# 1972 Five Nations Championship

The 1972 Five Nations Championship was the 43rd Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the 78th since it began as the Home Nations Championship.
For the first time since the Second World War, the championship was not completed. Scotland and Wales did not travel to Dublin to play Ireland because of escalating political tensions in the wake of Bloody Sunday. Although the remaining fixtures of the schedule were fulfilled, as both Ireland and Wales won all their matches, neither could claim the title. To fill the gap of the missing two fixtures, France played a friendly match in Dublin (in addition to the scheduled match in Paris). In total, nine matches were played between 15 January and 29 April 1972.
This was the first Five Nations Championship in which a try was worth four points.
This tournament saw France play its last matches at its decades-long home ground, Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes. The opening of the rebuilt Parc des Princes that June saw France move its Five Nations matches to that ground.

## Participants

| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
| England | Twickenham | London | John Elders | Bob Hiller/Peter Dixon |
| France | Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir | Colombes | Fernand Cazenave | Benoit Dauga/Walter Spanghero/Pierre Villepreux |
| Ireland | Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Syd Millar | Tom Kiernan |
| Scotland | Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Bill Dickinson | Peter Brown |
| Wales | Cardiff Arms Park | Cardiff | Clive Rowlands | John Lloyd |

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Wales | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 21 | +46 | 6 |
| 2 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 4 |
| 3 | Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 4 |
| 4 | France | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 61 | 66 | −5 | 2 |
| 5 | England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 88 | −52 | 0 |

## Fixtures

* 15 January 1972
| England | 3–12 | Wales |
| Pen: Hiller | | Try: J.P.R. Williams Con: John Pen: John (2) |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: J. Young (Scotland)
* 15 January 1972
| Scotland | 20–9 | France |
| Try: Frame Renwick Telfer Con: A. Brown Pen: P. Brown Drop: Telfer | | Try: Dauga Con: Villepreux Pen: Villepreux |
* Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 50,000 Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)
* 29 January 1972
| France | 9–14 | Ireland |
| Try: Lux Con: Villepreux Pen: Villepreux | | Try: McLoughlin Moloney Pen: Kiernan (2) |
* Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes Attendance: 26,939 Referee: A. R. Lewis (Wales)
* 5 February 1972
| Wales | 35–12 | Scotland |
| Try: Bergiers Davies Edwards (2) Taylor Con: John (3) Pen: John (3) | | Try: Clark Con: P. Brown Pen: P. Brown Renwick |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: G. A. Jamison (Ireland)
* 12 February 1972
| England | 12–16 | Ireland |
| Try: Ralston Con: Hiller Pen: Hiller (2) | | Try: Flynn Grace Con: Kiernan Pen: Kiernan Drop: McGann |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: R. Austry (France)
* 26 February 1972
| Ireland | Cancelled | Scotland |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin
* 26 February 1972
| France | 37–12 | England |
| Try: Biemouret Duprat (2) Lux Sillières Spanghero Con: Villepreux (5) Pen: Villepreux | | Try: Beese Con: Old Pen: Old (2) |
* Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes Attendance: 33,860 Referee: T. F. E. Grierson (Scotland)
* 11 March 1972
| Ireland | Cancelled | Wales |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin
* 18 March 1972
| Scotland | 23–9 | England |
| Try: P. Brown MacEwan Pen: A. Brown P. Brown (3) Drop: Telfer | | Pen: Old (3) |
* Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: M. Joseph (Wales)
* 25 March 1972
| Wales | 20–6 | France |
| Try: Bevan Davies Pen: John (4) | | Pen: Villepreux (2) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 50,000 Referee: M. H. Titcomb (England)

## Friendly match

* 29 April 1972
| Ireland | 24–14 | France |
| Try: Duggan Flynn Moloney Con: Kiernan (3) Pen: Kiernan (2) | | Try: Duprat (2) Lux Con: Villepreux |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 35,000 Referee: R. F. Johnson (England)