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 | |||
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Date | 21 January - 18 March 1978 | ||
Countries | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Tournament statistics | |||
Champions | ![]() | ||
Grand Slam | ![]() | ||
Triple Crown | ![]() | ||
Calcutta Cup | ![]() | ||
Matches played | 10 | ||
Tries scored | 24 (2.4 per match) | ||
Top point scorer(s) | ![]() | ||
Top try scorer(s) | ![]() | ||
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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 |
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Twickenham | London | Peter Colston | Bill Beaumont |
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Parc des Princes | Paris | Jean Desclaux | Jean-Pierre Bastiat |
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Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Noel Murphy | John Moloney |
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Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Nairn McEwan | Dougie Morgan |
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National Stadium | Cardiff | John Dawes | Phil Bennett |
Table
Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
1 | ![]() |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 8 |
2 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 6 |
3 | ![]() |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 4 |
4 | ![]() |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 2 |
5 | ![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 68 | −29 | 0 |
Squads
Results
1978-02-04 |
Scotland ![]() |
16–19 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tries: Irvine Shedden Con.: Morgan Pen.: Morgan Drops: Morgan |
Tries: Gallion Haget Con.: Aguirre Pen.: Aguirre (3) |
1978-02-18 |
Wales ![]() |
22–14 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tries: Edwards Fenwick Gravell Quinnell Pen.: Bennett Drops: Bennett |
Tries: Renwick Tomes Pen.: Morgan (2) |
1978-03-04 |
Ireland ![]() |
16–20 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tries: Moloney Pen.: Ward (3) Drops: Ward |
Tries: Fenwick Williams Pen.: Fenwick (4) |
1978-03-18 |
Wales ![]() |
16–7 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Tries: Bennett (2) Con.: Bennett Drops: Edwards Fenwick |
Tries: Skrela Drops: Vivies |
1978-03-18 |
England ![]() |
15–9 | ![]() |
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Tries: Dixon Slemen Con.: Young (2) Pen.: Young |
Pen.: Ward (2) Drops: Ward |
References
External links
Preceded by 1977 Five Nations |
Five Nations Championship 1978 |
Succeeded by 1979 Five Nations |