1997 Five Nations Championship
Date18 January – 15 March 1997
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions France (11th title)
Grand Slam France (5th title)
Triple Crown England (20th title)
Matches played10
Tries scored50 (5 per match)
Top point scorer(s)England Paul Grayson (52 points)
Top try scorer(s)France David Venditti
France Laurent Leflamand (4 tries)
1996 (Previous) (Next) 1998

The 1997 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 18 January to 15 March, the crucial match being in Weekend 4 where England inexplicably threw away a 20–6 lead at Twickenham with quarter of the match to go and were pipped by France. France went on to win their first Grand Slam in ten years; England defeated the other Home Nations by large margins to win the Triple Crown. It was the last time that France played at the Parc des Princes, in Paris. Since then, the French team has been playing in the Stade de France, also in Paris.[1]

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham Stadium London Jack Rowell Phil de Glanville
 France Parc des Princes Paris Jean-Claude Skrela Abdelatif Benazzi
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Brian Ashton Keith Wood/Jim Staples
 Scotland Murrayfield Stadium Edinburgh Jim Telfer Rob Wainwright
 Wales National Stadium Cardiff Kevin Bowring Jonathan Humphreys

Squads

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  France 4 4 0 0 129 77 +52 8
2  England 4 3 0 1 141 55 +86 6
3  Wales 4 1 0 3 94 106 12 2
4  Scotland 4 1 0 3 90 132 42 2
5  Ireland 4 1 0 3 57 141 84 2
Source:

Results

Week 1

18 January 1997
15:00
Ireland 15–32 France
Pen: Elwood (5)ReportTry: Galthié
Venditti (3)
Con: Castaignède (3)
Pen: Castaignède (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Andre Watson (South Africa)

18 January 1997
15:00
Scotland 19–34 Wales
Try: S. Hastings
Con: Shepherd
Pen: Shepherd (3)
Drop: Chalmers
ReportTry: Evans
N. Jenkins
S. Quinnell
A. Thomas
Con: N. Jenkins (4)
Pen: N. Jenkins (2)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 67,500
Referee: Bertie Smith (Ireland)

Week 2

1 February 1997
15:00
England 41–13 Scotland
Try: Penalty try
Carling
De Glanville
Gomarsall
Con: Grayson (3)
Pen: Grayson (5)
ReportTry: Eriksson
Con: Shepherd
Pen: Shepherd (2)
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 75,000
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

1 February 1997
15:00
Wales 25–26 Ireland
Try: Evans (2)
S. Quinnell
Con: N. Jenkins (2)
Pen: N. Jenkins (2)
ReportTry: Bell
Hickie
Miller
Con: Elwood (1)
Pen: Elwood (3)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Wayne Erickson (Australia)

Week 3

15 February 1997
15:00
France 27–22 Wales
Try: Leflamand (2)
Merle
Venditti
Con: Aucagne (1)
Dourthe (1)
Pen: Aucagne
ReportTry: Bateman
Howley
G. Thomas
Con: N. Jenkins (2)
Pen: N. Jenkins
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 46,000
Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia)

15 February 1997
15:00
Ireland 6–46 England
Pen: Elwood (2)ReportTry: Gomarsall
Hill
Sleightholme (2)
T. Underwood (2)
Con: Grayson (2)
Pen: Grayson (4)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 51,898
Referee: Colin Hawke (New Zealand)

Week 4

1 March 1997
15:00
England 20–23 France
Try: Dallaglio
Pen: Grayson (4)
Drop: Grayson
ReportTry: Lamaison
Leflamand
Con: Lamaison (2)
Pen: Lamaison (2)
Drop: Lamaison
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 75,000
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

1 March 1997
15:00
Scotland 38–10 Ireland
Try: Stanger
Tait
Townsend
Walton
Weir
Con: Shepherd (5)
Pen: Shepherd
ReportTry: Hickie
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 67,500
Referee: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

Week 5

15 March 1997
15:00
France 47–20 Scotland
Try: Benazzi
Leflamand
Magne
Tournaire
Con: Lamaison (3)
Pen: Lamaison (6)
Drop: Sadourny
ReportTry: Tait (2)
Con: Shepherd (2)
Pen: Shepherd (2)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 49,000
Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

15 March 1997
15:00
Wales 13–34 England
Try: Howley
Con: J. Davies
Pen: J. Davies (2)
ReportTry: De Glanville
Hill
Stimpson
T. Underwood
Con: Catt (4)
Pen: Catt (2)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Joel Dume (France)

References

  1. Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.
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