2007 Six Nations Championship

Participants

Squads

Table

• 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 Slam.
• Ireland won the Triple Crown for the second straight year and third time in four years.

The first four rounds

In the build-up to the competition, Ireland were being tipped as favourites for the Grand Slam, having played well during the Autumn Tests. However, despite having started strongly with a win against Wales, they lost to France 20–17 in a historic encounter at Croke Park. In turn, Ireland went on to beat England, who subsequently won against France.

Round 3 of the competition saw Italy win their first ever away match in the Six Nations. Scotland conceded three tries (all converted) in the first six minutes, and Italy went on to secure a 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, supposedly 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 scored a try in injury-time, which was converted, to give 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, asking if there was any reason why the try should not be awarded. 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. 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 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.

Results

Round 1

Heymans 30' c Chabal (2) 40' m, 44' c Jauzion 63' c Beauxis (1/1) 72'

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Wilkinson 59' c Lund 72' m Dewey 77' c

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B. O'Driscoll 33' c O'Gara 71' c

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Round 2

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Clerc 79' c Beauxis (1/1)

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Round 3

Paterson 60' c Scanavacca 4' c Robertson 6' c Troncon 75' c

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• This was Italy's biggest margin of victory over a Tier 1 nation.

D. Wallace 37' c Horgan 63' c Boss 78' c P. Wallace (1/1)

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Nallet 34' c Beauxis (1/1) 80' Shanklin 15' c Robinson 74' c

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Round 4

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• Ireland won the Triple Crown.

Mauro Bergamasco 78' c Rees 45' c Hook (1/1)

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• This was the first time that Italy won two matches in a Six Nations Championship.

Tindall 73' c Geraghty (1/1) Geraghty (1/1) 68' Yachvili (3/3) 34', 52', 59'

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• England's victory meant that no team could now win the Grand Slam.

Round 5

De Marigny 80' c Easterby 21' m D'Arcy 40' c Horgan 51' m Hickie (2) 55' c, 77' m O'Gara 59' c

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Jauzion 33' c Marty 52' c Heymans 59' m Milloud 62' c Vermeulen 80' c S. Lamont 40' c E. Murray 76' m

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• France needed to win by 24 points to overtake Ireland.

Horsman 13' m Robinson 40' m

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• England needed to win by 57 points to win the Championship.

Scorers

Notes

References

References

1. (20 February 2007). "France robbed of skipper Pelous". RugbyRugby.com.
2. (14 March 2007). "Thomas to deputise for injured captain". [[Welsh Rugby Union]].
3. (10 March 2007). "Italy 23-20 Wales". [[BBC.
4. (11 March 2007). "Referee sorry for Rome confusion". [[BBC.
5. (10 December 2007). "France last gasp try seals 17-20 win over Ireland". Rbs6nations.com.
6. "Six Nations 2007".
7. "Statistics - 2007". Six Nations Rugby.