# 1997 Five Nations Championship

The 1997 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 18 January to 15 March, the crucial match being in Weekend 4 where England inexplicably threw away a 20–6 lead at Twickenham with quarter of the match to go and were pipped by France. France went on to win their first Grand Slam in ten years; England defeated the other Home Nations by large margins to win the Triple Crown. It was the last time that France played at the Parc des Princes, in Paris. Since then, the French team has been playing in the Stade de France, also in Paris.

## Participants

The teams involved were:
| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | Jack Rowell | Phil de Glanville |
| France | Parc des Princes | Paris | Jean-Claude Skrela | Abdelatif Benazzi |
| Ireland | Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Brian Ashton | Keith Wood/Jim Staples |
| Scotland | Murrayfield Stadium | Edinburgh | Jim Telfer | Rob Wainwright |
| Wales | National Stadium | Cardiff | Kevin Bowring | Jonathan Humphreys |

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | France | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 77 | +52 | 8 |
| 2 | England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 141 | 55 | +86 | 6 |
| 3 | Wales | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 106 | −12 | 2 |
| 4 | Scotland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 90 | 132 | −42 | 2 |
| 5 | Ireland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 141 | −84 | 2 |

## Results
### Week 1

* 18 January 1997 15:00
| Ireland | 15–32 | France |
| Pen: Elwood (5) | Report | Try: Galthié Venditti (3) Con: Castaignède (3) Pen: Castaignède (2) |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 53,000 Referee: Andre Watson (South Africa)
* 18 January 1997 15:00
| Scotland | 19–34 | Wales |
| Try: S. Hastings Con: Shepherd Pen: Shepherd (3) Drop: Chalmers | Report | Try: Evans N. Jenkins S. Quinnell A. Thomas Con: N. Jenkins (4) Pen: N. Jenkins (2) |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,500 Referee: Bertie Smith (Ireland)

### Week 2

* 1 February 1997 15:00
| England | 41–13 | Scotland |
| Try: Penalty try Carling De Glanville Gomarsall Con: Grayson (3) Pen: Grayson (5) | Report | Try: Eriksson Con: Shepherd Pen: Shepherd (2) |
* Twickenham, London Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)
* 1 February 1997 15:00
| Wales | 25–26 | Ireland |
| Try: Evans (2) S. Quinnell Con: N. Jenkins (2) Pen: N. Jenkins (2) | Report | Try: Bell Hickie Miller Con: Elwood (1) Pen: Elwood (3) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 53,000 Referee: Wayne Erickson (Australia)

### Week 3

* 15 February 1997 15:00
| France | 27–22 | Wales |
| Try: Leflamand (2) Merle Venditti Con: Aucagne (1) Dourthe (1) Pen: Aucagne | Report | Try: Bateman Howley G. Thomas Con: N. Jenkins (2) Pen: N. Jenkins |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 46,000 Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia)
* 15 February 1997 15:00
| Ireland | 6–46 | England |
| Pen: Elwood (2) | Report | Try: Gomarsall Hill Sleightholme (2) T. Underwood (2) Con: Grayson (2) Pen: Grayson (4) |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 51,898 Referee: Colin Hawke (New Zealand)

### Week 4

* 1 March 1997 15:00
| England | 20–23 | France |
| Try: Dallaglio Pen: Grayson (4) Drop: Grayson | Report | Try: Lamaison Leflamand Con: Lamaison (2) Pen: Lamaison (2) Drop: Lamaison |
* Twickenham, London Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)
* 1 March 1997 15:00
| Scotland | 38–10 | Ireland |
| Try: Stanger Tait Townsend Walton Weir Con: Shepherd (5) Pen: Shepherd | Report | Try: Hickie Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,500 Referee: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

### Week 5

* 15 March 1997 15:00
| France | 47–20 | Scotland |
| Try: Benazzi Leflamand Magne Tournaire Con: Lamaison (3) Pen: Lamaison (6) Drop: Sadourny | Report | Try: Tait (2) Con: Shepherd (2) Pen: Shepherd (2) |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 49,000 Referee: Ed Morrison (England)
* 15 March 1997 15:00
| Wales | 13–34 | England |
| Try: Howley Con: J. Davies Pen: J. Davies (2) | Report | Try: De Glanville Hill Stimpson T. Underwood Con: Catt (4) Pen: Catt (2) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 53,000 Referee: Joel Dume (France)