1988 Five Nations Championship
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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.[1]
| 1988 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 16 January – 19 March 1988 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | France and Wales | ||
| Triple Crown | Wales (17th title) | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 31 (3.1 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Gavin Hastings (41 points) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Chris Oti (3 tries) | ||
| |||
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.[2]
Wales missed out on a ninth Grand Slam after losing to France at Cardiff Arms Park.
The teams involved were:
| 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 |
Source: [3]
- ^ Murray, Scott (2011-02-18). "The Joy of Six: Five Nations memories". Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ "Oti the man to blame as 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' continues to roll". Irish Independent. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ^ Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988-89 (17th ed.). London: Queen Anne Press.