2016 Six Nations Review
- 4747
2016 Six Nations Review
England were crowned champions with a round to play, winning their first championship since 2011. Playing France in the grand slam decider in Paris winning 21-31 to earn their first grand slam since 2003.
The 2016 championship was the first time the championship and ‘ wooden spoon ‘ had been decided before the final round, as Italy were confirmed in 6th place for the 11th time.
Italy went on to be white washed in the tournament for the 7th time. The 29 tries Italy conceded was a championship record.
Week 1
The opening round started with a narrow 23-21 win for France over Italy, a late penalty from Jules Plisson gave France a late victory. The same day, another tight encounter saw England retain the Calcutta Cup in a narrow 15-0 triumph over Scotland, with tries from George Kruis and Jack Nowell.
The following day, Ireland and Wales played out a 16-16 stalemate at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland had led 13-0 before Wales battled back to take the lead 16-13. Jonathan Sexton’s late penalty gave Ireland a share of the points.
Week 2
Ireland defence of the title was damaged further in Week 2 when they were beaten 10-9 in a second successive narrow win for France. Ireland had taken a 9-3 from before half-time but Maxime Medard 69th minute try proved to be the deciding moment in the game as Ireland were defeated.
Another comeback that day saw Wales beat Scotland 27-23 in Cardiff. Scotland had led 13-10 at half time, but tries from Jamie Roberts and George North gave Wales a 27-16 lead before a late Scotland score.
On the concluding day of the weekend, England dispatched Italy 40-9 after a tight first half, with Jonathan Joseph scoring three tries.
Week 3
In the Friday evening match, Wales maintained their title ambitions with a 19-10 win over France. Another try from wing George North helped them to a 19-3 lead before a late France try, brought them some salvation.
On Saturday, Scotland won their first Six Nations game in 10 attempts, winning 36-20 in Rome with Laidlaw kicking 21 points off the tee.
Ireland’s title hopes were dashed when they were beaten 21-10 by England at Twickenham, Ireland had led 10-6 early in the second half, but leaked 15 points without reply in 13 minutes with tries by Anthony Watson and Mike Brown.
Week 4
As the tournament entered its penultimate round, the England v Wales encounter was seen as the Championship decider, although France – a point behind Wales and two behind England – still had a slim chance of taking the plaudits.
The first match of the weekend saw Ireland defeat Italy 58-15, running in 9 tries. England beat Wales 25-21 in a thrilling encounter at Twickenham. England took a commanding 25-7 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining before two converted Wales tries made it a tense ending. England secured the Triple Crown, and the following day won the 6 Nations championship, as France needing to win to take the tournament to a final week, lost 29-18 to Scotland in Edinburgh, the Scots first win over France in 10 years. In addition, Scotland’s victory over France also guaranteed that Italy would finish at the rear of the table.
Week 5
As the tournament concluded. All three matches were played on the same day, with England needing to win in Paris to complete the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003. In the opener, Wales ran in 9 tries to beat Italy 67-14 in Cardiff, ensuring Italy had lost all five of their matches. Ireland beat Scotland 35-25 in Dublin where the sides shared seven tries.
In the tournament finale, England scored two early tries through Danny Care and Dan Cole but the excellent kicking of Maxime Machenaud – scoring all of his side’s points –kept France in the contest until two late penalties from Owen Farrell gave England the win and the grand slam. Farrell ended the tournament as the leading points scorer.
