
Round 3 of the competition saw Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
win their first ever away match in the Six Nations. 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...
conceded three tries (all converted) in the first six minutes, and Italy went on to secure an historic 37-17 victory. In the same round, England's defeat by Ireland at Croke Park 43-13 marked their worst result ever in the history of the tournament, both in number of points conceded and in points difference (30 points).
In round 4, Italy achieved a second victory in the same tournament for the first time, when they defeated Wales 23-20 in Rome in a match that ended in controversy. Trailing by three points, Wales had the chance to equalise in the closing moments of the game when they were awarded a kickable penalty near the Italian 22-metre line. But, having been informed by the referee that 10 seconds remained, they chose to kick for touch, believing that there was time for an attacking line-out and possible try-scoring opportunity, only for the referee to blow his whistle and end the game before the line-out could form. The Welsh players were incensed and the referee later apologised for the misunderstanding that had arisen.
Final day
All three matches in week five of the tournament were played on the same day and four teams — France, Ireland, England and Italy — still had a chance of winning the tournament: France were narrowly ahead of Ireland on points difference, England and Italy could become champions if they won by a large margin and the other results favoured them.The game between Ireland and Italy was played first. At half-time, Ireland led by a single point, but they extended their lead in the second half. As time ran out, Ireland were in possession and could have kicked the ball into touch, ending the game and leaving France requiring a 30-point margin in their game; instead, they opted to seek another try, to set France a bigger target, only for Italy to regain possession and score a converted try, reducing France's target to 23 points.
The second game was between France and Scotland. After starting slowly, France steadily extended their lead, but were still three points short of their target when, with time running out, Elvis Vermeulen
Elvis Vermeulen
Elvis Vermeulen is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for ASM Clermont Auvergne in the top level of French rugby, the Top 14 competition. He was previously with the CA Brive club. He has also played for the French national team, earning his first cap on 16 June 2001 against South...
scored a try in injury-time, which was converted, to gave France a 27-point victory and put them in the lead in the tournament. The referee referred the try to the Television Match Official (TMO), an Irishman, but averted any controversy by merely asking if there was any reason why the try should not be awarded, a form of words used when the referee believes a try has been scored but wants to be sure that there has been no foul play or other infringement in the act of scoring. The TMO advised that there was no reason, and the referee awarded the try.
In the final match, England needed to beat Wales by 57 points to overtake France, while Wales were trying to avoid the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
. Wales led 15–0 after 15 minutes and 18–15 at half-time, and though England managed to draw level in the second half, James Hook
James Hook (rugby player)
James William Hook is a Welsh rugby union player for USA Perpignan. Hook is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in world rugby....
then kicked two penalties and a drop goal, to give Wales the victory by 27–18. This result confirmed France's position as champions and handed the wooden spoon to Scotland, both on points difference.
Week 1
--------
Week 2
--------
Week 3
--------
Week 4
Ireland won the Triple Crown.----
----
- England's victory meant that no team could now win the Grand SlamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
.
Week 5
----- France needed to win by 24 points to overtake Ireland.
----
- England needed to win by 57 points to win the Championship.
Scorers
| Pos | Name | Tries | Pld | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Robinson Jason Robinson Jason Thorpe Robinson OBE is an English former international rugby union and rugby league player of the 1990s and 2000s. Playing at wing or fullback, he won fifty-one rugby union international test caps in total for England, and in rugby league he won twelve caps for Great Britain and seven for... |
4 | 4 | |
| Ronan O'Gara Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara is an Irish rugby union player, playing at fly-half for both Munster and Ireland. He is the all time highest point scorer for both Munster and Ireland. In addition to his prolific point-scoring, he has captained Munster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions... |
4 | 5 | ||
| 3 | Girvan Dempsey Girvan Dempsey Girvan Dempsey is a retired rugby union footballer who played at full back for Leinster and Ireland.- Rugby career :... |
3 | 3 |
| Pos | Name | Points | Pld | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronan O'Gara Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara is an Irish rugby union player, playing at fly-half for both Munster and Ireland. He is the all time highest point scorer for both Munster and Ireland. In addition to his prolific point-scoring, he has captained Munster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions... |
82 | 5 | |
| 2 | Chris Paterson Chris Paterson Chris Paterson is a Scotland internationalist who plays for RaboDirect Pro12 side Edinburgh Rugby. He is Scotland’s record cap and points holder with 109 caps and 809 points. Paterson is capable in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half. In recent years Paterson has played... |
65 | 5 | |
| 3 | Jonny Wilkinson Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players... |
50 | 3 |