2010 Six Nations Championship Explained
| 2010 Six Nations Championship |
| Date: | 6 February – 20 March 2010 |
| Countries: |
|
| Count: | 17 |
| Grand Slam: | (9th title) |
| Matches: | 15 |
| Attendance: | 1055268 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Stephen Jones (63) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Keith Earls (3)
Tommy Bowe (3)
James Hook (3)
Shane Williams (3) |
| Player Of The Tournament: | Tommy Bowe |
| Previous Year: | 2009 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2009 Six Nations Championship |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
| Next Tournament: | 2011 Six Nations Championship |
The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition between the six major European national teams. The tournament was held between 6 February and 20 March 2010.
The championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. France won the tournament, achieving a final 12–10 victory over England to win the Grand Slam, their first since 2004 and ninth overall (including six in the Five Nations).[1] [2] This was also their 17th outright victory, including 12 victories in the Five Nations, excluding eight titles shared with other countries. France also retained the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy by defeating Italy in the tournament, to whom they had (then) never lost within the Six Nations.
Ireland, 2009 Grand Slam winners, came second with three victories and two defeats. Despite defeating England and Wales, Ireland failed to win the Triple Crown after a 23–20 defeat to Scotland in their final match.[3] England and Wales came third and fourth respectively with two victories each, while Scotland and Italy finished in fifth and sixth positions for the third tournament in a row. Both teams achieved just one victory each, with Scotland also recording a draw in the Calcutta Cup match against England to place ahead of Italy.
Summary
The reigning champions on entering the tournament were Ireland, who won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown in 2009.
Ireland did not win the Triple Crown in 2010 due to a surprise 23–20 loss to Scotland in the final Six Nations match at Croke Park on 20 March, with Scotland avoiding their third "wooden spoon" since 2004 in the process. Brian O'Driscoll had opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Ireland were level with Scotland in the 64th minute after Tommy Bowe scored a try, with substitute Ronan O'Gara converting. Scotland's Johnnie Beattie scored his team's first try since they played Wales in their second game and Dan Parks scored a penalty in the final minute to prevent Ireland winning the Triple Crown.[4] Ireland coach Declan Kidney described it as "not our greatest day".[5]
Ireland's previous match – a 27–12 victory over Wales on 13 March – had seen O'Driscoll achieve 100 caps for his country.[6] Ireland's previous match against England had seen John Hayes achieve 100 caps for his country, the first player to do so for Ireland.[7] [8]
Ireland's loss to Scotland meant France had won the Championship but could still achieve the Grand Slam by beating England in their final game at the Stade de France on 20 March.[9] The Grand Slam was achieved by France following a 12–10 victory in this game. It was France's first Grand Slam since 2004.[10] England scored the only try of the game.[11] Jonny Wilkinson was not included in the England starting team for only the third time in his career.[12] [13] Bryce Lawrence from New Zealand refereed the game.[14]
The nominations for "Player of the Championship" were announced on 17 March; these were Tommy Bowe (Ireland), Mathieu Bastareaud, Morgan Parra, Thierry Dusautoir, Imanol Harinordoquy (all France) and Shane Williams (Wales). Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who had won the award in three of the four previous seasons, was not included this time.[15] Tommy Bowe was named as the player of the championship on 25 March, having polled nearly 50% of the fan votes.[16]
Participants
Results
The schedule for the 2010 Championship was released on 2 April 2009.[17] Following the success of the tournament's first Friday night game, between France and Wales in the 2009 Championship, the organisers scheduled the reverse fixture to also be played on a Friday night.[18]
'c' and 'm' following a try denote 'converted' and 'missed conversion' respectively.
Round 1
----
- England wore a special kit to celebrate the centenary of the first international match – England vs Wales – at Twickenham Stadium.[19]
- Dan Cole (England) made his international debut.
----
Round 2
- Chris Paterson became the 13th player in history with at least 100 international appearances. His missed conversion ended a personal streak of 35 consecutive successful kicks at goal in the Six Nations, dating back to 2007.[20]
----
----
- Jonny Wilkinson's two missed penalties ended a personal streak of consecutive successful penalty kicks in any international which he has started, dating back to 2003.[21]
- Matt Mullan (England) made his international debut.
Round 3
Notes:- Marc Andreu (France) made his international debut.
----
----
- John Hayes became the first Irish player to earn 100 international caps.[22]
Round 4
----
- Ben Youngs (England) made his international debut.
----
Round 5
- Tom Prydie became the youngest test cap in Welsh rugby history, at the age of .[24]
----
----
- Chris Ashton (England) made his international debut.
Top scorers
Try scorers
Points scorers
External links
Notes and References
- News: France 12 England 10: match report . 20 March 2010 . The Telegraph. 20 March 2010 . London . Paul . Ackford . https://web.archive.org/web/20100323024419/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/7487203/Six-Nations-2010-France-12-England-10.html . 23 March 2010 . live .
- News: France 12 England 10 . 20 March 2010 . The Times . 20 March 2010 . London . Stephen . Jones .
- News: Ireland 20 Scotland 23 . 20 March 2010 . The Times . 20 March 2010 . London . Peter . O'Reilly .
- News: Scots dash Ireland's Triple Crown dream . . 20 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100323074712/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0320/ireland_scotland1.html . 23 March 2010 . dead .
- News: 'Not our greatest day' – Declan Kidney . . 20 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100325003731/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0320/ireland_quotes.html . 25 March 2010 . dead.
- News: Ireland 27–12 Wales . . 13 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100317154903/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0313/ireland_wales.html . 17 March 2010 . dead .
- News: John Hayes expects huge English challenge . . 25 February 2010 . 20 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100408073758/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0225/hayesj1.html . 8 April 2010 . dead .
- News: Six Nations 2010: John Hayes looks beyond century of Ireland caps to World Cup . Gavin . Mairs . . 25 February 2010 . 20 March 2010 . London .
- News: Six Nations 2010: England's Martin Johnson questions referee after defeat to France . Paul . Bolton . . 21 March 2010 . 21 March 2010 . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20100324103221/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/7490731/Six-Nations-2010-Englands-Martin-Johnson-questions-referee-after-defeat-to-France.html . 24 March 2010 . live .
- News: France crowned Six Nations champions . . 20 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100324223739/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0320/france_england.html . 24 March 2010 . dead.
- News: Stephen . Jones . Pressure grows on Rob Andrew despite improved display . . 21 March 2010 . 21 March 2010 . London.
- News: Jonny Wilkinson dropped by England . . 17 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605182303/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0317/england.html . 5 June 2011.
- News: Robert . Kitson . Martin Johnson drops Jonny Wilkinson from England team to play France . . 18 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20100323003405/http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/mar/18/jonny-wilkinson-england-dropped-france . 23 March 2010 . live .
- News: Toby . Davis . UPDATE 1-Rugby-Nations-France 12 England 10 – result . . 20 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 .
- News: Tommy Bowe nominated for player of 6 Nations . . 17 March 2010 . 20 March 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605181942/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2010/0317/bowet.html . 5 June 2011 .
- News: Ireland's Tommy Bowe is named player of Six Nations . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 25 March 2010 . 26 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100326054500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8588091.stm . 26 March 2010 . live .
- Web site: RBS Six Nations Fixtures and Results . rbs6nations.com . Six Nations Rugby . 26 February 2010 .
- News: Wales host France in Friday clash . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 2 April 2009 . 26 February 2010 .
- News: Jonathan . Evans . England strip back to good old days (when they won) . Western Mail . Media Wales . 3 February 2010 . 26 February 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100209093545/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/02/03/england-strip-back-to-good-old-days-when-they-won-91466-25749202/ . 9 February 2010 . live .
- Web site: Wales claim a stunning triumph. scrum.com. 14 September 2017.
- News: Six Nations – Italy v England as it happened. BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 14 February 2010 . 27 February 2010 .
- News: Ireland players and coaches dedicate win to John Hayes . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 27 February 2010 . 2 March 2010 .
- Web site: O'Leary inspires Ireland victory over Wales . https://archive.today/20120530200953/http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/16294.php . dead . 30 May 2012 . RBS 6 Nations . 13 March 2010 . 13 March 2010 .
- News: Tom Prydie to become Wales' youngest Test player . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 16 March 2010 . 17 March 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100317054405/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/8567111.stm . 17 March 2010 . live .
