| 2007 Six Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 France vs Wales, Stade de France, Saint-Denis, 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) | ||
| Matches played | 15 | ||
| Tries scored | 65 (4.33 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer | Ronan O'Gara (82) | ||
| Top try scorers | Jason Robinson (4)Ronan O'Gara (4) | ||
| Player of the tournament | Brian O'Driscoll | ||
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The2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of therugby unionSix Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.
In this year,France again won on points difference aboveIreland, after four teams had at least a mathematical chance of topping the table going intothe final week.Italy had their first away win of the tournament, beatingScotland inEdinburgh. It was also the first time that they won two of their matches, as they went on to beatWales inRome, finishing in 4th place, their best result so far. Scotland won thewooden spoon on points difference below Wales, and Ireland won theTriple Crown for the second straight year and third time in four years.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 155 | 86 | +69 | 15 | 8 |
| 2 | Ireland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 84 | +65 | 17 | 8 |
| 3 | England | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 119 | 115 | +4 | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | Italy | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 147 | −53 | 9 | 4 |
| 5 | Wales | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 86 | 113 | −27 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Scotland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 95 | 153 | −58 | 7 | 2 |
In the build-up to the competition,Ireland were being tipped as favourites for theGrand Slam, having played well during the Autumn Tests. However, despite having started strongly with a win againstWales, they lost to France 20–17 in a historic encounter atCroke Park.[g] In turn, Ireland went on to beatEngland, who subsequently won against France.
Round 3 of the competition sawItaly 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 a 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.[3] 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.[4]
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, supposedly 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 theTelevision 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 thewooden 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.
| 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) |
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| 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 Stadium,London Attendance: 82,000 Referee:Marius Jonker (South Africa) |
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| 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) |
| Millennium Stadium,Cardiff Attendance: 74,239 Referee:Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand) |
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| 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 Stadium,London Attendance: 82,000 Referee:Nigel Owens (Wales) |
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| 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 Stadium,Edinburgh Attendance: 67,500 Referee:Alan Lewis (Ireland) |
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| 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[5] Referee:Steve Walsh (New Zealand) |
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| 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 Stadium,Edinburgh Attendance: 50,284 Referee:Donal Courtney (Ireland) |
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| 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: 81,611[6] Referee:Joël Jutge (France) |
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| 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) |
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| 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 Stadium,Edinburgh Attendance: 67,800 Referee:Dave Pearson (England) |
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| 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) |
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| 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 Stadium,London Attendance: 82,000 Referee:Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
| Stade de France,Saint-Denis Attendance: 79,959 Referee:Craig Joubert (South Africa) |
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| 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) |
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