1977 Five Nations Championship

The 1977 Five Nations Championship was the forty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 15 January and 19 March.

1977 Five Nations Championship
Date	15 January - 19 March 1977
Countries	England  Ireland  France  Scotland  Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions	France (6th title)
Grand Slam	France (2nd title)
Triple Crown	Wales (14th title)
Matches played	10
Tries scored	25 (2.5 per match)
Top point scorers	Phil Bennett (24) Mike Gibson (24)
Top try scorers	Bill Gammell (2) J. P. R. Williams (2) Dominique Harize (2)
← 1976 (Previous) (Next) 1978 →

France won the championship for the sixth time outright. Including shared titles this was France's tenth championship overall. France won the Grand Slam for the second time and did so with the same fifteen players in all four matches (a unique feat for a Grand Slam winner) and without conceding a try.^[1][2] England, in 1913, are the only other Grand Slam winners not to concede a try.^[3] France also registered the lowest points total, 58, of any Grand Slam winner in the four point-try era (1972–92).^[2] Wales won the Triple Crown for the second consecutive season and the fourteenth time overall, equalling England's record of Triple Crown wins. They were the first Triple Crown winners to finish as runners-up in the championship.^[1]

The third game of the tournament — France v. Wales in Paris — was the subject of the 1978 film Grand Slam; the ending had to be rewritten when Wales unexpectedly lost.^[4]

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation	Venue	City	Head coach	Captain
England	Twickenham	London	Peter Colston	Roger Uttley
France	Parc des Princes	Paris	Jean Desclaux	Jacques Fouroux
Ireland	Lansdowne Road	Dublin	Roly Meates	Tom Grace
Scotland	Murrayfield	Edinburgh	Bill Dickinson	Ian McGeechan
Wales	National Stadium	Cardiff	John Dawes	Phil Bennett

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	France	4	4	0	0	58	21	+37	8
2	Wales	4	3	0	1	66	43	+23	6
3	England	4	2	0	2	42	24	+18	4
4	Scotland	4	1	0	3	39	85	−46	2
5	Ireland	4	0	0	4	33	65	−32	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Squads

For each nation's squad for the 1977 Five Nations Championship, see 1977 Five Nations Championship squads.

Results

1977-01-15

Wales	25–9	Ireland
Tries: Burgess Davies J. P. R. Williams Con.: Bennett (2) Pen.: Bennett (2) Drops: Fenwick		Pen.: Gibson (3)

National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland)

1977-01-15

England	26–6	Scotland
Tries: Kent Slemen Uttley Young Con.: Hignell (2) Pen.: Hignell (2)		Pen.: Irvine (2)

Twickenham, London Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)

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1977-02-05

France	16–9	Wales
Tries: Harize Skrela Con.: Romeu Pen.: Romeu (2)		Pen.: Fenwick (3)

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 43,666 Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)

1977-02-05

Ireland	0–4	England
		Tries: Cooper

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: F. Palmade (France)

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1977-02-19

England	3–4	France
Pen.: Hignell		Tries: Sangalli

Twickenham, London Attendance: 70,000 Referee: J. C. Kelleher (Wales)

1977-02-19

Scotland	21–18	Ireland
Tries: Gammell (2) Madsen Pen.: Irvine (2) Drops: Morgan		Tries: Gibson Con.: Gibson Pen.: Gibson (2) Quinn Drops: Quinn

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)

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1977-03-05

France	23–3	Scotland
Tries: Bertranne Harize Paco Paparemborde Con.: Romeu (2) Pen.: Romeu		Pen.: Irvine (3)

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 43,660 Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)

1977-03-05

Wales	14–9	England
Tries: Edwards J. P. R. Williams Pen.: Fenwick (2)		Pen.: Hignell (3)

National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: D. I. H. Burnett (Ireland)

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1977-03-19

Ireland	6–15	France
Pen.: Gibson Quinn		Tries: Bastiat Con.: Aguirre Pen.: Aguirre (2) Romeu

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)

1977-03-19

Scotland	9–18	Wales
Tries: Irvine Con.: Irvine Drops: McGeechan		Tries: Bennett J.J. Williams Con.: Bennett (2) Pen.: Bennett (2)

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: G. Domercq (France)