2007 Six Nations Championship

2007 Six Nations Championship

France vs Wales, Stade de France, Paris, 24 February 2007
Date 3 February – 17 March 2007
Countries  England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions  France (16th title)
Triple Crown  Ireland (9th title)
Calcutta Cup  England
Millennium Trophy  Ireland
Centenary Quaich  Ireland
Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy  France
Matches played 15
Tries scored 65 (4.33 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Ireland Ronan O'Gara (82)
Top try scorer(s) England Jason Robinson (4)
Ireland Ronan O'Gara (4)
Player of the tournament Ireland Brian O'Driscoll
← 2006 (Previous) (Next) 2008 →
Rugby was played for the first time at Croke Park, seen here during the Ireland vs. England match.

The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. 15 matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.

In this year, France again won on points difference above Ireland, after four teams had at least a mathematical chance of topping the table going into the final week. Italy had their first away win of the tournament, beating Scotland in Edinburgh. It was also the first time that they won two of their matches, as they went on to beat Wales in Rome, finishing in 4th place, their best result so far. Scotland won the wooden spoon on points difference below Wales, and Ireland won the Triple Crown for the second straight year and third time in four years.

Participants

The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London Brian Ashton Phil Vickery[1]
 France Stade de France Saint-Denis Bernard Laporte Raphaël Ibañez[2]
 Ireland Croke Park[3] Dublin Eddie O'Sullivan Brian O'Driscoll[4]
 Italy Stadio Flaminio Rome Pierre Berbizier Marco Bortolami
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Frank Hadden Chris Paterson[5]
 Wales Millennium Stadium Cardiff Gareth Jenkins Stephen Jones[6]

Squads

For each nation's squad for the 2007 Six Nations Championship, see 2007 Six Nations Championship squads.

Final table

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference Tries
1 France 540115586+69158
2 Ireland 540114984+65178
3 England 5302119115+4106
4 Italy 520394147−5394
5 Wales 510486113−2772
6 Scotland 510495153−5872

The first four rounds

In the build-up to the competition, Ireland were being tipped as favourites for the Grand Slam, having played well during the Autumn Tests. However, despite having started strongly with a win against Wales, they lost to France 20–17 in an historic encounter at Croke Park.[7] In turn, Ireland went on to beat England, who subsequently won against France.

Round 3 of the competition saw Italy win their first ever away match in the Six Nations. Scotland conceded three tries (all converted) in the first six minutes, and Italy went on to secure an historic 37–17 victory. In the same round, England's defeat by Ireland at Croke Park 43–13 marked their worst result ever in the history of the tournament, both in number of points conceded and in points difference (30 points).

In round 4, Italy achieved a second victory in the same tournament for the first time, when they defeated Wales 23–20 in Rome in a match that ended in controversy.[8] Trailing by three points, Wales had the chance to equalise in the closing moments of the game when they were awarded a kickable penalty near the Italian 22-metre line. But, having been informed by the referee that 10 seconds remained, they chose to kick for touch, believing that there was time for an attacking line-out and possible try-scoring opportunity, only for the referee to blow his whistle and end the game before the line-out could form. The Welsh players were incensed and the referee later apologised for the misunderstanding that had arisen.[9]

Final day

All three matches in week five of the tournament were played on the same day and four teams — France, Ireland, England and Italy — still had a chance of winning the tournament: France were narrowly ahead of Ireland on points difference, England and Italy could become champions if they won by a large margin and the other results favoured them.

The game between Ireland and Italy was played first. At half-time, Ireland led by a single point, but they extended their lead in the second half. As time ran out, Ireland were in possession and could have kicked the ball into touch, ending the game and leaving France requiring a 30-point margin in their game; instead, they opted to seek another try, to set France a bigger target, only for Italy to regain possession and score a converted try, reducing France's target to 23 points.

The second game was between France and Scotland. After starting slowly, France steadily extended their lead, but were still three points short of their target when, with time running out, Elvis Vermeulen scored a try in injury-time, which was converted, to give France a 27-point victory and put them in the lead in the tournament. The referee referred the try to the Television Match Official (TMO), an Irishman, asking if there was any reason why the try should not be awarded. The TMO advised that there was no reason, and the referee awarded the try.

In the final match, England needed to beat Wales by 57 points to overtake France, while Wales were trying to avoid the wooden spoon. Wales led 15–0 after 15 minutes and 18–15 at half-time, and though England managed to draw level in the second half, James Hook then kicked two penalties and a drop goal, to give Wales the victory by 27–18. This result confirmed France's position as champions and handed the wooden spoon to Scotland, both on points difference.

Results

Week 1

3 February 2007
13:30 GMT
Italy  3–39  France
Pen: Pez (1/1) 36'
 Report Try: Dominici 23' c
Heymans 30' c
Chabal (2) 40' m, 44' c
Jauzion 63' c
Con: Skrela (4/5)
Pen: Skrela (1/1) 13'
Beauxis (1/1) 72'
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 24,973
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
FB 15Roland de Marigny
RW 14Manuel Dallan
OC 13Gonzalo Canale  71'
IC 12Mirco Bergamasco
LW 11Andrea Masi
FH 10Andrea Scanavacca
SH 9Paul Griffen  78'
N8 8Sergio Parisse (c)
OF 7Mauro Bergamasco
BF 6Josh Sole
RL 5Marco Bortolami
LL 4Santiago Dellapè  49'
TP 3Carlos Nieto  49'
HK 2Fabio Ongaro  49'
LP 1Salvatore Perugini  49'
Substitutions:
HK 16Carlo Festuccia  49'
PR 17Andrea Lo Cicero  49'
PR 18Martin Castrogiovanni  49'
LK 19Roberto Mandelli  49'
SH 20Alessandro Troncon  71'
FH 21Ramiro Pez
WG 22Kaine Robertson  78'
Coach:
France Pierre Berbizier
FB 15Clement Poitrenaud
RW 14Cedric Heymans
OC 13Florian Fritz  69'
IC 12Yannick Jauzion
LW 11Christophe Dominici
FH 10David Skrela
SH 9 Pierre Mignoni
N8 8 Sebastien Chabal  72'
OF 7 Julien Bonnaire  66'
BF 6 Serge Betsen
RL 5 Jerome Thion
LL 4 Lionel Nallet
TP 3 Pieter de Villiers
HK 2 Raphael Ibanez (c)  58'
LP 1 Olivier Milloud  58'
Substitutions:
HK 16Dimitri Szarzewski  58'
PR 17Sylvain Marconnet  58'
LK 18Pascal Papé  72'
FL 19Imanol Harinordoquy  66'
SH 20Dimitri Yachvili
FH 21Lionel Beauxis  69'
WG 22Vincent Clerc
Coach:
France Bernard Laporte
3 February 2007
16:00 GMT
England  42–20  Scotland
Try: Robinson (2) 37' m, 55' c
Wilkinson 59' c
Lund 72' m
Con: Wilkinson (2/4)
Pen: Wilkinson (5/5) 11', 29', 31', 49', 53'
Drop: Wilkinson (1/2) 19'
 Report Try: Taylor 25' c
Dewey 77' c
Con: Paterson (2/2)
Pen: Paterson (2/3) 18', 43'
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
FB 15Olly Morgan
RW 14Josh Lewsey
OC 13Mike Tindall
IC 12Andy Farrell
LW 11Jason Robinson
FH 10Jonny Wilkinson
SH 9Harry Ellis
N8 8Martin Corry (c)
OF 7Magnus Lund
BF 6Joe Worsley
RL 5Danny Grewcock
LL 4Louis Deacon
TP 3Phil Vickery  74'
HK 2George Chuter
LP 1Perry Freshwater
Substitutions:
HK 16Lee Mears
PR 17Julian White  74'
LK 18Tom Palmer
FL 19David Rees
SH 20Peter Richards
FH 21Toby Flood
CE 22Matthew Tait
Coach:
England Brian Ashton
FB 15Hugo Southwell
RW 14Sean Lamont
OC 13Marcus di Rollo
IC 12Andrew Henderson  62'
LW 11Chris Paterson
FH 10Dan Parks
SH 9 Chris Cusiter
N8 8 Dave Callam
OF 7 Kelly Brown  62'
BF 6 Simon Taylor
RL 5 Jim Hamilton  62'
LL 4 Alastair Kellock (c)
TP 3 Euan Murray
HK 2 Dougie Hall
LP 1 Gavin Kerr  55'
Substitutions:
HK 16Ross Ford
PR 17Allan Jacobsen  55'
LK 18Scott Murray  62'
FL 19Allister Hogg  62'
SH 20Rory Lawson
CE 21Rob Dewey  62'
FB 22Rory Lamont
Coach:
Scotland Frank Hadden
4 February 2007
15:00 GMT
Wales  9–19  Ireland
Pen: S. Jones (3/3) 9', 19', 25'
 Report Try: R. Best 1' m
B. O'Driscoll 33' c
O'Gara 71' c
Con: O'Gara (2/3)
FB 15Kevin Morgan
RW 14Hal Luscombe
OC 13Jamie Robinson
IC 12James Hook
LW 11Chris Czekaj
FH 10Stephen Jones
SH 9Dwayne Peel
N8 8Ryan Jones (c)
OF 7Martyn Williams
BF 6Alix Popham
RL 5Alun Wyn Jones
LL 4Ian Gough  70'
TP 3Adam Rhys Jones
HK 2T. Rhys Thomas
LP 1Gethin Jenkins
Substitutions:
HK 16Matthew Rees
PR 17Duncan Jones
LK 18Robert Sidoli  70'
FH 19Gavin Thomas
SH 20Mike Phillips
CE 21Ceri Sweeney
WG 22Aled Brew
Coach:
Wales Gareth Jenkins
FB 15Girvan Dempsey
RW 14Andrew Trimble
OC 13Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC 12Gordon D'Arcy
LW 11Denis Hickie
FH 10Ronan O'Gara
SH 9 Peter Stringer
N8 8 Denis Leamy
OF 7 David Wallace
BF 6 Simon Easterby
RL 5 Paul O'Connell
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
TP 3 John Hayes
HK 2 Rory Best
LP 1 Marcus Horan
Substitutions:
HK 16Jerry Flannery
PR 17Simon Best
LK 18Mick O'Driscoll
FL 19Neil Best
SH 20Isaac Boss
FH 21Paddy Wallace
FB 22Geordan Murphy
Coach:
Ireland Eddie O'Sullivan

Week 2

10 February 2007
13:30 GMT
England  20–7  Italy
Try: Robinson 39' m
Pen: Wilkinson (5/5) 3', 15', 25', 56', 75'
 Report Try: Scanavacca 65' c
Con: Scanavacca (1/1)
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
FB 15Iain Balshaw
RW 14Josh Lewsey
OC 13Mike Tindall
IC 12Andy Farrell
LW 11Jason Robinson
FH 10Jonny Wilkinson
SH 9Harry Ellis
N8 8Martin Corry (c)
OF 7Magnus Lund
BF 6Nick Easter
RL 5Danny Grewcock
LL 4Louis Deacon
TP 3Phil Vickery
HK 2George Chuter  70'
LP 1Perry Freshwater
Substitutions:
HK 16Lee Mears
PR 17Julian White  70'
LK 18Tom Palmer
FL 19David Rees
SH 20Shaun Perry
FH 21Toby Flood
CE 22Matthew Tait
Coach:
England Brian Ashton
FB 15Roland de Marigny
RW 14Kaine Robertson
OC 13Gonzalo Canale
IC 12Mirco Bergamasco
LW 11Manuel Dallan
FH 10Andrea Scanavacca
SH 9 Alessandro Troncon
N8 8 Sergio Parisse (c)
OF 7 Maurizio Zaffiri
BF 6 Josh Sole
RL 5 Marco Bortolami
LL 4 Santiago Dellapè  71'
TP 3 Martin Castrogiovanni
HK 2 Carlo Festuccia
LP 1 Andrea Lo Cicero  58'
Substitutions:
HK 16Fabio Ongaro
PR 17Salvatore Perugini  58'
LK 18Valerio Bernabo  71'
FL 19Roberto Mandelli
SH 20Paul Griffen
CE 21Ramiro Pez
WG 22Matteo Pratichetti
Coach:
France Pierre Berbizier
10 February 2007
15:30 GMT
Scotland  21–9  Wales
Pen: Paterson (7/7) 6', 19', 37', 48', 52', 58', 79'
 Report Pen: S. Jones (3/3) 24', 40', 54'
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 67,500
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
FB 15Hugo Southwell
RW 14Sean Lamont
OC 13Marcus di Rollo
IC 12Rob Dewey
LW 11Chris Paterson
FH 10Phil Godman  70'
SH 9Chris Cusiter
N8 8Dave Callam
OF 7Kelly Brown  56'
BF 6Simon Taylor (c)
RL 5Scott Murray
LL 4Jim Hamilton  49'
TP 3Euan Murray
HK 2Ross Ford
LP 1Gavin Kerr  56'
Substitutions:
PR 16Allan Jacobsen  56'
LK 17Nathan Hines  49'
FL 18Allister Hogg  56'
SH 19Rory Lawson
CE 20Graeme Morrison
CE 21Simon Webster
WG 22Nikki Walker  70'
Coach:
England Brian Ashton
FB 15Kevin Morgan
RW 14Mark Jones
OC 13Jamie Robinson
IC 12James Hook
LW 11Chris Czekaj
FH 10Stephen Jones
SH 9Dwayne Peel
N8 8Ryan Jones (c)
OF 7Martyn Williams
BF 6Alix Popham
RL 5Alun Wyn Jones
LL 4Robert Sidoli  53'
TP 3Duncan Jones
HK 2T. Rhys Thomas
LP 1Adam Rhys Jones
Substitutions:
HK 16Matthew Rees
PR 17Gethin Jenkins
LK 18Ian Gough  53'
FH 19Jonathan Thomas
SH 20Mike Phillips
FH 21Ceri Sweeney
CE 22Tom Shanklin
Coach:
Wales Gareth Jenkins
11 February 2007
15:00 GMT
Ireland  17–20  France
Try: O'Gara 31' m
Pen: O'Gara (4/4) 12', 24', 56', 78'
 Report Try: Ibañez 14' c
Clerc 79' c
Con: Skrela (1/1)
Beauxis (1/1)
Pen: Skrela (2/4) 4', 9'
Croke Park, Dublin
Attendance: 81,000[10]
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

Week 3

24 February 2007
15:00 GMT
Scotland  17–37  Italy
Try: Dewey 14' c
Paterson 60' c
Con: Paterson (2/2)
Pen: Paterson (1/1) 40'
 Report Try: Ma. Bergamasco 1' c
Scanavacca 4' c
Robertson 6' c
Troncon 75' c
Con: Scanavacca (4/4)
Pen: Scanavacca (3/3) 19', 66', 71'
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 50,284
Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
24 February 2007
17:30 GMT
Ireland  43–13  England
Try: Dempsey 30' c
D. Wallace 37' c
Horgan 63' c
Boss 78' c
Con: O'Gara (3/3)
P. Wallace (1/1)
Pen: O'Gara (5/5) 6', 20', 26', 43', 57'
 Report Try: Strettle 46' c
Con: Wilkinson (1/1)
Pen: Wilkinson (2/3) 2', 56'
Croke Park, Dublin
Attendance: 83,000
Referee: Joël Jutge (France)
24 February 2007
20:00 GMT
France  32–21  Wales
Try: Dominici 28' c
Nallet 34' c
Con: Skrela (2/2)
Pen: Skrela (5/6) 11', 18', 38', 46', 52'
Beauxis (1/1) 80'
 Report Try: Popham 13' c
Shanklin 15' c
Robinson 74' c
Con: S. Jones (3/3)
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 79,959
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)

Week 4

10 March 2007
13:30 GMT
Scotland  18–19  Ireland
Pen: Paterson (6/6) 17', 36', 40', 51', 61', 66'
 Report Try: O'Gara 30' c
Con: O'Gara (1/1)
Pen: O'Gara (4/6) 9', 38', 68', 70'
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 67,800
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
10 March 2007
15:30 GMT
Italy  23–20  Wales
Try: Robertson 37' c
Mauro Bergamasco 78' c
Con: Pez (2/2)
Pen: Pez (3/4) 12', 20', 73'
 Report Try: S. Williams 27' c
Rees 45' c
Con: S. Jones (1/1)
Hook (1/1)
Pen: Hook (2/2) 44', 54'
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 24,973
Referee: Chris White (England)
11 March 2007
15:00 GMT
England  26–18  France
Try: Flood 48' c
Tindall 73' c
Con: Flood (1/1)
Geraghty (1/1)
Pen: Flood (3/5) 8', 31', 35'
Geraghty (1/1) 68'
 Report Pen: Skrela (3/3) 4', 15', 21'
Yachvili (3/3) 34', 52', 59'
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Week 5

17 March 2007
13:30 GMT
Italy  24–51  Ireland
Try: Bortolami 75' m
De Marigny 80' c
Con: Scanavacca (1/2)
Pen: Pez (2/3) 15', 26'
Drop: Pez (2/2) 12', 29'
 Report Try: Dempsey (2) 17' m, 46' c
Easterby 21' m
D'Arcy 40' c
Horgan 51' m
Hickie (2) 55' c, 77' m
O'Gara 59' c
Con: O'Gara (4/8)
Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'
Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Attendance: 24,973
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
17 March 2007
15:30 GMT
France  46–19  Scotland
Try: Harinordoquy 29' c
Jauzion 33' c
Marty 52' c
Heymans 59' m
Milloud 62' c
Vermeulen 80' c
Con: Beauxis (5/6)
Pen: Beauxis (2/2) 19', 37'
 Report Try: Walker 7' c
S. Lamont 40' c
E. Murray 76' m
Con: Paterson (2/3)
17 March 2007
17:30 GMT
Wales  27–18  England
Try: Hook 3' c
Horsman 13' m
Con: Hook (1/2)
Pen: Hook (4/5) 11', 39', 64', 74'
Drop: Hook (1/2) 68'
 Report Try: Ellis 32' c
Robinson 40' m
Con: Flood (1/2)
Pen: Flood (1/1) 46'
Drop: Flood (1/1) 35'
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 74,500
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Scorers

Leading try scorers
Pos Name Tries Pld Team
1 Ronan O'Gara 4 5  Ireland
Jason Robinson 4 4  England
3 Girvan Dempsey 3 3  Ireland
Leading point scorers
Pos Name Points Pld Team
1 Ronan O'Gara 82 5  Ireland
2 Chris Paterson 65 5  Scotland
3 Jonny Wilkinson 50 3  England

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Mike Catt captained England in their final two matches against France and Wales, which Vickery missed due to injury.
  2. ↑ Regular captain Fabien Pelous was out injured for France's first two matches against Italy and Ireland, with vice-captain Ibañez elevated to the captaincy for both matches. Pelous' injury ultimately ruled him out of the entire 2007 competition, and Ibañez was announced as his replacement.
    "France robbed of skipper Pelous". RugbyRugby.com. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  3. ↑ Lansdowne Road, Ireland's traditional home, is being redeveloped and is expected to be back in use by 2009.
  4. ↑ Paul O'Connell captained Ireland in their second match against France, which O'Driscoll missed due to injury.
  5. ↑ The regular Scotland captain, Jason White, did not play in this season's competition because he was recovering from a serious knee injury.
  6. ↑ "Thomas to deputise for injured captain". wru.co.uk. Welsh Rugby Union. 14 March 2007. Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2007. Jones was ruled out of Wales' final match against England due to a broken wrist. Gareth Thomas was named captain for the match, in which he equalled Gareth Llewellyn for most caps by a Wales player.
  7. ↑ This was the first rugby match ever at Croke Park. Before 2005, the constitution of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which owns Croke Park, prohibited "foreign games" from being played on the ground. In practice, this ban was applied only to football and the rugby codes, as the stadium had been used for matches in International Rules football (a hybrid between Australian Rules and Gaelic football) and American football.
  8. ↑ "Italy 23-20 Wales". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 March 2007. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
  9. ↑ "Referee sorry for Rome confusion". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 11 March 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  10. ↑ "France last gasp try seals 17-20 win over Ireland". Rbs6nations.com. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2012.

External links

Rugby union schedule for 2007
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
H. CupSix Nations ChampionshipHeineken Cup World Cup H. Cup
Guinness Premiership Guinness Premiership
Mid-Year Test Series Pre-RWC tests End of Year Tests
Under 19 World ChampionshipPacific Nations Cup
Celtic League Celtic League
Shute Shield
Top 14 Top 14
Sevens Australian Rugby Championship Sevens
Churchill CupAir New Zealand Cup
Currie Cup
Super 14Tri Nations
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