The 1995 Five Nations Championship was the 66th Five Nations Championship, the annual Northern Hemisphere rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was also the last Five Nations held in the sport's amateur era, as rugby union's governing body, the International Rugby Football Board, opened the sport to professionalism on August 26 of that year. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-first series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 21 January to 18 March. It was also the fifth occasion, after 1978, 1984, 1990 and 1991, on which two teams each with three victories faced off against each other in the final round of matches, with both capable of completing a Grand Slam with a victory, and the second time that the Triple Crown had also been at stake at the same time, as a result of England and Scotland's earlier victories over the other Home Nations. The tournament took a surprisingly similar course to five years earlier, where England and Scotland both won their first three matches and met in the final week, with an undefeated record, a Grand Slam, Triple Crown and the Calcutta Cup all at stake for the victor: however, this time it was England who prevailed in the deciding match. Even the minor placings were the same as in 1990, as France came third, Ireland fourth and Wales were whitewashed.
| 1995 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 21 January – 18 March 1995 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | England (21st title) | ||
| Grand Slam | England (11th title) | ||
| Triple Crown | England (18th title) | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 31 (3.1 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Rob Andrew (53 points) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Philippe Saint-André (4 tries) | ||
| |||
Participants
editThe teams involved were:
Squads
editTable
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 39 | +59 | 8 |
| 2 | Scotland
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 71 | +16 | 6 |
| 3 | France
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 70 | +7 | 4 |
| 4 | Ireland
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 83 | −39 | 2 |
| 5 | Wales
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 86 | −43 | 0 |
Results
edit| 21 January 1995 |
| France | 21–9 | Wales |
| Try: Ntamack Saint-André Con: Lacroix Pen: Lacroix (3) | Report | Pen: Jenkins (3) |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,400 Referee: J. J. M. Pearson (England) |
| 21 January 1995 |
| Ireland | 8–20 | England |
| Try: Foley Pen: Burke | Report | Try: Carling Clarke T. Underwood Con: Andrew Pen: Andrew |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: P. Thomas (France) |
| 4 February 1995 |
| England | 31–10 | France |
| Try: Guscott T. Underwood (2) Con: Andrew (2) Pen: Andrew (4) | Report | Try: Viars Con: Lacroix Pen: Lacroix |
| Twickenham, London Attendance: 59,450 Referee: Ken McCartney (Scotland) |
| 4 February 1995 |
| Scotland | 26–13 | Ireland |
| Try: Cronin Joiner Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (4) | Report | Try: Bell Mullin Pen: Burke |
| Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
| 18 February 1995 |
| France | 21–23 | Scotland |
| Try: Sadourny Saint-André (2) Pen: Lacroix Drop: Deylaud | Report | Try: G. Hastings Townsend Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (3) |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Referee: David McHugh (Ireland) |
| 18 February 1995 15:05 |
| Wales | 9–23 | England |
| Pen: Jenkins (3) | Report | Try: Ubogu R. Underwood (2) Con: Andrew Pen: Andrew (2) |
| National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: D. Mené (France) |
| 4 March 1995 |
| Ireland | 7–25 | France |
| Try: Geoghegan Con: Elwood | Report | Try: Cecillon Y. Delaigue Ntamack Saint-André Con: Ntamack Pen: Ntamack |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 62,000 Referee: C. Thomas (Wales) |
| 4 March 1995 |
| Scotland | 26–13 | Wales |
| Try: Hilton Peters Con: S. Hastings (2) Pen: S. Hastings (4) | Report | Try: Jones Con: Jenkins Pen: Jenkins (2) |
| Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: S. J. Lander (England) |
| 18 March 1995 |
| England | 24–12 | Scotland |
| Pen: Andrew (7) Drop: Andrew | Pen: S. Hastings (2) Drop: Chalmers (2) |
| Twickenham, London Referee: B. W. Stirling (Ireland) |