1991 Five Nations Championship

The 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 62nd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 19 January and 16 March 1991.

1991 Five Nations Championship
Date	19 January - 16 March 1991
Countries	England  Ireland  France  Scotland  Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions	England (19th title)
Grand Slam	England (9th title)
Triple Crown	England (16th title)
Matches played	10
Tries scored	36 (3.6 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Simon Hodgkinson (60 points)
Top try scorer(s)	Mike Teague Rory Underwood Franck Mesnel Philippe Saint-André Philippe Sella Simon Geoghegan Brendan Mullin Derek White (2 tries)
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The tournament was the 62nd in its then format as the Five Nations. Including the competition's former incarnation as the Home Nations Championship, the 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 97th Northern Hemisphere rugby union championship.

The championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England won the tournament, achieving a final 21–19 victory over France to win the Grand Slam, their first since 1980 and ninth overall in the Five Nations. This was also their nineteenth outright victory, including five victories in the Home Nations, excluding ten titles shared with other countries. England also won the Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup as a result of their victories over the other Home Nations. France and Scotland placed second and third with three and two wins respectively, while Ireland and Wales placed fourth and fifth without achieving any victories; the fixture between the two teams resulted in a 21–21 draw.

It was also the fourth occasion, after 1978, 1984 and 1990, on 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. France lost on their third attempt.

This edition was also famous for the try Philippe Saint-André scored in the last match of the tournament against England, which was later voted Twickenham's try of the century.^[1]

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation	Venue	City	Head coach	Captain
England	Twickenham	London	Geoff Cooke	Will Carling
France	Parc des Princes	Paris	Daniel Dubroca	Serge Blanco
Ireland	Lansdowne Road	Dublin	Ciaran Fitzgerald	Rob Saunders
Scotland	Murrayfield	Edinburgh	Jim Telfer	David Sole
Wales	National Stadium	Cardiff	Ron Waldron	Paul Thorburn

Squads

For each nation's squad for the 1991 Five Nations Championship, see 1991 Five Nations Championship squads.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	England	4	4	0	0	83	44	+39	8
2	France	4	3	0	1	91	46	+45	6
3	Scotland	4	2	0	2	81	73	+8	4
4	Ireland	4	0	1	3	66	86	−20	1
4	Wales	4	0	1	3	42	114	−72	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

1991-01-19

France	15–9	Scotland
Pen.: Camberabero (2) Drops: Blanco Camberabero (2)		Pen.: Chalmers (2) Drops: Chalmers

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 48,990 Referee: E. F. Morrison (England)

1991-01-19

Wales	6–25	England
Pen.: N. Jenkins Thorburn		Tries: Teague Pen.: Hodgkinson (7)

National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: R. J. Megson (Scotland)

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1991-02-02

Ireland	13–21	France
Tries: S. Smith Pen.: Kiernan (3)		Tries: Cabannes Lagisquet Con.: Camberabero (2) Pen.: Camberabero (3)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 50,000 Referee: W. D. Bevan (Wales)

1991-02-02

Scotland	32–12	Wales
Tries: Armstrong Chalmers White (2) Con.: Chalmers G. Hastings Pen.: Chalmers G. Hastings (2) Drops: Chalmers		Tries: Ford Con.: Thorburn Pen.: Thorburn (2)

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: D. J. Bishop (New Zealand)

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1991-02-16

Wales	21–21	Ireland
Tries: Arnold N. Jenkins Con.: Thorburn (2) Pen.: Thorburn (2) Drops: N. Jenkins		Tries: Clarke Geoghegan Mullin Staples Con.: B. Smith Drops: B. Smith

National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: D. J. Bishop (New Zealand)

1991-02-16

England	21–12	Scotland
Tries: Heslop Con.: Hodgkinson Pen.: Hodgkinson (5)		Pen.: Chalmers (4)

Twickenham, London Referee: S. R. Hilditch (Ireland)

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1991-03-02

France	36–3	Wales
Tries: Blanco Lafond Mesnel Roumat Saint-André Sella Con.: Sella Camberabero (2) Pen.: Camberabero (2)		Pen.: Thorburn

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 49,370 Referee: K. Fitzgerald (Australia)

1991-03-02

Ireland	7–16	England
Tries: Geoghegan Pen.: B. Smith		Tries: Teague R. Underwood Con.: Hodgkinson Pen.: Hodgkinson (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: A. Ceccon (France)

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1991-03-16

Scotland	28–25	Ireland
Tries: G. Hastings S. Hastings Stanger Con.: Chalmers (2) Pen.: Chalmers (3) G. Hastings		Tries: Crossan Geoghegan Mullin Robinson Con.: B. Smith (3) Drops: B. Smith

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: K. Fitzgerald (Australia)

1991-03-16

England	21–19	France
Tries: R. Underwood Con.: Hodgkinson Pen.: Hodgkinson (4) Drops: Andrew		Tries: Camberabero Mesnel Saint-André Con.: Camberabero (2) Pen.: Camberabero

Twickenham, London Attendance: 61,000 Referee: L. J. Peard (Wales)