Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 18:06, 27 March 2009

The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament was held between 7 February and 21 March 2009.

Although the tournament was the tenth in its current format, including the competition's time as the Home Nations Championship and the Five Nations Championship, it was the 115th Northern Hemisphere rugby union championship.

The championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Ireland won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown, their first Grand Slam since 1948 and Triple Crown since 2007. It was Ireland's second Grand Slam in total.

England finished as runners-up, and they also won the Calcutta Cup. The 2009 tournament featured the first Friday night game in its history, played between France and Wales in Paris.

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 drop 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 from 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 in 61 years, their last one being in 1948. 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 9–38 beating of 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 15–22 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 including Brian Cowen, Leader of the Opposition Enda Kenny and Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen. 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.

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 in 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' loss to France and later Ireland denied them a second consecutive grand slam.

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation	Home stadium	City	Head coach	Captain
England	Twickenham	London	Martin Johnson	Steve Borthwick
France	Stade de France	Paris	Marc Lièvremont	Lionel Nallet
File:IRFU Flag of Ireland.svg 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

Table

Position	Nation	Games				Points				Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Tries
1	File:IRFU Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland	5	5	0	0	121	73	+48	12	10
2	England	5	3	0	2	124	70	+54	16	6
3	France	5	3	0	2	124	101	+23	14	6
4	Wales	5	3	0	2	100	81	+19	8	6
5	Scotland	5	1	0	4	79	102	−23	4	2
6	Italy	5	0	0	5	49	170	−121	2	0

Note: 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.

Week 1

England	36 – 11	Italy
Tries: 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'

Ireland	30 – 21	France
Tries: 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	Tries: Harinordoquy 15' c Médard 50' m Con: Beauxis (1/2) Pen: Beauxis (1/1) 76' Drop: Beauxis (2/2) 40+1', 53'

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

Week 2

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'

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

Italy	9 – 38	Ireland
Pen: McLean (3/4) 5', 16', 24'	Report	Tries: 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'

Week 3

France	21 – 16	Wales
Tries: 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'

Scotland	26 – 6	Italy
Tries: 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'

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'

Ireland won the Millennium Trophy.

Week 4

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

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'

Ireland won their eighth successive Centenary Quaich.

England	34 – 10	France
Tries: 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	Tries: Szarzewski 56' m Malzieu 64' m

Week 5

Italy	8 – 50	France
Try: Parisse 57' m Pen: Marcato (1/2) 23'	Report	Tries: 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'

France won their third consecutive Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy.

England	26 – 12	Scotland
Tries: 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'

England won the 121st Calcutta Cup.

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

Ireland claimed their first Grand Slam since 1948.

Scorers

Try scorers Tries Name Pld Team 4 Brian O'Driscoll 5  Ireland Riki Flutey 5  England 3 Delon Armitage 5  England 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 1 Ugo Monye 2  England Paul Sackey 3  England Thomas Domingo 3  France Fulgence Ouedraogo 3  France Francois Trinh-Duc 3  France Max Evans 4  Scotland Thom Evans 4  Scotland Andy Goode 5  England Matthew Tait 5  England Joe Worsley 5  England Sebastien Chabal 5  France Thierry Dusautoir 5  France Imanol Harinordoquy 5  France Dimitri Szarzewski 5  France Gordon D'Arcy 5  Ireland David Wallace 5  Ireland Mirco Bergamasco 5  Italy Sergio Parisse 5  Italy Simon Danielli 5  Scotland Scott Gray 5  Scotland Lee Byrne 5  Wales Alun Wyn Jones 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

1. "Ireland beat Wales to take first Grand Slam since 1948". The Irish Times. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
2. "France 21-16 Wales". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
3. "Wales 15-17 Ireland - Matchtracker". RTÉ. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
4. ^ "RBS 6 Nations: Wales v.Ireland". BBC. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
5. ^ "O'Driscoll basks in Grand Slam glory". The Irish Times. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
6. "RBS 6 Nations: Expert Analysis: George Hook". RTÉ. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
7. ^ "Ireland appoint Kidney as coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
8. "Ireland make the running". Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
9. "Victory margin flatters erratic Ireland". Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
10. "Unbeaten Ireland edge out England". Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
11. "Heaslip and Stringer inspire Ireland". Six Nations. Accessed 21 March 2009.
12. ^ "Taoiseach leads tributes to Irish rugby team". RTÉ. 2009-03-21. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
13. ^ "Thousands welcome grand slam squad". RTÉ. 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
14. "Huge viewership for Grand Slam decider". RTÉ. 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
15. "O'Sullivan delighted for Ireland players". RTÉ. 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
16. Unlike the other head coaches in the 2009 Six Nations, Martin Johnson holds the position of team manager
17. "Ireland Management Confirm Captain And Season Plan". Irish Rugby Football Union. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
18. 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. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
19. 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. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
20. "RBS 6 Nations". Retrieved 2009-03-15.
21. "2009 RBS 6 Nations Fixtures". rbs6nations.com. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
22. "First Friday night game?". sixnationsweb.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2008.

External links

• The official RBS 6 Nations website

• 2009 in rugby union
• Six Nations