The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

, was the 11th series of the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

and the 116th international championship, an annual

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

competition between the six major European national teams. The tournament was held between 6 February and 20 March 2010. The championship was contested by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. France won the tournament, achieving a final 12–10 victory over England to win the

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

, their first since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and ninth overall (including six in the Five Nations). This was also their 17th outright victory, including 12 victories in the Five Nations, excluding eight titles shared with other countries. France also retained the

Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy (; ) is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Italy. The trophy, designed by French former international and professional sculptor Jean-Pierre Riv ...

by defeating Italy in the tournament, to whom they had (then) never lost within the Six Nations. Ireland,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Grand Slam winners, came second with three victories and two defeats. Despite defeating England and Wales, Ireland failed to win the Triple Crown after a 23–20 defeat to Scotland in their final match. England and Wales came third and fourth respectively with two victories each, while Scotland and Italy finished in fifth and sixth positions for the third tournament in a row. Both teams achieved just one victory each, with Scotland also recording a draw in the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between teams of England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy con ...

match against England to place ahead of Italy.

Summary

The reigning champions on entering the tournament were Ireland, who won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown in

. Ireland did not win the Triple Crown in 2010 due to a surprise 23–20 loss to Scotland in the final Six Nations match at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

on 20 March, with Scotland avoiding their third "

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

" since 2004 in the process.

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside Centre (rugby union), centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster Rugby, Leinster and for Ireland national rugby union te ...

had opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Ireland were level with Scotland in the 64th minute after

Tommy Bowe Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. After his playing career ...

scored a try, with substitute

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

converting. Scotland's

Johnnie Beattie John William Beattie (born 21 November 1985) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A number 8, he played for Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier, Castres and Bayonne. Background Beattie is the son of former Scotland number 8 John Beattie and b ...

scored his team's first try since they played Wales in their second game and

Dan Parks Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978) is a professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a fly-half. Parks played professionally for Pro12 sides Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Connacht Rugby as well as English side Le ...

scored a penalty in the final minute to prevent Ireland winning the Triple Crown. Ireland coach

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year a ...

described it as "not our greatest day". Ireland's previous match – a 27–12 victory over Wales on 13 March – had seen O'Driscoll achieve 100 caps for his country. Ireland's previous match against England had seen John Hayes achieve 100 caps for his country, the first player to do so for Ireland. Ireland's loss to Scotland meant France had won the Championship but could still achieve the Grand Slam by beating England in their final game at the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

on 20 March. The Grand Slam was achieved by France following a 12–10 victory in this game. It was France's first Grand Slam since 2004. England scored the only try of the game.

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scori ...

was not included in the England starting team for only the third time in his career.

Bryce Lawrence Bryce Lawrence (born 23 December 1970) is a former professional international rugby union referee from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. He is now the National Referee Manager for the New Zealand Rugby Union. Overview Originally a primary school h ...

from New Zealand refereed the game. The nominations for "Player of the Championship" were announced on 17 March; these were Tommy Bowe (Ireland),

Mathieu Bastareaud Mathieu Bastareaud (; born 17 September 1988) is a French former rugby union player. Originally a centre, he played for RC Massy, Stade Français, and then eight seasons for Toulon with whom he won three European Cups and a French Championshi ...

Morgan Parra Morgan Parra (born 15 November 1988) is a former French rugby union player who played as a scrum-half and occasionally fly-half. He played most of his career with Clermont Auvergne after signing for them from Bourgoin. He is of Portuguese ...

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career. Dusautoi ...

, Imanol Harinordoquy (all France) and

Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the r ...

(Wales). Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who had won the award in three of the four previous seasons, was not included this time. Tommy Bowe was named as the player of the championship on 25 March, having polled nearly 50% of the fan votes.

Participants

Squads

Table

Results

The schedule for the 2010 Championship was released on 2 April 2009. Following the success of the tournament's first Friday night game, between France and Wales in the 2009 Championship, the organisers scheduled the reverse fixture to also be played on a Friday night. 'c' and 'm' following a try denote 'converted' and 'missed conversion' respectively.

Round 1

---- *England wore a special kit to celebrate the centenary of the first international match – England vs Wales – at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

. *Dan Cole (England) made his international debut. ---- *

Luc Ducalcon Luc Ducalcon (born 2 January 1984) is a French rugby union player. Ducalcon, who is a tighthead prop, plays his club rugby for Racing Métro 92. He made his debut for France against Scotland on 7 February 2010. Honours Racing 92 *Top 14 ...

(France) made his international debut.

Round 2

*Chris Paterson became the 13th player in history with at least 100 international

appearances Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

. His missed conversion ended a personal streak of 35 consecutive successful kicks at goal in the Six Nations, dating back to

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. ---- ---- *Jonny Wilkinson's two missed penalties ended a personal streak of consecutive successful penalty kicks in any international which he has started, dating back to

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. *Matt Mullan (England) made his international debut.

Round 3

Notes: *Marc Andreu (France) made his international debut. ---- ---- * John Hayes became the first Irish player to earn 100 international caps.

Round 4

became the second Irishman to reach 100 caps for his country. ---- *Ben Youngs (England) made his international debut. ----

Round 5

Tom Prydie Tom Prydie (born 23 February 1992) is a Welsh rugby union player. A fullback who can also play on the wing, Prydie is the youngest player ever to represent the Wales national team and the youngest player in the history of Europe's top rugby ...

became the youngest test cap in Welsh rugby history, at the age of . ---- ---- *Chris Ashton (England) made his international debut.

Top scorers

Try scorers

Points scorers

References

External links

Official site2010 Six Nations Championship Coverage
at the Guardian {{DEFAULTSORT:Six Nations 2010 rugby union tournaments for national teams

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2009–10 in European rugby union 2009–10 in Irish rugby union 2009–10 in English rugby union 2009–10 in Welsh rugby union 2009–10 in Scottish rugby union 2009–10 in French rugby union 2009–10 in Italian rugby union February 2010 sports events in Europe March 2010 sports events in Europe Royal Bank of Scotland