1978 Five Nations Championship

The 1978 Five Nations Championship was the forty-ninth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 21 January and 18 March. The tournament was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The championship was won by Wales, the twentieth time the team won the competition outright. The Welsh had won another nine titles, which were shared with other teams. Having won all four of their games, Wales also won the Grand Slam, a record eighth occasion the team did so - Wales had formerly shared the record of seven with England. Victories over England, Ireland and Scotland (the Home Nations), also meant Wales won the Triple Crown for the third consecutive time, a record, given no other team had ever won the Triple Crown more than twice in a row. It was Wales' fifteenth in total, also a record, surpassing the fourteen won by England.

1978 Five Nations Championship
Date21 January - 18 March 1978
Countries England
 Ireland
 France
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions Wales (20th title)
Grand Slam Wales (8th title)
Triple Crown Wales (15th title)
Calcutta Cup England
Matches played10
Tries scored24 (2.4 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Tony Ward (38)
Top try scorer(s) Jérôme Gallion (3)
1977 (Previous) (Next) 1979

The tournament was the first Five Nations Championship in which two teams each with three victories faced off against each other in the final round of matches, with both capable of completing a Grand Slam with a victory.

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London Peter Colston Bill Beaumont
 France Parc des Princes Paris Jean Desclaux Jean-Pierre Bastiat
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Noel Murphy John Moloney
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Nairn McEwan Dougie Morgan
 Wales National Stadium Cardiff John Dawes Phil Bennett

Table

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 Wales 44006743+248
2 France 43015147+46
3 England 42024233+94
4 Ireland 4103465482
5 Scotland 40043968290

Squads

Results

1978-01-21
France  156  England
Tries: Averous
Gallion
Con.: Aguirre (2)
Pen.: Aguirre
Drops: Old (2)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,643
Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)
1978-01-21
Ireland  129  Scotland
Tries: McKinney
Con.: Ward
Pen.: Ward (2)
Pen.: Morgan (3)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: P. E. Hughes (England)

1978-02-04
Scotland  1619  France
Tries: Irvine
Shedden
Con.: Morgan
Pen.: Morgan
Drops: Morgan
Tries: Gallion
Haget
Con.: Aguirre
Pen.: Aguirre (3)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: C. G. P. Thomas (Wales)
1978-02-04
England  69  Wales
Pen.: Hignell (2) Pen.: Bennett (3)
Twickenham, London
Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)

1978-02-18
Wales  2214  Scotland
Tries: Edwards
Fenwick
Gravell
Quinnell
Pen.: Bennett
Drops: Bennett
Tries: Renwick
Tomes
Pen.: Morgan (2)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: J. R. West (Ireland)
1978-02-18
France  109  Ireland
Tries: Gallion
Pen.: Aguirre (2)
Pen.: Ward (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 43,639
Referee: C. G. P. Thomas (Wales)

1978-03-04
Scotland  015  England
Tries: Nelmes
Squires
Con.: Young (2)
Pen.: Dodge
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: J. R. West (Ireland)
1978-03-04
Ireland  1620  Wales
Tries: Moloney
Pen.: Ward (3)
Drops: Ward
Tries: Fenwick
Williams
Pen.: Fenwick (4)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: G. Domercq (France)

1978-03-18
Wales  167  France
Tries: Bennett (2)
Con.: Bennett
Drops: Edwards
Fenwick
Tries: Skrela
Drops: Vivies
National Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: A. Welsby (England)
1978-03-18
England  159  Ireland
Tries: Dixon
Slemen
Con.: Young (2)
Pen.: Young
Pen.: Ward (2)
Drops: Ward
Twickenham, London
Referee: F. Palmade (France)

References

Preceded by
1977 Five Nations
Five Nations Championship
1978
Succeeded by
1979 Five Nations
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