1994 Five Nations Championship

The 1994 Five Nations Championship was the 65th series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 15 January and 19 March 1994.

1994 Five Nations Championship
Date15 January – 19 March 1994
Countries England
 Ireland
 France
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions Wales (22nd title)
Calcutta Cup England
Millennium Trophy Ireland
Matches played10
Tries scored20 (2 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Neil Jenkins (48 points)
Top try scorer(s) Philippe Saint-André
Nigel Walker
Mike Rayer (2 tries)
1993 (Previous) (Next) 1995

The tournament was the 65th in its then format as the Five Nations. Including the competition's former incarnation as the Home Nations Championship, the 1994 Five Nations Championship was the 100th Northern Hemisphere rugby union championship.

The championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was the first time that the Five Nations championship title was decided by using points difference to separate the top two teams that finished level on win/loss record. Wales won the tournament, although a 15–8 away defeat by England in their final match meant they failed to win the Grand Slam: England had needed a 16-point margin of victory over Wales in the final match to snatch the tournament themselves, but fell short, conceding a late Welsh try while pressing for the score that would have given them a big enough margin. Earlier in the tournament, England won the Calcutta Cup beating Scotland at Murrayfield. In a comparatively low scoring tournament, England then surprisingly lost at home to Ireland, ending their own hopes of a Grand Slam. Scotland performed poorly throughout and although somewhat unfortunate to lose to England, were heavily defeated by Wales in their opening match and could only manage a draw against Ireland, before being beaten by France at home in their final fixture. The overall result was, however, Wales' 22nd outright victory, including seven victories in the Home Nations, excluding eleven titles shared with other countries. England and France placed second and third with three and two wins respectively. Ireland placed fourth, with Scotland, last. None of the Home Nations achieved the Triple Crown.

Wales missed out on a seventh Grand Slam after losing to England at Twickenham.

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London Geoff Cooke Will Carling
 France Parc des Princes Paris Pierre Berbizier Olivier Roumat/Philippe Saint-André
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Gerry Murphy Michael Bradley
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Jim Telfer Gavin Hastings
 Wales National Stadium Cardiff Alan Davies Ieuan Evans/Gareth Llewellyn

Squads

Table

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 Wales 43017851+276
2 England 43016049+116
3 France 42028469+154
4 Ireland 41124970213
5 Scotland 40133870321

Results

1994-01-15 14:30
France  35 - 15  Ireland
Tries: Benetton
Lacroix
Merle
Saint-André
Con: Lacroix (3)
Pen: Lacroix (3)
Pen: Elwood (5)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Referee: J. M. Fleming (Scotland)
1994-01-15
Wales  29 - 6  Scotland
Tries: I. Evans
Rayer (2)
Con: N. Jenkins
Pen: N. Jenkins (4)
Pen: G. Hastings (2)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: P. Robin (France)

1994-02-05 14:30
Ireland  15 - 17  Wales
Pen: Elwood (5) Tries: N. Jenkins
Pen: N. Jenkins (4)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: A. J. Spreadbury (England)
1994-02-05 14:30
Scotland  14 - 15  England
Tries: Wainwright
Pen: G. Hastings (2)
Drops: Townsend
Pen: Callard (5)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: L. L. McLachlan (New Zealand)

1994-02-19 14:30
England  12 - 13  Ireland
Pen: Callard (4) Tries: Geoghegan
Con: Elwood
Pen: Elwood (2)
Twickenham, London
Referee: P. Thomas (France)
1994-02-19 14:30
Wales  24 - 15  France
Tries: Quinnell
Walker
Con: N. Jenkins
Pen: N. Jenkins (4)
Tries: Roumat
Sella
Con: Lacroix
Pen: Lacroix
National Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 52,000
Referee: L. L. McLachlan (New Zealand)

1994-03-05 14:30
France  14 - 18  England
Tries: Benazzi
Pen: Lacroix (3)
Pen: Andrew (5)
Drops: Andrew
Parc des Princes, Paris
Referee: S. R. Hilditch (Ireland)
1994-03-05 14:30
Ireland  6 - 6  Scotland
Pen: Elwood (2) Pen: G. Hastings (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: E. F. Morrison (England)

1994-03-19 14:30
England  15 - 8  Wales
Tries: Rodber
R. Underwood
Con: Andrew
Pen: Andrew
Tries: Walker
Pen: N. Jenkins
Twickenham, London
Referee: J. M. Fleming (Scotland)
1994-03-19 14:30
Scotland  12 - 20  France
Pen: G. Hastings (4) Tries: Sadourny
Saint-André
Con: Lacroix
Montlaur
Pen: Lacroix (2)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 49,000
Referee: W. D. Bevan (Wales)

Preceded by
1993 Five Nations
Five Nations Championship
1994
Succeeded by
1995 Five Nations
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