RUGBY UNION - 5 / 6 NATIONS
1990s
1990
5 Nations - England (7) @ (13) Scotland - On a blustery day at Murrayfield, Scotland shocked the vistors and favourites England with a strong showing to win their 1st Grand Slam since 1984. The Scots were the more physical from the start and used turnovers and peanlties to lead 9-4 at the half. The Scots started the brighter in the 2nd half with a try from Tony Stanger and held on for the win, the Championship and the Calcutta cup. The Scots scored 3 penalties from Craig Chalmers to add to the Stanger try. The English points came from a Simon Hodgkinson penalty and a try from Jeremy Guscott. Scotland also featured David Sole, Gavin Hastings, Scott Hastings, Damien Cronin and Finlay Calder. England also featured Will Carling, Rob Andrew, Paul Ackford, Wade Dooley, Brian Moore and Mick Skinner (10, ESPN Classic re-broadcast - 50 minutes hi-lites, BBC - McClaren/Beaumont, PAL)
1991
5 Nations - Ireland (25) @ (28) Scotland - Ireland entered the final day of the tournament looking for their 1st win but Scotland held them off at Murrayfield thanks to a big game from Craig Chalmers. Both teams were evenly matched and were tied at 15-15 at the break, but Scotland got their noses in front in the 2nd half and Ireland ran out of time to complete a comeback. Chalmers finished with 3 penalties and he was supported by tries from Gavin Hastings, Scott Hastings and Tony Stanger. The Irish tries came from Keith Crossan, Simon Geoghegan, Brendan Mullin and Brian Robinson. On the same disc as the 1992 England/France, 1994 Ireland/England, 1994 France/Wales and 1995 Scotland/France games (9, 17 minute hi-lites, 1 Disc, BBC - McClaren, PAL)
5 Nations - France (19) @ (21) England - England won their first Grand Slam since 1980 with a tight win over the equally unbeaten French. Despite being out-scored 3 tries to 1, England rode the boot of Simon Hodgkinson (4 penalties) and Rob Andrew (drop goal) to take the win. The England try came from Rory Underwood. The game is best remembered for the greatest try scored at Twickenham, when Serge Blanco gathered a missed penalty attempt and started a length-of-the-field try that went through 4 sets of hands before being finished by Philippe Saint-André. England also featured Will Carling, Jeremy Guscott, Richard Hill, Jason Leonard, Brian Moore, Mike Teague and Dean Richards. The French also featured Phillipe Sella, Jean-Baptiste Lafond, Gerard Lascube, Olivier Roumat and Abdel Benazzi (9, Transfer from Official VHS, BBC - Telfer/Ripley, PAL)
1992
5 Nations - England (31) @ (13) France - In a very physical match in Paris, England held their discipline to run out winners. A close 1st half ended with England in front 15-4 but the 2nd half descended into chaos as the French started conceding penalties and, as England pulled away, the French started to take out their frustrations on the English players, forcing the referee to send off 2 French players for punching and kicking. The England try scorers were Dewi Morris, Rory Underwood and Jonathan Webb. The French try scorers were Sebastien Viars and Alain Penaud. On the same disc as the 1991 Ireland/Scotland, 1994 Ireland/England, 1994 France/Wales and 1995 Scotland/France games (9, 22 minute hi-lites, 1 Disc, BBC - Smith/Beaumont, PAL)
1994
5 Nations - Ireland (13) @ (12) England - Ireland controversially beat England at Twickenham for their 1st win there in 12 years. Both teams gave away a lot of penalties in a stop-start game but Ireland found themselves in front 10-6 at the half thanks to a late Simon Geoghegan try. England mounted a comeback and pulled in front 12-10 late in the game only for Ireland to snatch a win at the death with a controversial penalty that should have gone England's way. The star for Ireland was Eric Elwood who kicked 2 penalties and a conversion and who also thwarted several English try attempts. All the England points came from the boot of Jonathan Callard. On the same disc as the 1991 Ireland/Scotland, 1992 England/France, 1994 France/Wales and 1995 Scotland/France games (9, 29 minute hi-lites, 1 Disc, BBC - McClaren/Beaumont, PAL)
5 Nations - France (15) @ (24) Wales - In a sensationally game at the Cardiff Arms Park, Wales finally beat France for the 1st time since 1982. The star for the Welsh was Scott Quinnell, playing in only his 4th international, who scored a try and assisted on the game-clinching try. Wales actually led 17-3 in the 2nd half before 2 French tries narrowed the gap to 17-15. Wales then capitalised on a French turnover to send Nigel Walker streaking down the sideline for the game-clinching try in the final minutes. Neil Jenkins also added 4 penalties for Wales. The French tries came from Olivier Roumat and Phillipe Sella. On the same disc as the 1991 Ireland/Scotland, 1992 England/France, 1994 Ireland/England and 1995 Scotland/France games (9, 22 minute hi-lites, 1 Disc, BBC - Smith/Butler, PAL)
1995
5 Nations - Scotland (23) @ (21) France - An under-fire Scotland team sensationally beat the French in Paris for the 1st time in 26 years with a late try. France were at their fluid best but kept giving penalties away which captain Gavin Hastings converted. Scotland led 13-5 at the half but the French fought back to take a 21-16 late in the game. Scotland had 1 last chance to save the day and Hastings burst through the Defense to touch down for the game-winner with 2 minutes left. The other Scotland try came from Gregor Townsend. The French tries came from Jean-Luc Sadourny and Phillipe Saint-Andre (2). On the same disc as the 1991 Ireland/Scotland, 1992 England/France, 1994 Ireland/England and 1994 France/Wales games (9, 24 minute hi-lites, 1 Disc, BBC - McClaren/Jeffrey, PAL)
1999
5 Nations - England (31) @ (32) Wales - In the last ever 5 Nations game, Wales upset England with a last minute try and denied them the title. England started the brighter with tries from Dan Luger and Steve Handley but Wales stayed in the game with Neil Jenkins kicking penalties. In the 2nd half, Wales cameback with a try from Shane Howarth but with Jonny Wilkinson kicking 2 more penalties for England, Wales were still behind going into injury time. Wales then drove the length of the pitch and capped the possession off witha storming try from Scott Gibbs. The Neil Jenkins conversion won the game (9, Transfer from Official VHS, 2 Discs, BBC - McClaren/Butler, PAL)