2009 Six Nations Championship

Rugby union tournament

Ireland win over Scotland on 14 March 2009

Date

7 February – 21 March 2009

Countries

England

France

Ireland

Italy

Scotland

Wales

Tournament statistics

Champions

Ireland (11th title)

Grand Slam

Ireland (2nd title)

Triple Crown

Ireland (10th title)

Matches played

Attendance

981,963 (65,464 per match)

Tries scored

56 (3.73 per match)

Top point scorer(s)

Ronan O'Gara (51)

Top try scorer(s)

Brian O'Driscoll (4)

Riki Flutey (4)

Player of the tournament

Brian O'Driscoll

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The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national teams: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The tournament was held between 7 February and 21 March 2009.

Ireland won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown, only their second Grand Slam, and first since 1948, and first Triple Crown since 2007.

England finished as runners-up, and also won the Calcutta Cup. The tournament featured the first Friday night game in its history, played between France and Wales at the Stade de France.

Summary

The tournament began on 7 February 2009, when England hosted Italy in the earlier of the day's two matches. Ireland played France later that evening, with Scotland versus Wales the following day.

The reigning champions on entering the 2009 tournament were Wales, who won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown in 2008. The winners of both accolades in 2009 were Ireland, with Ronan O'Gara's dropped goal leaving the score in the final match against Wales in Cardiff on 21 March at 17–15. Wales's Stephen Jones then missed a late penalty from just inside the Ireland half to leave Wales in fourth position. Ireland's two tries in that match came when captain Brian O'Driscoll and Tommy Bowe scored in quick succession in the 44th and 46th minutes respectively. Paul O'Connell received the Triple Crown and Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll lifted the trophy. It was Ireland's first Grand Slam since 1948, 61 years earlier. This was achieved in the first Six Nations Championship since Declan Kidney was appointed as manager of the Ireland team, succeeding Eddie O'Sullivan who resigned after the previous tournament.

Twelve tries were scored by Ireland throughout the tournament, and five wins left the team on top of the table at the end of the Championship with ten points. They opened with a 30–21 win over France at home stadium Croke Park on 7 February. On 15 February, Ireland's second match was a 38–9 victory over Italy at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. On 28 February, Ireland beat England 14–13 at Croke Park and on 14 March, Ireland beat Scotland 22–15 at Murrayfield Stadium. Then followed the Grand Slam against Wales on 21 March 2009. That game was attended by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese, who presented the trophy, and Taoiseach Brian Cowen. Following the game there were tributes from politicians. A civic reception for the team took place outside Dublin's Mansion House on 22 March at 16:30, with 18,000 fans attending alongside Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Dublin's Deputy Lord Mayor Emer Costelloe. 2,000 fans had earlier greeted the team upon their arrival at Dublin Airport. Brian O'Driscoll described 21 March as a "sweet, sweet day". The game was watched by 945,000 people in Ireland, the highest rating television programme in the country by that stage of 2009. Former coach Eddie O'Sullivan was said to be "delighted" for the team. Brian O'Driscoll was named player of the tournament, beating Italy's Sergio Parisse and Ireland teammate Paul O'Connell. O'Connell was later named captain of the British and Irish Lions team to tour South Africa and containing fourteen members of the Grand Slam winning Irish team on 21 April 2009, describing it as "a great honour".

Italy were the only side to not win a match in the tournament, suffering defeats by twenty points or more against, in addition to Ireland, France (50–8), England (36–11) and Scotland (26–6), while losing 20–15 to Wales. Scotland managed a solitary victory against Italy to finish on 2 points. England, France and Wales all managed to win three of their matches to finish level on six points but England's points difference of +54 granted them second place in the table. Their points tally was boosted by a 36–10 defeat of France and a 26–12 win against Scotland which sealed the Calcutta Cup. Wales' early loss to France and narrow loss to Ireland in the last game of the tournament denied them a second consecutive championship. Although Wales needed to beat Ireland by more than 13 points to win the championship, they could have won the game and the Triple Crown in the last minute of the tournament (as well as denying Ireland the Grand Slam) if Stephen Jones' 50-yard penalty kick had not fallen short.

Participants

Nation	Home stadium	City	Head coach	Captain
England	Twickenham	London	Martin Johnson	Steve Borthwick
France	Stade de France	Saint-Denis	Marc Lièvremont	Lionel Nallet
Ireland	Croke Park	Dublin	Declan Kidney	Brian O'Driscoll
Italy	Stadio Flaminio	Rome	Nick Mallett	Sergio Parisse
Scotland	Murrayfield	Edinburgh	Frank Hadden	Mike Blair
Wales	Millennium Stadium	Cardiff	Warren Gatland	Ryan Jones

Squads

For each nation's squad for the 2009 Six Nations Championship, see 2009 Six Nations Championship squads.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	Pts
1	Ireland	5	5	0	121	73	+48	12	10
2	England	5	3	2	124	70	+54	16	6
3	France	5	3	2	124	101	+23	14	6
4	Wales	5	3	2	100	81	+19	8	6
5	Scotland	5	1	4	79	102	−23	4	2
6	Italy	5	0	5	49	170	−121	2	0

Source:
Rules for classification: The first tiebreaker is point difference from all matches, the second is tries scored. After these two tiebreakers the championship is shared.

Fixtures

The fixtures for the 2009 Six Nations were released on 17 April 2008. The France v Wales game on 27 February was the first Friday night game in the history of the championship, both under the Five and Six Nations format.

Round 1

7 February 2009
15:00 GMT

England	36–11	Italy
Try: Goode 2' c Ellis (2) 18' m, 54' c Flutey 28' c Cueto 78' c Con: Goode (4/5) Pen: Goode (1/3) 36'	Report	Try: Mi. Bergamasco 72' m Pen: McLean (2/3) 34', 39'

Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)


FB	15	Delon Armitage
RW	14	Paul Sackey
OC	13	Jamie Noon		73'
IC	12	Riki Flutey		60'
LW	11	Mark Cueto
FH	10	Andy Goode
SH	9	Harry Ellis		60'
N8	8	Nick Easter
OF	7	Steffon Armitage		62'
BF	6	James Haskell	34'
RL	5	Nick Kennedy		73'
LL	4	Steve Borthwick (c)
TP	3	Phil Vickery
HK	2	Lee Mears		55'
LP	1	Andrew Sheridan		60'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley		55'
PR	17	Julian White		60'
LK	18	Tom Croft		73'
FL	19	Joe Worsley		62'
SH	20	Ben Foden		60'
CE	21	Shane Geraghty	63'	60'
CE	22	Mathew Tait		73'
Coach:
Martin Johnson


FB	15	Andrea Masi
RW	14	Kaine Robertson
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Gonzalo García	55'
LW	11	Mirco Bergamasco
FH	10	Andrea Marcato	29'
SH	9	Mauro Bergamasco	41'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)
OF	7	Alessandro Zanni
BF	6	Josh Sole
RL	5	Marco Bortolami	55'
LL	4	Santiago Dellapè	76'
TP	3	Martin Castrogiovanni
HK	2	Fabio Ongaro	55'
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini	60'
Replacements:
HK	16	Carlo Festuccia	55'
PR	17	Carlos Nieto	60'
LK	18	Tommaso Reato	55'
FL	19	Jean-François Montauriol	76'
SH	20	Giulio Toniolatti	41'
FH	21	Luke McLean	29'
CE	22	Matteo Pratichetti	55'
Coach:
Nick Mallett

7 February 2009
17:00 GMT

Ireland	30–21	France
Try: Heaslip 34' c O'Driscoll 43' c D'Arcy 66' c Con: O'Gara (3/3) Pen: O'Gara (3/5) 3', 17', 78'	Report	Try: Harinordoquy 15' c Médard 50' m Con: Beauxis (1/2) Pen: Beauxis (1/1) 76' Drop: Beauxis (2/2) 40+1', 53'

Croke Park, Dublin
Attendance: 79,000
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)


FB	15	Rob Kearney	80'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Paddy Wallace	63'
LW	11	Luke Fitzgerald
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara
SH	9	Tomás O'Leary
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	David Wallace
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	76'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	John Hayes
HK	2	Jerry Flannery	49'
LP	1	Marcus Horan
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best	49'
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Malcolm O'Kelly
FL	19	Denis Leamy	76'
SH	20	Peter Stringer
CE	21	Gordon D'Arcy	63'
FB	22	Geordan Murphy	80'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


FB	15	Clément Poitrenaud	79'
RW	14	Julien Malzieu
OC	13	Florian Fritz	80'
IC	12	Yannick Jauzion
LW	11	Maxime Médard
FH	10	Lionel Beauxis
SH	9	Sébastien Tillous-Borde	68'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy	71'
OF	7	Fulgence Ouedraogo
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir
RL	5	Sébastien Chabal	62'
LL	4	Lionel Nallet (c)
TP	3	Benoît Lecouls	40'
HK	2	Dimitri Szarzewski	58'
LP	1	Lionel Faure
Replacements:
HK	16	Benjamin Kayser	58'
PR	17	Nicolas Mas	40'
LK	18	Romain Millo-Chluski	62'
N8	19	Louis Picamoles	71'
SH	20	Morgan Parra	68'
CE	21	Benoît Baby	80'
WG	22	Cédric Heymans	79'
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont

8 February 2009
15:00 GMT

Scotland	13–26	Wales
Try: M. Evans 69' c Con: Paterson (1/1) Pen: Paterson (2/2) 32', 51'	Report	Try: Shanklin 22' m A. W. Jones 29' m Halfpenny 41' m S. Williams 58' m Pen: S. Jones (2/3) 13', 40+1'

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 63,000
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)


FB	15	Hugo Southwell
RW	14	Simon Webster		21'
OC	13	Ben Cairns		52'
IC	12	Graeme Morrison
LW	11	Sean Lamont
FH	10	Phil Godman
SH	9	Mike Blair (c)		62'
N8	8	Simon Taylor
OF	7	John Barclay		56'
BF	6	Ally Hogg		73'
RL	5	Jim Hamilton
LL	4	Jason White
TP	3	Geoff Cross	20'	31'
HK	2	Ross Ford		62'
LP	1	Allan Jacobsen
Replacements:
HK	16	Dougie Hall		62'
PR	17	Alasdair Dickinson		31'
LK	18	Kelly Brown		73'
FL	19	Scott Gray		56'
SH	20	Chris Cusiter		62'
WG	21	Chris Paterson		21'
CE	22	Max Evans		52'
Coach:
Frank Hadden


FB	15	Lee Byrne
RW	14	Leigh Halfpenny
OC	13	Tom Shanklin
IC	12	Jamie Roberts		60'
LW	11	Shane Williams		72'
FH	10	Stephen Jones		63'
SH	9	Mike Phillips		60'
N8	8	Andy Powell
OF	7	Martyn Williams (c)	66'
BF	6	Dafydd Jones
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Ian Gough		63'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Matthew Rees		63'
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins		63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Huw Bennett		63'
PR	17	John Yapp		63'
LK	18	Luke Charteris		63'
FL	19	Bradley Davies		72'
SH	20	Dwayne Peel		60'
FH	21	James Hook		63'
CE	22	Andrew Bishop		60'
Coach:
Warren Gatland

Round 2

14 February 2009
16:00 CET

France	22–13	Scotland
Try: Ouedraogo 46' c Con: Beauxis (1/1) Pen: Beauxis (5/7) 23', 38', 53', 60', 73'	Report	Try: T. Evans 69' c Con: Paterson (1/1) Pen: Godman (2/3) 35', 49'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 79,600
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)


FB	15	Clément Poitrenaud
RW	14	Maxime Médard
OC	13	Benoît Baby	59'
IC	12	Yannick Jauzion
LW	11	Cédric Heymans
FH	10	Lionel Beauxis
SH	9	Sébastien Tillous-Borde	67'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy	70'
OF	7	Fulgence Ouedraogo
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir
RL	5	Lionel Nallet (c)
LL	4	Romain Millo-Chluski	59'
TP	3	Nicolas Mas	41'
HK	2	Dimitri Szarzewski	55'
LP	1	Fabien Barcella
Replacements:
HK	16	Benjamin Kayser	55'
PR	17	Renaud Boyoud	41'
LK	18	Sébastien Chabal	59'
N8	19	Louis Picamoles	70'
SH	20	Morgan Parra	67'
CE	21	Maxime Mermoz	59'
WG	22	Julien Malzieu
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont


FB	15	Hugo Southwell
RW	14	Simon Danielli	66'
OC	13	Max Evans
IC	12	Graeme Morrison	73'
LW	11	Thom Evans
FH	10	Phil Godman
SH	9	Mike Blair (c)	73'
N8	8	Simon Taylor
OF	7	John Barclay
BF	6	Alasdair Strokosch
RL	5	Jim Hamilton	18'
LL	4	Jason White
TP	3	Alasdair Dickinson	46'
HK	2	Ross Ford	66'
LP	1	Allan Jacobsen
Replacements:
HK	16	Dougie Hall	66'
PR	17	Moray Low	46'
LK	18	Kelly Brown	18'
FL	19	Scott Gray
SH	20	Chris Cusiter	73'
WG	21	Chris Paterson	66'
CE	22	Nick De Luca	73'
Coach:
Frank Hadden

14 February 2009
17:30 GMT

Wales	23–15	England
Try: Halfpenny 44' m Pen: S. Jones (5/5) 4', 16', 43', 54', 72' Halfpenny 22' (1/2)	Report	Try: Sackey 24' m D. Armitage 57' c Con: Flood (1/1) Drop: Goode (1/1) 30'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 73,000
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)


FB	15	Lee Byrne
RW	14	Leigh Halfpenny
OC	13	Tom Shanklin
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Mark Jones
FH	10	Stephen Jones
SH	9	Mike Phillips	73'
N8	8	Andy Powell	60'
OF	7	Martyn Williams
BF	6	Ryan Jones (c)
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Ian Gough
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Matthew Rees	66'
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Huw Bennett	66'
PR	17	John Yapp
LK	18	Luke Charteris
FL	19	Dafydd Jones	60'
SH	20	Dwayne Peel	73'
FH	21	James Hook
CE	22	Andrew Bishop
Coach:
Warren Gatland


FB	15	Delon Armitage
RW	14	Paul Sackey		65'
OC	13	Mike Tindall	14'
IC	12	Riki Flutey
LW	11	Mark Cueto
FH	10	Andy Goode	41'	53'
SH	9	Harry Ellis
N8	8	Nick Easter
OF	7	Joe Worsley
BF	6	James Haskell		54'
RL	5	Nick Kennedy		55'
LL	4	Steve Borthwick (c)
TP	3	Phil Vickery		65'
HK	2	Lee Mears		65'
LP	1	Andrew Sheridan
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley		65'
PR	17	Julian White		65'
LK	18	Tom Croft		55'
FL	19	Luke Narraway		54'
SH	20	Paul Hodgson
FH	21	Toby Flood		53'
CE	22	Mathew Tait		65'
Coach:
Martin Johnson

15 February 2009
15:30 CET

Italy	9–38	Ireland
Pen: McLean (3/4) 5', 16', 24'	Report	Try: Bowe 19' c Fitzgerald (2) 40' c, 76' c D. Wallace 48' c O'Driscoll 78' c Con: O'Gara (4/4) Kearney (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 50'

Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Chris White (England)


FB	15	Andrea Masi	1'
RW	14	Kaine Robertson		20'
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale		48'
IC	12	Mirco Bergamasco
LW	11	Matteo Pratichetti
FH	10	Luke McLean		72'
SH	9	Paul Griffen
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Tommaso Reato		48'
LL	4	Santiago Dellapè		48'
TP	3	Martin Castrogiovanni		33'
HK	2	Fabio Ongaro		41'
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini	36'
Replacements:
HK	16	Carlo Festuccia		41'
PR	17	Carlos Nieto		33'
LK	18	Carlo Del Fava		48'
FL	19	Josh Sole		48'
SH	20	Giulio Toniolatti		72'
FH	21	Gonzalo García		48'
CE	22	Andrea Bacchetti		20'
Coach:
Nick Mallett


FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Paddy Wallace		41'
LW	11	Luke Fitzgerald
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	32'
SH	9	Tomás O'Leary		72'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	David Wallace
BF	6	Stephen Ferris		62'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell		77'
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	John Hayes
HK	2	Jerry Flannery		60'
LP	1	Marcus Horan		55'
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best		60'
PR	17	Tom Court		55'
LK	18	Malcolm O'Kelly		77'
FL	19	Denis Leamy		62'
SH	20	Peter Stringer		72'
CE	21	Gordon D'Arcy		41'
FB	22	Geordan Murphy
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Round 3

27 February 2009
21:00 CET

France	21–16	Wales
Try: Dusautoir 40' c Heymans 53' m Con: Parra (1/2) Pen: Parra (3/5) 6', 35', 70'	Report	Try: Byrne 24' c Con: S. Jones (1/1) Pen: S. Jones (2/2) 3', 9' Hook (1/1) 73'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)


FB	15	Maxime Médard
RW	14	Julien Malzieu
OC	13	Mathieu Bastareaud
IC	12	Yannick Jauzion
LW	11	Cédric Heymans
FH	10	Benoît Baby	37'
SH	9	Morgan Parra	72'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy
OF	7	Fulgence Ouedraogo
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir
RL	5	Sébastien Chabal	57'
LL	4	Lionel Nallet (c)
TP	3	Sylvain Marconnet	57'
HK	2	Dimitri Szarzewski	65'
LP	1	Fabien Barcella
Replacements:
HK	16	Benjamin Kayser	65'
PR	17	Thomas Domingo	57'
LK	18	Romain Millo-Chluski	57'
N8	19	Louis Picamoles
SH	20	Sébastien Tillous-Borde	72'
FH	21	François Trinh-Duc	37'
FB	22	Clément Poitrenaud
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont


FB	15	Lee Byrne
RW	14	Leigh Halfpenny
OC	13	Tom Shanklin
IC	12	Jamie Roberts	55'
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	Stephen Jones	70'
SH	9	Mike Phillips	55'
N8	8	Andy Powell	62'
OF	7	Martyn Williams
BF	6	Ryan Jones (c)
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Ian Gough	71'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Matthew Rees	55'
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Huw Bennett	55'
PR	17	John Yapp
LK	18	Luke Charteris	71'
FL	19	Dafydd Jones	62'
SH	20	Dwayne Peel	55'
FH	21	James Hook	70'
CE	22	Gavin Henson	55'
Coach:
Warren Gatland

28 February 2009
15:00 GMT

Scotland	26–6	Italy
Try: Danielli 35' c Gray 64' c Con: Godman (1/1) Paterson (1/1) Pen: Paterson (3/3) 5', 13', 68' Godman (1/2) 31'	Report	Pen: McLean (1/1) 55' Drop: Parisse (1/1) 22'

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)


FB	15	Hugo Southwell	47'
RW	14	Simon Danielli
OC	13	Max Evans
IC	12	Graeme Morrison	67'
LW	11	Thom Evans
FH	10	Phil Godman
SH	9	Mike Blair (c)	55'
N8	8	Simon Taylor
OF	7	John Barclay	56'
BF	6	Alasdair Strokosch
RL	5	Alastair Kellock
LL	4	Jason White
TP	3	Euan Murray	67'
HK	2	Ross Ford	53'
LP	1	Allan Jacobsen	68'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dougie Hall	53'
PR	17	Alasdair Dickinson	67'
LK	18	Kelly Brown	68'
FL	19	Scott Gray	56'
SH	20	Chris Cusiter	55'
WG	21	Chris Paterson	47'
CE	22	Nick De Luca	67'
Coach:
Frank Hadden


FB	15	Andrea Marcato	47'
RW	14	Mirco Bergamasco
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Gonzalo García	3'
LW	11	Matteo Pratichetti
FH	10	Luke McLean
SH	9	Paul Griffen	55'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Marco Bortolami	77'
LL	4	Santiago Dellapè	57'
TP	3	Martin Castrogiovanni	58'
HK	2	Leonardo Ghiraldini	58'
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK	16	Franco Sbaraglini	58'
PR	17	Carlos Nieto	58'
LK	18	Carlo Del Fava	57'
FL	19	Josh Sole	77'
SH	20	Pablo Canavosio	55'
CE	21	Andrea Bacchetti	3'
WG	22	Giulio Rubini	47'
Coach:
Nick Mallett

28 February 2009
17:30 GMT

Ireland	14–13	England
Try: O'Driscoll 57' m Pen: O'Gara (2/5) 27', 71' Drop: O'Driscoll (1/2) 46'	Report	Try: D. Armitage 78' c Con: Goode (1/1) Pen: Flood (1/1) 38' D. Armitage (1/1) 64'

Croke Park, Dublin
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Paddy Wallace
LW	11	Luke Fitzgerald
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara
SH	9	Tomás O'Leary	65'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip	68'
OF	7	David Wallace
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	John Hayes
HK	2	Jerry Flannery	68'
LP	1	Marcus Horan
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best	68'
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Mick O'Driscoll
FL	19	Denis Leamy	68'
SH	20	Peter Stringer	65'
CE	21	Gordon D'Arcy
FB	22	Geordan Murphy
Coach:
Declan Kidney


FB	15	Delon Armitage
RW	14	Paul Sackey		57'
OC	13	Mike Tindall
IC	12	Riki Flutey
LW	11	Mark Cueto
FH	10	Toby Flood		66'
SH	9	Harry Ellis		58'
N8	8	Nick Easter		76'
OF	7	Joe Worsley
BF	6	James Haskell
RL	5	Nick Kennedy		69'
LL	4	Steve Borthwick (c)
TP	3	Phil Vickery	55'
HK	2	Lee Mears		66'
LP	1	Andrew Sheridan		77'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley		66'
PR	17	Julian White		77'
LK	18	Tom Croft		69'
FL	19	Luke Narraway		76'
SH	20	Danny Care	69'	58'
FH	21	Andy Goode		66'
CE	22	Mathew Tait		57'
Coach:
Martin Johnson

Notes:

Ireland won the Millennium Trophy.

Round 4

14 March 2009
16:00 CET

Italy	15–20	Wales
Pen: Marcato (5/5) 5', 31', 34', 57', 70'	Report	Try: S. Williams 25' c Shanklin 71' c Con: Hook (2/2) Pen: Hook (2/3) 59', 63'

Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)


FB	15	Andrea Marcato	75'
RW	14	Giulio Rubini
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Mirco Bergamasco
LW	11	Matteo Pratichetti
FH	10	Luke McLean
SH	9	Paul Griffen	66'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Marco Bortolami	64'
LL	4	Santiago Dellapè	50'
TP	3	Carlos Nieto	50'
HK	2	Leonardo Ghiraldini
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK	16	Franco Sbaraglini
PR	17	Martin Castrogiovanni	50'
LK	18	Carlo Del Fava	50'
FL	19	Josh Sole	64'
SH	20	Pablo Canavosio	66'
FH	21	Luciano Orquera	75'
CE	22	Roberto Quartaroli
Coach:
Nick Mallett


FB	15	Lee Byrne	68'
RW	14	Mark Jones
OC	13	Jamie Roberts
IC	12	Gavin Henson
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	James Hook	75'
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Andy Powell
OF	7	Dafydd Jones
BF	6	Jonathan Thomas	57'
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones (c)
LL	4	Luke Charteris	66'
TP	3	Rhys M. Thomas	57'
HK	2	Huw Bennett	57'
LP	1	John Yapp
Replacements:
HK	16	Matthew Rees	57'
PR	17	Gethin Jenkins	57'
LK	18	Bradley Davies	66'
FL	19	Ryan Jones	57'
SH	20	Warren Fury
FH	21	Stephen Jones	75'
CE	22	Tom Shanklin	68'
Coach:
Warren Gatland

14 March 2009
17:00 GMT

Scotland	15–22	Ireland
Pen: Paterson (5/5) 5', 13', 21', 31', 60'	Report	Try: Heaslip 51' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 11', 27', 33', 70' Drop: O'Gara (1/1) 57'

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)


FB	15	Chris Paterson
RW	14	Simon Danielli
OC	13	Max Evans
IC	12	Graeme Morrison	70'
LW	11	Thom Evans
FH	10	Phil Godman
SH	9	Mike Blair (c)	51'
N8	8	Simon Taylor
OF	7	John Barclay	67'
BF	6	Alasdair Strokosch
RL	5	Jim Hamilton
LL	4	Jason White	50'
TP	3	Euan Murray
HK	2	Ross Ford	57'
LP	1	Alasdair Dickinson
Replacements:
HK	16	Dougie Hall	57'
PR	17	Moray Low
LK	18	Nathan Hines	50'
FL	19	Scott Gray	67'
SH	20	Chris Cusiter	51'
CE	21	Nick De Luca	70'
FB	22	Hugo Southwell
Coach:
Frank Hadden


FB	15	Rob Kearney	75'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Luke Fitzgerald
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara
SH	9	Peter Stringer	65'
N8	8	Denis Leamy	30'
OF	7	David Wallace
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	John Hayes
HK	2	Rory Best	61'
LP	1	Marcus Horan
Replacements:
HK	16	Jerry Flannery	61'
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Mick O'Driscoll
FL	19	Jamie Heaslip	30'
SH	20	Tomás O'Leary	65'
CE	21	Paddy Wallace
FB	22	Geordan Murphy	75'
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Notes:

Ireland won their eighth successive Centenary Quaich.

15 March 2009
15:00 GMT

England	34–10	France
Try: Cueto 1' c Flutey (2) 22' c, 41' m D. Armitage 37' c Worsley 39' m Con: Flood (3/3) Pen: Flood (1/1) 18'	Report	Try: Szarzewski 56' m Malzieu 64' m

Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)


FB	15	Delon Armitage
RW	14	Mark Cueto
OC	13	Mike Tindall
IC	12	Riki Flutey
LW	11	Ugo Monye	72'
FH	10	Toby Flood	40'
SH	9	Harry Ellis	55'
N8	8	Nick Easter
OF	7	Joe Worsley	68'
BF	6	Tom Croft
RL	5	Simon Shaw	57'
LL	4	Steve Borthwick (c)
TP	3	Phil Vickery
HK	2	Lee Mears	57'
LP	1	Andrew Sheridan	66'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley	57'
PR	17	Julian White	66'
LK	18	Nick Kennedy	68'
FL	19	James Haskell	57'
SH	20	Danny Care	55'
FH	21	Andy Goode	40'
CE	22	Mathew Tait	72'
Coach:
Martin Johnson


FB	15	Maxime Médard
RW	14	Julien Malzieu
OC	13	Mathieu Bastareaud	46'
IC	12	Yannick Jauzion
LW	11	Cédric Heymans
FH	10	François Trinh-Duc	46'
SH	9	Morgan Parra	59'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy	68'
OF	7	Sébastien Chabal
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir
RL	5	Jérôme Thion	46'
LL	4	Lionel Nallet (c)
TP	3	Sylvain Marconnet
HK	2	Dimitri Szarzewski	59'
LP	1	Lionel Faure	51'
Replacements:
HK	16	Benjamin Kayser	59'
PR	17	Thomas Domingo	51'
N8	18	Louis Picamoles	68'
FL	19	Julien Bonnaire	46'
SH	20	Sébastien Tillous-Borde	59'
CE	21	Florian Fritz	46'
CE	22	Damien Traille	46'
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont

Round 5

21 March 2009
14:15 CET

Italy	8–50	France
Try: Parisse 57' m Pen: Marcato (1/2) 23'	Report	Try: Chabal 25' c Trinh-Duc 29' m Médard (2) 31' c, 70' m Heymans 42' c Domingo 55' m Malzieu 76' m Con: Parra (3/4) Pen: Parra (3/3) 7', 15', 48'

Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 27,650
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)


FB	15	Andrea Marcato
RW	14	Giulio Rubini
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Mirco Bergamasco
LW	11	Matteo Pratichetti	48'
FH	10	Luke McLean	72'
SH	9	Paul Griffen	66'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Marco Bortolami	68'
LL	4	Santiago Dellapè	54'
TP	3	Carlos Nieto	58'
HK	2	Leonardo Ghiraldini
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK	16	Franco Sbaraglini
PR	17	Martin Castrogiovanni	58'
LK	18	Carlo Del Fava	54'
FL	19	Josh Sole	68'
SH	20	Pablo Canavosio	66'
FH	21	Luciano Orquera	72'
CE	22	Roberto Quartaroli	48'
Coach:
Nick Mallett


FB	15	Damien Traille
RW	14	Maxime Médard
OC	13	Florian Fritz	60'
IC	12	Yannick Jauzion
LW	11	Cédric Heymans	71'
FH	10	François Trinh-Duc
SH	9	Morgan Parra	52'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy	63'
OF	7	Julien Bonnaire
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir
RL	5	Sébastien Chabal
LL	4	Lionel Nallet (c)	71'
TP	3	Sylvain Marconnet	50'
HK	2	Dimitri Szarzewski	52'
LP	1	Fabien Barcella
Replacements:
HK	16	William Servat	52'
PR	17	Thomas Domingo	50'
LK	18	Jérôme Thion	71'
N8	19	Louis Picamoles	63'
FH	20	Frédéric Michalak	52'
CE	21	Mathieu Bastareaud	60'
WG	22	Julien Malzieu	71'
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont

Notes:

France won their third consecutive Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy.

21 March 2009
15:30 GMT

England	26–12	Scotland
Try: Monye 22' m Flutey 28' c Tait 77' m Con: Flood (1/2) Pen: Flood (2/2) 40', 41' Drop: Care 72'	Report	Pen: Paterson (3/3) 9', 44', 66' Godman (1/2) 51'

Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 80,688
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)


FB	15	Delon Armitage
RW	14	Mark Cueto
OC	13	Mike Tindall
IC	12	Riki Flutey
LW	11	Ugo Monye	48'
FH	10	Toby Flood	73'
SH	9	Harry Ellis	16'
N8	8	Nick Easter
OF	7	Joe Worsley
BF	6	Tom Croft	73'
RL	5	Simon Shaw	57'
LL	4	Steve Borthwick (c)
TP	3	Phil Vickery	14'
HK	2	Lee Mears	73'
LP	1	Andrew Sheridan
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley	73'
PR	17	Julian White	14'
LK	18	Nick Kennedy	57'
FL	19	James Haskell	73'
SH	20	Danny Care	16'
FH	21	Andy Goode	73'
CE	22	Mathew Tait	48'
Coach:
Martin Johnson


FB	15	Chris Paterson
RW	14	Simon Danielli	75'
OC	13	Max Evans
IC	12	Graeme Morrison
LW	11	Thom Evans	44'
FH	10	Phil Godman
SH	9	Mike Blair (c)	68'
N8	8	Simon Taylor	41'
OF	7	Scott Gray
BF	6	Alasdair Strokosch
RL	5	Jim Hamilton
LL	4	Jason White	57'
TP	3	Euan Murray
HK	2	Ross Ford	67'
LP	1	Alasdair Dickinson	75'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dougie Hall	67'
PR	17	Moray Low	75'
LK	18	Nathan Hines	57'
FL	19	Kelly Brown	41'
SH	20	Chris Cusiter	68'
CE	21	Nick De Luca	44'
FB	22	Hugo Southwell	75'
Coach:
Frank Hadden

Notes:

England won the 121st Calcutta Cup.

21 March 2009
17:30 GMT

Wales	15–17	Ireland
Pen: S. Jones (4/5) 33', 39', 51', 56' Drop: S. Jones (1/1) 76'	Report	Try: O'Driscoll 44' c Bowe 46' c Con: O'Gara (2/2) Drop: O'Gara (1/1) 78'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 74,625
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)


FB	15	Lee Byrne	30'
RW	14	Mark Jones
OC	13	Tom Shanklin
IC	12	Gavin Henson
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	Stephen Jones
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Ryan Jones (c)
OF	7	Martyn Williams
BF	6	Dafydd Jones
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Ian Gough	55'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Matthew Rees	55'
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Huw Bennett	55'
PR	17	John Yapp
LK	18	Luke Charteris	55'
FL	19	Jonathan Thomas
SH	20	Warren Fury
FH	21	James Hook
CE	22	Jamie Roberts	30'
Coach:
Warren Gatland


FB	15	Rob Kearney	66'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Luke Fitzgerald	76'
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara
SH	9	Tomás O'Leary	69'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	David Wallace
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	7'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	John Hayes	23'	27'
HK	2	Jerry Flannery	68'
LP	1	Marcus Horan
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best	68'
PR	17	Tom Court	23'	27'
LK	18	Mick O'Driscoll
FL	19	Denis Leamy	7'
SH	20	Peter Stringer	69'
CE	21	Paddy Wallace	76'
FB	22	Geordan Murphy	66'
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Notes:

Ireland claimed their first championship since 1985 and first Grand Slam since 1948.

Scorers

Try scorers
Tries	Name	Pld	Team
4	Brian O'Driscoll	5	Ireland
4	Riki Flutey	5	England
3	Delon Armitage	5	England
3	Maxime Médard	5	France
2	Julien Malzieu	3	France
	Leigh Halfpenny	3	Wales
	Shane Williams	4	Wales
	Mark Cueto	5	England
	Harry Ellis	5	England
	Cédric Heymans	5	France
	Tommy Bowe	5	Ireland
	Luke Fitzgerald	5	Ireland
	Jamie Heaslip	5	Ireland
	Tom Shanklin	5	Wales

Point scorers
Points	Name	Pld	Team
51	Ronan O'Gara	5	Ireland
46	Chris Paterson	5	Scotland
44	Stephen Jones	5	Wales
28	Lionel Beauxis	2	France
26	Morgan Parra	5	France
23	Brian O'Driscoll	5	Ireland
22	Toby Flood	5	England
21	Andy Goode	5	England
20	Riki Flutey	5	England
18	Andrea Marcato	3	Italy
	Luke McLean	3	Italy
	Delon Armitage	5	England

References

"Ireland beat Wales to take first Grand Slam since 1948". The Irish Times. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
"France 21-16 Wales". BBC Sport. 27 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
"Wales 15-17 Ireland - Matchtracker". RTÉ. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ "RBS 6 Nations: Wales v. Ireland". BBC. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ "O'Driscoll basks in Grand Slam glory". The Irish Times. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
"RBS 6 Nations: Expert Analysis: George Hook". RTÉ. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ "Ireland appoint Kidney as coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
"Ireland make the running" Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
"Victory margin flatters erratic Ireland" Archived October 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
"Unbeaten Ireland edge out England" Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
"Heaslip and Stringer inspire Ireland". Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009. Archived 14 August 2009.
^ "Taoiseach leads tributes to Irish rugby team". RTÉ. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ "Thousands welcome grand slam squad". RTÉ. 22 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
"Huge viewership for Grand Slam decider". RTÉ. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
"O'Sullivan delighted for Ireland players". RTÉ. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
"O'Driscoll Six Nations player of tournament". The Irish Times. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
"O'Connell to lead 14 Irish Lions". RTÉ. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
"O'Connell: 'It's a great honour'". RTÉ. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
Unlike the other head coaches in the 2009 Six Nations, Martin Johnson holds the position of team manager
"Ireland Management Confirm Captain And Season Plan". Irish Rugby Football Union. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
Martyn Williams captained Wales in their opening match against Scotland after Jones failed a fitness test hours before kickoff.
PA Sport (8 February 2009). "Wales make winning start". Six Nations Rugby. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
Alun Wyn Jones captained Wales in their Round 4 match against Italy, as coach Warren Gatland chose to move Ryan Jones to the bench for that match only.
Rimmer, Simon (5 March 2009). "Jones named Wales' 127th captain". Welsh Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
"Rules of the RBS 6 Nations Championship". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
"2009 RBS 6 Nations Fixtures". rbs6nations.com. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
"First Friday night game?". sixnationsweb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2008.

External links

2009 Six Nations Championship Coverage at the Guardian
2009 Six Nations Championship at ESPN
The official RBS 6 Nations website

Six Nations Championship

Teams

Stadia

Seasons

Home	1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
Five	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931
Home	1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Five	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Six	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Squads

Five	1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Six	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Head-to-head
records

England	France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales
France	England Ireland Italy Scotland Wales
Ireland	England France Italy Scotland Wales
Italy	England France Ireland Scotland Wales
Scotland	England France Ireland Italy Wales
Wales	England France Ireland Italy Scotland

Honours

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