# 1988 Five Nations Championship

The 1988 Five Nations Championship was the 59th series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety–fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends between 16 January and 19 March. Wales and France were declared joint winners with six points each; it was the most recent time the Championship was shared between two or more nations as the rules were changed in 1994 to make such an event unlikely.
The final match of the tournament, England's victory over Ireland, was notable for the crowd bursting into song with "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as a response to the hat-trick of tries scored by England's Chris Oti (only the second black player, and the first for 80 years, to be capped by England). The song was subsequently to become the unofficial rugby anthem for England.
Wales missed out on a ninth Grand Slam after losing to France at Cardiff Arms Park.

## Participants

The teams involved were:
| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
| England | Twickenham | London | Geoff Cooke | Mike Harrison/Nigel Melville |
| France | Parc des Princes | Paris | Jacques Fouroux | Daniel Dubroca |
| Ireland | Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Jim Davidson | Donal Lenihan |
| Scotland | Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Jim Telfer | Gary Callander |
| Wales | National Stadium | Cardiff | Tony Gray | Bleddyn Bowen |

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Wales | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 6 |
| 1 | France | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 47 | +10 | 6 |
| 3 | England | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 4 |
| 4 | Scotland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 68 | −1 | 2 |
| 4 | Ireland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 90 | −50 | 2 |

## Results
### Round 1

* 16 January 1988
| Ireland | 22–18 | Scotland |
| Try: Kiernan MacNeill Mullin Con: Kiernan (2) Pen: Kiernan Drop: Kiernan | Report | Try: S. Hastings Laidlaw Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (2) |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Roger Quittenton (England)
* 16 January 1988
| France | 10–9 | England |
| Try: Rodriguez Pen: Bérot (2) | Report | Pen: Webb (2) Drop: Cusworth |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,071 Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland)

### Round 2

* 6 February 1988
| Scotland | 23–12 | France |
| Try: G. Hastings Tukalo Pen: G. Hastings (4) Drop: Cramb | Report | Try: Lagisquet Con: Bérot Pen: Bérot Drop: Lescarboura |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Fransie Muller (South Africa)
* 6 February 1988
| England | 3–11 | Wales |
| Pen: Webb | Report | Try: Hadley (2) Drop: J. Davies |
* Twickenham, London Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

### Round 3

* 20 February 1988
| France | 25–6 | Ireland |
| Try: Blanco Camberabero Carminati Lagisquet Sella Con: Bérot Drop: Camberabero | Report | Pen: Kiernan (2) |
* Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 49,130 Referee: Fransie Muller (South Africa)
* 20 February 1988
| Wales | 25–20 | Scotland |
| Try: J. Davies I. Evans Watkins Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn Drop: J. Davies (2) | Report | Try: Calder Duncan Pen: G. Hastings (4) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Yves Bressy (France)

### Round 4

* 5 March 1988
| Ireland | 9–12 | Wales |
| Try: Kingston Con: Kiernan Pen: Kiernan | Report | Try: Moriarty Con: Thorburn Pen: Thorburn Drop: J. Davies |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Ray Megson (Scotland)
* 5 March 1988
| Scotland | 6–9 | England |
| Pen: G. Hastings (2) | Report | Pen: Webb (2) Drop: Andrew |
* Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: Winston Jones (Wales)

### Round 5

* 19 March 1988
| Wales | 9–10 | France |
| Try: I. Evans Con: Thorburn Pen: Thorburn | Report | Try: Lescarboura Pen: Lafond (2) |
* National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 63,000 Referee: Fred Howard (England)
* 19 March 1988
| England | 35–3 | Ireland |
| Try: Oti (3) Rees R. Underwood (2) Con: Andrew (3) Webb Pen: Webb | Report | Drop: Kiernan |
* Twickenham, London Referee: Clive Norling (Wales)