# 1996 Five Nations Championship

The 1996 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship, and the first in the sport's professional era, which officially began in August 1995. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 20 January to 16 March. England were the winners, losing only the first game with France, thus missing the Grand Slam, but winning the Triple Crown. France went into the final week needing a victory to clinch the championship themselves thanks to superior points difference, but lost by a single point to Wales, who not only avoided a whitewash but climbed above Ireland on points difference in doing so.
Scotland missed out on a fourth Grand Slam after losing to England at Murrayfield, this was the second successive season Scotland lost out on a Grand Slam.

## Participants

The teams involved were:
| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
| England | Twickenham | London | Jack Rowell | Will Carling |
| France | Parc des Princes | Paris | Jean-Claude Skrela | Philippe Saint-André |
| Ireland | Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Murray Kidd | Jim Staples/Niall Hogan |
| Scotland | Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Jim Telfer | Rob Wainwright |
| Wales | National Stadium | Cardiff | Kevin Bowring | Jonathan Humphreys |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 54 | +25 | 6 |
| 2 | Scotland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 56 | +4 | 6 |
| 3 | France | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 57 | +32 | 4 |
| 4 | Wales | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 82 | −20 | 2 |
| 5 | Ireland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 106 | −41 | 2 |

## Results

* 20 January 1996 15:00
| France | 15–12 | England |
| Pen: Lacroix (3) Drops:: Castaignède Lacroix | | Pen: Grayson (2) Drops: Grayson (2) |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,000 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)
* 20 January 1996 15:00
| Ireland | 10–16 | Scotland |
| Tries: Clohessy Con: Elwood Pen: Elwood | | Tries: Dods McKenzie Pen: Dods Drops: Townsend |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Brian Campsall (England)
* 3 February 1996 15:00
| England | 21–15 | Wales |
| Tries: Guscott R. Underwood Con: Grayson Pen: Grayson (3) | | Tries: Howley Taylor Con: A. Thomas Pen: A. Thomas |
* Twickenham, London Referee: Ken McCartney (Scotland)
* 3 February 1996 15:00
| Scotland | 19–14 | France |
| Tries: Dods (2) Pen: Dods (3) | | Tries: Benazzi Pen: Castaignède Lacroix (2) |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Clayton Thomas (Wales)
* 17 February 1996 15:00
| France | 45–10 | Ireland |
| Tries: Accoceberry Campan Castel (2) Ntamack (2) Saint-André Con: Castaignède (5) | | Tries: Penalty try Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Referee: Ed Morrison (England)
* 17 February 1996 15:00
| Wales | 14–16 | Scotland |
| Tries: Proctor Pen: A. Thomas (3) | | Tries: Townsend Con: Dods Pen: Dods (3) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 47,000 Referee: Joel Dume (France)
* 2 March 1996 15:00
| Ireland | 30–17 | Wales |
| Tries: Corkery Fulcher Geoghegan Woods Con: Mason (2) Pen: Mason (2) | | Tries: I. Evans (2) Con: A. Thomas (2) Pen: A. Thomas |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Didier Mene (France)
* 2 March 1996 15:00
| Scotland | 9–18 | England |
| Pen: Dods (3) | | Pen: Grayson (6) |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)
* 16 March 1996 15:00
| England | 28–15 | Ireland |
| Tries: Sleightholme Con: Grayson Pen: Grayson (6) Drops: Grayson | | Pen: Mason (4) Drops: Humphreys |
* Twickenham, London Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Edward Murray (Scotland)
* 16 March 1996 15:00
| Wales | 16–15 | France |
| Tries: Howley Con: Jenkins Pen: Jenkins (3) | | Tries: Castaignède Ntamack Con: Castaignède Pen: Castaignède |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Brian Stirling (Ireland)