| 1976 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 10 January - 20 March 1976 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | Wales (19th title) | ||
| Grand Slam | Wales (7th title) | ||
| Triple Crown | Wales (13th title) | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 30 (3 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Phil Bennett (38) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Gareth Edwards (3) | ||
| |||
The 1976 Five Nations Championship was the 47th series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 82nd series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 10 January and 20 March.
Wales won their 19th title, with a Grand Slam, and the Triple Crown.
The Scotland vs France game was played one week earlier than the England vs Wales game, to allow the BBC to cover both the latter game, and the Ireland v. Australia game in Dublin on the same day. Bill Mclaren thus, unusually, commentated on the opening two games of a Five Nations Championship for the first time since the two games per weekend format was introduced in 1974.
Participants
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wales |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 37 | +65 | 8 |
| 2 | France |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 37 | +45 | 6 |
| 3 | Scotland |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 4 |
| 4 | Ireland |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 87 | −56 | 2 |
| 5 | England |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 42 | 86 | −44 | 0 |
Squads
Results
| 10 January 1976 |
| Scotland | 6–13 | France |
| Pen: Renwick Drop: Morgan | Try: Dubertrand Pen: Romeu (3) |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 55,000 Referee: K. A. Pattinson (England) |
| 17 January 1976 |
| England | 9–21 | Wales |
| Pen: Hignell (3) | Try: Edwards J. P. R. Williams (2) Con: Fenwick (3) Pen: Martin |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: G. Domercq (France) |
| 7 February 1976 |
| France | 26–3 | Ireland |
| Try: Cholley Fouroux Pecune Rives Con: Bastiat Romeu Pen: Bastiat Romeu | Pen: Robbie |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 42,585 Referee: A. Welsby (England) |
| 7 February 1976 |
| Wales | 28–6 | Scotland |
| Try: Edwards Evans J. J. Williams Con: Bennett (2) Pen: Bennett (3) Drop: Fenwick | Try: Irvine Con: Morgan |
| National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: A. Cuny (France) |
| 21 February 1976 |
| Ireland | 9–34 | Wales |
| Pen: McGann (3) | Try: Bennett Davies (2) Edwards Con: Bennett (3) Pen: Bennett (3) Martin |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: N. Sanson (Scotland) |
| 21 February 1976 |
| Scotland | 22–12 | England |
| Try: Lawson (2) Leslie Con: Irvine (2) Pen: Irvine (2) | Try: Maxwell Con: Old Pen: Old (2) |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 70,000 Referee: D. M. M. Lloyd (Wales) |
| 6 March 1976 |
| Wales | 19–13 | France |
| Try: J. J. Williams Pen: Bennett (2) Fenwick (2) Martin | Try: Averous Gourdon Con: Romeu Pen: Romeu |
| National Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 55,000 Referee: J. R. West (Ireland) |
| 6 March 1976 |
| England | 12–13 | Ireland |
| Pen: Old (4) | Try: Grace Pen: McGann (2) Drop: McGann |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: Alan Hosie (Scotland) |