1989 Five Nations Championship

The 1989 Five Nations Championship was the 60th series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 95th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends between 21 January and 18 March. France won it with three wins and one defeat (against England), while no British team was able to win the Triple Crown. England entered the final round of matches knowing that a win would give them at least a share of the championship, but were overturned in Cardiff as Wales scored their only victory of the season.

1989 Five Nations Championship
Date	21 January – 18 March 1989
Countries	England  Ireland  France  Scotland  Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions	France (9th title)
Calcutta Cup	England
Millennium Trophy	England
Centenary Quaich	Scotland
Matches played	10
Tries scored	28 (2.8 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Michael Kiernan (37 points)
Top try scorer(s)	Serge Blanco (4 tries)
← 1988 (Previous) (Next) 1990 →

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation	Venue	City	Head coach	Captain
England	Twickenham	London	Geoff Cooke	Will Carling
France	Parc des Princes	Paris	Jacques Fouroux	Pierre Berbizier
Ireland	Lansdowne Road	Dublin	Jim Davidson	Phillip Matthews
Scotland	Murrayfield	Edinburgh	Ian McGeechan	Finlay Calder
Wales	National Stadium	Cardiff	John Ryan	Paul Thorburn

Squads

For each nation's squad for the 1989 Five Nations Championship, see 1989 Five Nations Championship squads.

Table

Position	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference
1	France	4	3	0	1	76	47	+29	6
2	England	4	2	1	1	48	27	+21	5
2	Scotland	4	2	1	1	75	59	+16	5
4	Ireland	4	1	0	3	64	92	−28	2
4	Wales	4	1	0	3	44	82	−38	2

Results

21 January 1989

Ireland	21–26	France
Try: Mullin Con: Kiernan Pen: Kiernan (5)		Try: Blanco Lafond Lagisquet (2) Con: Lafond (2) Pen: Lafond (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)

21 January 1989

Scotland	23–7	Wales
Try: Armstrong Chalmers White Con: Dods Pen: Dods (2) Drop: Chalmers		Try: Hall Pen: Bowen

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Jean-Claude Doulcet (France)

---

4 February 1989

Wales	13–19	Ireland
Try: Jones Pen: Thorburn (3)		Try: Dean Mannion Con: Kiernan Pen: Kiernan (3)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Roger Quittenton (England)

4 February 1989

England	12–12	Scotland
Pen: Andrew (2) Webb (2)		Try: Jeffrey Con: Dods Pen: Dods (2)

Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: Guy Maurette (France)

• This is the first draw in the Five Nations since 1985 (Ireland 15–15 France)
• This is the first draw between England and Scotland since 1982
• England retained the Calcutta Cup

---

18 February 1989

France	31–12	Wales
Try: Berbizier Blanco (2) Dintrans Con: Lafond (3) Pen: Lafond (2) Drop: Mesnel		Pen: Thorburn (4)

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 50,370 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

18 February 1989

Ireland	3–16	England
Pen: Kiernan		Try: Moore Richards Con: Andrew Pen: Andrew (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Les Peard (Wales)

---

4 March 1989

Scotland	37–21	Ireland
Try: Cronin Jeffrey Tukalo (3) Con: Dods (4) Pen: Dods (3)		Try: Dunlea Mullin (2) Con: Kiernan (3) Pen: Kiernan

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (New Zealand)

4 March 1989

England	11–0	France
Try: Carling Robinson Pen: Andrew

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 62,500 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

---

18 March 1989

France	19–3	Scotland
Try: Berbizier Blanco Lagisquet Con: Bérot (2) Pen: Bérot		Pen: Dods

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 49,370 Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland)

18 March 1989

Wales	12–9	England
Try: Hall Con: Thorburn Pen: Thorburn (2)		Pen: Andrew (2) Drop: Andrew

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (New Zealand)