2003 Six Nations Championship

The 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, and the 109th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by England, who completed a grand slam, and went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup later the same year. Italy won their first match with Wales (30-22), finishing in 5th place for the first time in the process.

2003 Six Nations Championship
Date15 February – 30 March 2003
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions England (25th title)
Grand Slam England (12th title)
Triple Crown England (23rd title)
Calcutta Cup England
Millennium Trophy England
Centenary Quaich Ireland
Matches played15
Tries scored74 (4.93 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Jonny Wilkinson (77)
Top try scorer(s) Damien Traille (4)
2002 (Previous) (Next) 2004

This was the sixth time in the Championship's history, but the first time since it became the Six Nations, that two teams met in the final round with undefeated records, both England and Ireland having won their first four games, making the final match a decider for the Grand Slam. It was also the first time Ireland had been involved: and the first that was won by the away team. Wales were whitewashed, losing all five of their games, and earned themselves the wooden spoon as a result.

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London Clive Woodward Martin Johnson/Jonny Wilkinson
 France Stade de France Paris Bernard Laporte Fabien Galthié/Fabien Pelous
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Eddie O'Sullivan Brian O'Driscoll
 Italy Stadio Flaminio Rome John Kirwan Alessandro Troncon
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Ian McGeechan Bryan Redpath
 Wales Millennium Stadium Cardiff Steve Hansen Colin Charvis/Martyn Williams

Squads

Table

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference Tries
1 England 550017346+1271810
2 Ireland 540111997+22108
3 France 530215375+78176
4 Scotland 520381161−8074
5 Italy 5104100185−85122
6 Wales 500582144−62100

Results

Round 1

15 February 2003
13:30 GMT
Italy  30–22  Wales
Try: De Carli
Festuccia
Phillips
Con: Dominguez (3)
Pen: Dominguez (2)
Drop: Dominguez
Report Try: S. Williams
Shanklin
Peel
Con: Harris (2)
Pen: Harris
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Joël Jutge (France)

15 February 2003
16:00 GMT
England  25–17  France
Try: Robinson
Con: Wilkinson
Pen: Wilkinson (5)
Drop: Wilkinson
Report Try: Magne
Poitrenaud
Traille
Con: Merceron
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 73,500
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

16 February 2003
15:00 GMT
Scotland  6–36  Ireland
Pen: Ross (2)
Report Try: Hickie
Murphy
Humphreys
Con: Humphreys (3)
Pen: Humphreys (5)
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 67,500
Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)

Round 2

22 February 2003
14:30 GMT
Italy  13–37  Ireland
Try: Dallan
Con: Pez
Pen: Dominguez
Pez
Report Try: Stringer
Kelly
Humphreys
O'Driscoll
Murphy
Con: Humphreys (3)
Pen: Humphreys (2)
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 22,500
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)

22 February 2003
17:30 GMT
Wales  9–26  England
Pen: Sweeney (3)
Report Try: Greenwood
Worsley
Con: Wilkinson (2)
Pen: Wilkinson (2)
Drop: Wilkinson (2)
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 69,727
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

23 February 2003
14:00 GMT
France  38–3  Scotland
Try: Pelous
Poitrenaud
Traille
Rougerie
Con: Gelez (3)
Pen: Gelez (4)
Report Pen: Paterson
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 78,692
Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia)

Round 3

8 March 2003
14:00 GMT
Ireland  15–12  France
Pen: Humphreys (4)
Drop: Murphy
Report Pen: Gelez (4)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 47,500
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

8 March 2003
16:00 GMT
Scotland  30–22  Wales
Try: Douglas
Taylor
Paterson
Con: Paterson (3)
Pen: Paterson (3)
Report Try: Cooper
Taylor
R. Williams
Con: S. Jones (2)
Pen: S. Jones
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Pablo De Luca (Argentina)
  • Referee Pablo De Luca was injured during the match and replaced by touch judge Tony Spreadbury at half-time.[1]

9 March 2003
14:00 GMT
England  40–5  Italy
Try: Lewsey (2)
Thompson
Simpson-Daniel
Tindall
Luger
Con: Wilkinson (4)
Dawson
Report Try: Mi. Bergamasco
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 72,000
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Round 4

22 March 2003
14:00 GMT
Wales  24–25  Ireland
Try: S. Jones
M. Williams
Thomas
Con: S. Jones (3)
Drop: S. Jones
Report Try: Gleeson (2)
Pen: Humphreys (4)
Drop: O'Gara
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 72,500
Referee: Steve Lander (England)

22 March 2003
16:00 GMT
England  40–9  Scotland
Try: Robinson (2)
Cohen
Lewsey
Con: Wilkinson (3)
Paul Grayson
Pen: Wilkinson (4)
Report Pen: Paterson (3)
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 72,000
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

23 March 2003
14:00 GMT
Italy  27–53  France
Try: Pez
Mi. Bergamasco
Persico
Phillips
Con: Pez (2)
Pen: Pez
Report Try: Traille (2)
Rougerie (2)
Betsen
Michalak
Castaignède
Con: Yachvili (6)
Pen: Yachvili (2)
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)

Round 5

29 March 2003
13:00 GMT
France  33–5  Wales
Try: Castaginède
Clerc
Michalak
Con: Yachvili (3)
Pen: Yachvili (4)
Report Try: Thomas
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 78,906
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

29 March 2003
15:00 GMT
Scotland  33–25  Italy
Try: White
McLaren
Logan
Paterson
Con: Paterson (2)
Pen: Paterson (3)
Report Try: Mi. Bergamasco
Pez
Palmer
Con: Pez (2)
Pen: Pez (2)
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 45,739
Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)

30 March 2003
14:00 BST
Ireland  6–42  England
Pen: Humphreys
Drop: Humphreys
Report Try: Greenwood (2)
Dallaglio
Tindall
Luger
Con: Wilkinson (3)
Grayson
Pen: Wilkinson
Drop: Wilkinson (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 47,900
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Red carpet incident

The deciding game between Ireland and England was overshadowed by an incident in the pre-game ceremonies in which the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, had to walk on the grass instead of the red carpet to meet the Irish team. England had lined up on the left hand side when facing the tunnel, which was said to be Ireland's lucky side. When asked to move his team, England captain Martin Johnson refused, so Ireland lined up to the left of them, with no team now on the right hand side, leaving insufficient red carpet on that side. A day after the game the Irish Rugby Football Union sent a written apology to the president for the England team's failure to "follow established and communicated protocol", while the Rugby Football Union also sent her a "full and unreserved apology".[2] Having dismissed it at the time as "a fuss about nothing", Johnson later explained ahead of meeting the president again in Ireland for the 2011 Championship that he had lined up on that side as it was customary to line up on the side you warmed up on, that he had no prior knowledge of the protocol, and his subsequent refusal to move was because the request came from some "random guy", rather than the match referee.[3]

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References

  1. Harris, Norman (8 March 2003). "Scots on rampage". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  2. "RUGBY: Rugby apology for McAleese". UTV. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  3. "18 March 2011". Irish Examiner. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
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