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2016 Six Nations Championship

The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship.

It was contested by England, France, defending champions Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 122nd edition of the tournament.[1]

England won the Championship on 13 March with a game to play, winning their first Championship since 2011.[2][3][4] On 19 March, they earned the Grand Slam for the 13th time, their first since 2003.[5][6][7]

The 2016 Championship was the first time in the Six Nations era that both the champions and the wooden spoon "winners" had been decided before the final day, as Italy were confirmed to finish in sixth place for the 11th time on 13 March with Scotland's victory over France.[8] Italy went on to lose their final match, and were thus whitewashed for the seventh time. The 29 tries conceded by Italy was also a Championship record, exceeding the 25 tries they conceded in 2000 and 2003.

Participants

* Except the final match at home against Italy, when Warburton was ruled out due to concussion protocol. Dan Lydiate took his place as captain, with championship vice-captain Alun Wyn Jones also ruled out injured.[9]

Squads

Story of the tournament

Round 1 (6–7 February)

The tournament started with a surprisingly narrow 23–21 win for France over Italy. At one point, Italy had led 18–10 and then 21–20, but a late penalty from Jules Plisson gave France the points.[10] The same day, another tight game saw England retain the Calcutta Cup in a narrow 15–9 win over Scotland, with tries from George Kruis and Jack Nowell.[11] The following day, two of the three tournament favourites, Ireland and Wales, drew 16–16 in Dublin. Ireland had led 13–0 before Wales battled back to lead 16–13. Johnny Sexton's late penalty gave Ireland a share of the spoils.[12]

Round 2 (13–14 February)

Ireland's defence of the title was damaged further in Week 2 when they were beaten 10–9 in a second successive narrow victory for France. Ireland had led 9–3 from before half-time, but Maxime Médard's 69th minute converted try proved to be the winner.[13] Another comeback later that day saw Wales beat Scotland 27–23 in Cardiff. Scotland had led 13–10 at half time, but tries from Jamie Roberts and George North gave Wales a 27–16 lead before a late Scotland score.[14] On Sunday, England easily beat Italy 40–9 after a tight first half, with Jonathan Joseph scoring a hat-trick of tries.[15]

Round 3 (26–27 February)

In the Friday evening kick-off, Wales maintained their title hopes with a 19–10 win over France. Another George North try helped them to a comfortable 19–3 lead before a France try in the last minute.[16] On Saturday, Scotland won their first Six Nations game in 10 attempts, winning 36–20 in Rome with Greig Laidlaw kicking 21 points.[17] Ireland's title hopes were extinguished when they were beaten 21–10 by England at Twickenham; Ireland had led 10–6 early in the second half, but conceded 15 unanswered points in 13 minutes with tries by Anthony Watson and Mike Brown.[18]

Round 4 (12–13 March)

Entering the fourth round of matches, the England-Wales game was touted as a Championship decider,[19] although France – a point behind Wales and two behind England – still had an outside chance of winning it. The first match of the weekend saw Ireland trounce Italy 58–15, running in nine tries.[20] England then beat Wales 25–21 in a thrilling encounter at Twickenham; England had led 25–7 with less than 10 minutes remaining before two converted Wales tries made it a tense ending.[21] England thus won the Triple Crown, and the next day won the Championship outright, as France, needing to win to take the tournament to a final week, lost 29–18 to Scotland in Edinburgh, the Scots' first win over the French in 10 years.[22] In addition to guaranteeing that England would win the tournament, Scotland's victory over France also guaranteed that Italy would finish last and "win" the wooden spoon as a result.

Round 5 (19 March)

All three matches were played on the same day in the last round, with England needing to win in Paris to complete the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003. In the first match, Wales scored nine tries to easily beat Italy 67–14 in Cardiff, effectively whitewashing Italy; they had lost all five of their matches.[23] Ireland then beat Scotland 35–25 in Dublin in an open game where the sides shared seven tries.[24] In the final game in Paris, England scored two early tries through Danny Care and Dan Cole but the excellent kicking of Maxime Machenaud – who scored all of his side's points with seven penalties – kept France in the game until two late Owen Farrell penalties stretched England's lead to 31–21, enough to win the game and the Grand Slam, and to leave Farrell the leading points scorer in the Championship.[25][26]

Table

Source: RBS 6 Nations Table (accessed 19 March 2016)

Fixtures

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Statistics

Broadcasting

In the United Kingdom, 2016 marked the first year that the tournament was broadcast across both the BBC and ITV, with the BBC broadcasting France, Scotland and Wales home matches and ITV screening England, Ireland and Italy home fixtures. In this first year of the split UK TV deal, the BBC covered eight matches from the tournament, and ITV the other seven. This arrangement will alternate every year for the remainder of the deal to 2021. S4C in Wales will also broadcast every Wales game in Welsh for the remainder of this contract.[50]

In France, all of the matches were broadcast on France 2, the traditional French channel for rugby.[51] In the Republic of Ireland, matches are being broadcast by RTÉ.[52] In Italy, all of the matches are being broadcast live on DMAX.

References

  1. ^ "2016 RBS 6 Nations launches in style". RBS6nations.com. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. ^ "England win 2016 Six Nations: Scotland's 29–18 triumph over France gifts England the title for the first time since 2011". The Independent. 14 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  3. ^ "England win Six Nations as France lose to Scotland". BBC Sport. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. ^ "England win 2016 Six Nations thanks to Scotland beating France". Guardian. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Six Nations 2016: England win Grand Slam with France victory". BBC Sport. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  6. ^ "England win Six Nations grand slam for Eddie Jones against France". Guardian. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  7. ^ Eccleshare, Charlie (19 March 2016). "France 21 England 31: Eddie Jones promises more is to come from England after Grand Slam success". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  8. ^ Bagchi, Rob (14 March 2016). "England crowned champions after Scotland defeat France". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  9. ^ Broadley, Luke (15 March 2016). "WALES TEAM TO FACE ITALY". wru.co.uk. Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  10. ^ "France hang on to edge out Italy". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  11. ^ "England battle to victory in tight encounter". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Sexton's late penalty gives Ireland a draw". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Medard's magic leaves Ireland's hat-trick hopes in tatters". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  14. ^ "North starsas Wales hold off Scotland". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Joseph hat-trick inspires England". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  16. ^ "North's score keeps Wales unbeaten". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Scotland down Italy to end losing streak". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Ireland's hat-trick hopes ended by patient England". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Why this England v Wales match will decide who has been the best Six Nations team of the Warren Gatland era". Wales Online. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Record-breaking Ireland bounce back in style". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  21. ^ "England claim Triple Crown in face of frenzied Welsh fightback". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Hogg inspires Scotland to end ten-year wait against France". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  23. ^ "Rampant Wales sign off in style in Cardiff". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  24. ^ "Ireland finish on a high in Dublin thriller". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  25. ^ "Clinical England seal the Grand Slam". rbs6nations.com. RBS 6 Nations. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  26. ^ "England beat France to complete Grand Slam". ESPN. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  27. ^ "France hang on to edge out Italy". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  28. ^ "Six Nations preview: France and Italy field new-look sides". ESPN Rugby. ESPN. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  29. ^ "England battle to victory in tight BT Murrayfield encounter". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  30. ^ "Sexton's late penalty earns Ireland a draw". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  31. ^ Bagchi, Bob. "Jonny Sexton seals draw after fierce battle". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Medard's magic leaves Ireland's hat-trick hopes in tatters". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  33. ^ "North stars as Wales hold off Scotland". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  34. ^ Goodlad, Phil. "Six Nations 2016: Scotland tired of defeat – Ruaridh Jackson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  35. ^ "Joseph hat-trick inspires England to cut loose in Rome". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  36. ^ "North's score keeps Wales unbeaten". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  37. ^ "Scotland down Italy to end losing streak". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  38. ^ Bathgate, Stuart (27 February 2016). "Italy 20 Scotland 36: Six Nations victory at last for Cotter's team". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  39. ^ "Ireland's hat-trick hopes ended by patient England". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  40. ^ "Record-breaking Ireland bounce back in style". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  41. ^ "Sergio Parisse laughs off 'pressure' on Ireland suggestion". RTE Sport. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  42. ^ Fanning, Brendan (13 March 2016). "Ireland thump Italy and set their Six Nations try record with nine". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  43. ^ "England claim Triple Crown in face of frenzied Welsh fightback". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  44. ^ "Guinness Six Nations Rugby News".
  45. ^ "Six Nations: Winning before milestones for Greig Laidlaw".
  46. ^ Anderson, Gavin (14 March 2016). "Scotland urged to finish Six Nations in style after handing England title with France win". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  47. ^ "Rampant Wales sign off in style in Cardiff". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  48. ^ "Ireland finish on a high in Dublin thriller". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  49. ^ "Clinical England seal the Grand Slam". sixnationsrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  50. ^ "BBC and ITV bid wins Six Nations TV rights until 2021". BBC News. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  51. ^ "Rugbyimweb.de".
  52. ^ "How to follow the Six Nations on RTÉ Sport". RTÉ Sport. 3 February 2016.

External links