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1973 Five Nations Championship

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1973 Five Nations Championship
Date13 January - 14 April 1973
Countries England
 Ireland
 France
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
ChampionsShared
Matches played10
Tries scored28 (2.8 per match)
Top point scorer(s)France Jean-Pierre Romeu (26)
Top try scorer(s)Scotland William Steele (3)
1972 (Previous) (Next) 1974

The 1973 Five Nations Championship was the 44th Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the 79th since it began as the Home Nations Championship. Ten matches were played between 13 January and 14 April 1973.

As each nation won their two home matches (and therefore lost their two away matches), the championship was shared between all five teams; no further tie-break was applied to separate teams finishing level on match points. This was the only time that the Five Nations championship finished in a five-way tie.

Due to the Troubles occurring in Ireland, which had resulted in 13 civilians being killed by the British Army in Derry and in the loss of over 100 British soldiers in 1972 and the potential security risks, both Scotland and Wales had refused to play Ireland in Dublin in 1972. Defying expectations to the contrary, England agreed to travel in 1973. Despite a poor performance, resulting in an 18–9 loss, the crowd in the Lansdowne Road stadium gave a standing ovation to the England team. England captain John Pullin delivered a quip at a post-match dinner - "Well we might not be any good but at least we turned up" - to great applause.[1]

Participants

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The teams involved were:

Nation Venue City Head coach Captain
 England Twickenham London John Elders John Pullin
 France Parc des Princes Paris Jean Desclaux Walter Spanghero
 Ireland Lansdowne Road Dublin Syd Millar Tom Kiernan/Willie John McBride
 Scotland Murrayfield Edinburgh Bill Dickinson Peter Brown
 Wales National Stadium Cardiff Clive Rowlands Arthur Lewis

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Wales 4 2 0 2 53 43 +10 4
1  Ireland 4 2 0 2 50 48 +2 4
1  France 4 2 0 2 38 36 +2 4
1  Scotland 4 2 0 2 55 59 −4 4
1  England 4 2 0 2 52 62 −10 4
Source: [citation needed]

Squads

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Results

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1973-01-13
France 16–13 Scotland
Tries: Dourthe
Pen.: Romeu (3)
Drops: Romeu
Tries: Lawson
Pen.: Brown (2)
Drops: McGeechan
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 37,232
Referee: K. Pattinson (England)
F. Palmade (France)

1973-01-20
Wales 25–9 England
Tries: Bevan (2)
Davies
Edwards
Lewis
Con.: Bennett
Pen.: Taylor
Pen.: Doble (2)
Drops: Cowman
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: G. Domercq (France)

1973-02-03
Scotland 10–9 Wales
Tries: Steele
Telfer
Con.: Morgan
Pen.: Bennett (2)
Taylor
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: F. Palmade (France)

1973-02-10
Ireland 18–9 England
Tries: Grace
Milliken
Con.: McGann (2)
Pen.: McGann
Drops: McGann
Tries: Neary
Con.: Jorden
Pen.: Jorden
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland)

1973-02-24
Scotland 19–14 Ireland
Tries: Forsyth
Pen.: Morgan (2)
Drops: McGeechan
Morgan (2)
Tries: Kiernan
McMaster
Pen.: McGann (2)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: A. R. Lewis (Wales)
1973-02-24
England 14–6 France
Tries: Duckham (2)
Pen.: Jorden (2)
Tries: Bertranne
Con.: Romeu
Twickenham, London
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: K. H. Clark (Ireland)

1973-03-10
Wales 16–12 Ireland
Tries: Edwards
Shanklin
Con.: Bennett
Pen.: Bennett (2)
Tries: Gibson
Con.: McGann
Pen.: McGann (2)
National Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: T. F. E. Grierson (Scotland)

1973-03-17
England 20–13 Scotland
Tries: Dixon (2)
Evans
Squires
Con.: Jorden (2)
Tries: Steele (2)
Con.: Irvine
Pen.: Morgan
Twickenham, London
Referee: J. C. Kelleher (Wales)

1973-03-24
France 12–3 Wales
Pen.: Romeu (3)
Drops: Romeu
Drops: Bennett
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: D. P. d'Arcy (Ireland)

1973-04-14
Ireland 6–4 France
Pen.: Ensor
Gibson
Tries: Phliponeau
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: R. F. Johnson (England)

References

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  1. ^ "Memory of England Rugby's Travel to Dublin in Troubles". The Telegraph. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
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