1980 Five Nations Championship
The 1980 Five Nations Championship was the 51st Five Nations Championship series of the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 86th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament began on 19 January and concluded on 15 March.
| 1980 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 19 January - 15 March 1980 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | England (18th title) | ||
| Grand Slam | England (8th title) | ||
| Triple Crown | England (15th title) | ||
| Calcutta Cup | England | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 40 (4 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Ollie Campbell (46) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | John Carleton (4) | ||
| |||
England were the champions, winning the championship outright for the first time since 1963; they had also shared in the quintuple tie in 1973. It was England's 18th championship, excluding ten titles shared with other teams. In winning all four matches they won the Grand Slam for the eighth time, equalling the record held by Wales. It was England's first Grand Slam since 1957 and only their second since 1928. England's victories over Ireland, Wales and Scotland also gave them the Triple Crown for the first time since 1960 and the fifteenth time overall.
Participants
The teams involved were:
Table
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
| 1 | England |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 48 | +32 | 8 |
| 2 | Ireland |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 65 | +5 | 4 |
| 2 | Wales |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 4 |
| 4 | France |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 75 | −20 | 2 |
| 4 | Scotland |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 61 | 83 | −22 | 2 |
Squads
Results
19 January 1980 |
| Wales |
18–9 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Holmes Price Rees Richards Con.: G. Davies |
Tries: Marchal Con.: Caussade Drops: Caussade |
1980-01-19 |
| England |
24–9 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Scott Slemen Smith Con.: Hare (3) Pen.: Hare (2) |
Pen.: Campbell (3) |
1980-02-02 |
| France |
13–17 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Averous Rives Con.: Caussade Pen.: Caussade |
Tries: Carleton Preston Pen.: Hare Drops: Horton (2) |
1980-02-02 |
| Ireland |
22–15 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Keane Kennedy Con.: Campbell Pen.: Campbell (3) Drops: Campbell |
Tries: Johnston (2) Con.: Irvine (2) Pen.: Irvine |
1980-02-16 |
| Scotland |
22–14 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Irvine (2) Rutherford Con.: Irvine Renwick Pen.: Irvine (2) |
Tries: Gabernet Gallion Pen.: Gabernet Drops: Caussade |
1980-03-01 |
| France |
19–18 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Gourdon (2) Con.: Aguirre Pen.: Aguirre (2) Drops: Pedeutour |
Tries: McLennan Con.: Campbell Pen.: Campbell (3) Drops: Campbell |
1980-03-01 |
| Wales |
17–6 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Holmes Keen Richards Con.: Blyth Pen.: Fenwick |
Tries: Renwick Con.: Irvine |
1980-03-15 |
| Ireland |
21–7 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Fitzgerald Irwin O'Driscoll Con.: Campbell (3) Pen.: Campbell |
Tries: Blyth Pen.: Fenwick |
1980-03-15 |
| Scotland |
18–30 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Rutherford Tomes Con.: Irvine (2) Pen.: Irvine (2) |
Tries: Carleton (3) Slemen Smith Con.: Hare (2) Pen.: Hare (2) |