The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's 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 15th 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 ...

, the annual northern hemisphere

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 ...

championship. It 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 ...

. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 120th edition of the tournament. Going into the final day, three teams could have still won the championship – Ireland, England and France. In the final game, Ireland hung on to win against France by just two points and secure the championship, on points difference over England. This was their first championship since 2009, and the 12th title they have won, including predecessor championships. The final game also saw the retirement of

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 ...

from international rugby, with a record number of 141 international caps – 133 for Ireland (83 as captain), and 8 for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

.Irish Rugby: Ireland – Profile: Brian O'Driscoll
Retrieved 21 March 2011
''

ESPN Scrum ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Communica ...

'' Retrieved 21 March 2011 England won the Triple Crown by beating Wales, Scotland and Ireland – they became the first team to win the Triple Crown while another of the Home Nations won the championship outright. The 2014 tournament saw 12 players earn their first cap – four French, three English, two Scottish, one Irish, one Italian and one Welsh.

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian-Argentine former rugby union player. He is currently the lineout coach for French club Toulon. He played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Pari ...

and

Martin Castrogiovanni Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart ...

became the most-capped Italian players with 105 caps, with

Gethin Jenkins Gethin Jenkins (born 17 November 1980) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player who played as a prop for Pontypridd, Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Toulon. At international level, he won 129 caps for Wales. On his 105th appearance ...

earning the same number to become the most-capped Welsh player. In their match against Wales on 1 February, Italy broke the world record for the most-capped starting pack with 587 caps, surpassing the previous record of 546 caps as held by New Zealand. In line with a global change to the Television Match Official (TMO) protocol, this was the first Six Nations tournament where the TMO could be called upon to review up to two phases prior to a try being scored and to review potential instances of foul play occurring at any time during the match. Two red cards were issued for foul play during the tournament after referral to the TMO.

Participants

¹ Replaced original captain

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 ...

who was ruled out of the Six Nations ahead of the tournament due to tearing a tendon in his right biceps.
² Except the opening week fixture against Scotland as he was ruled out as he suffered from a chest infection.

Jamie Heaslip James Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish people, Irish former rugby union player who represented Leinster Rugby, Leinster, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He played as a Number 8 (rugby union), ...

was captain of the fixture.
³ Except the round 4 match against Ireland as he was injured.

Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami (; born 12 June 1980) is a rugby union coach and retired Italy, Italian international player, whose career includes experience playing in the national top-level Italian (Petrarca Padova), French (RC Narbonne), and English (Glouces ...

was captain for that match.
⁴ Except for the round 2 match against England and the round 3 match against Italy as he was dropped.

Greig Laidlaw Greig Laidlaw (born 12 October 1985) is a Scottish former professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half and as a fly-half. Laidlaw holds the record for most caps as captain, 39, of the Scottish national team. He also represented ...

was captain of those matches. Brown returned as captain for the last two matches against France and Wales.
⁵ Except for the opening match against Italy as he did not captain as he had not recovered from a shoulder injury.

Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps f ...

was captain for that match.

Squads

Table

Fixtures

The 2014 Six Nations Championship saw the return of a Friday night fixture, last seen during the

2011 Six Nations Championship The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby uni ...

, where

faced

in the third week of the championship at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Round 1

Notes: *

became the fifth Italian player to earn 100 test caps. *

Angelo Esposito Angelo Esposito (born February 20, 1989) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Esposito was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career QMJHL Esposito's Queb ...

made his international debut for Italy. * Italy's starting pack set a new record as the most-capped of all time. The pack entered the match with 587 caps, surpassing the previous record of 546 by New Zealand's pack against

on 16 November 2013. ---- Notes: * French captain

Pascal Papé Pascal Papé (; born 5 October 1980) is a former French rugby union footballer. Papé played as a lock, and currently most recently represented Stade Français in club rugby, after spending many years at Bourgoin. He also spent one season at C ...

earned his 50th test cap. * Antoine Burban and

Jules Plisson Jules Plisson (born 20 August 1991) is a French rugby union player. His position is Fly-half and he currently plays for Provence in the Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated ...

made their international debuts for France. *

Luther Burrell Luther Burrell (born 6 December 1987) is an English professional rugby union footballer who last played as a for the Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Rugby. He played rugby union for Leeds Carnegie (2006–2011), Sale Sharks (2011–2012) ...

and Jack Nowell made their international debuts for England. ---- Notes: * Paul O'Connell was named at lock for this match, but was ruled out with a chest infection hours before kick-off. He was replaced by Dan Tuohy. * Ireland reclaimed the Centenary Quaich after losing it in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. * Martin Moore made his international debut for Ireland. *

made his 129th appearance for Ireland to surpass

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 ...

as Ireland's most-capped player. *

Rob Kearney Robert Kearney (born 26 March 1986) is an Irish former rugby union player. He spent 15 years playing for Leinster, before having a six-month stint in Australia where he played for Perth based side Western Force. Kearney also played over a deca ...

earned his 50th test cap. ----

Round 2

Notes: * Paul James and

Leigh Halfpenny Stephen Leigh Halfpenny (born 22 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback (rugby union), fullback or wing (rugby union), wing for Harlequin F.C., Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby, English Premiership. Halfpenny is ...

earned their 50th test caps, with Halfpenny becoming the youngest Welsh player to reach the landmark. * Jake Ball made his international debut for Wales. * This was Wales' first Six Nations fixture that they have failed to score a try in since their 28–9 loss to France in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. ---- Notes: * England retained 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 ...

. * Chris Fusaro made his international debut for Scotland. * This was the first match in which Scotland failed to score any points against England since their 15–0 loss in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. ---- Notes: * Hugo Bonneval made his international debut for France. * France reclaimed 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 ...

after losing it in

. * This was the first Six Nations fixture in which a red card was issued since Scott Murray was sent off when playing for Scotland against Wales in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. ----

Round 3

Notes: * Brice Mach made his international debut for France. *

was named in the Wales starting XV, but was ruled out hours before kick-off due to an injury to his foot. Jake Ball was promoted from the bench, with

Andrew Coombs Andrew Coombs is a former Wales international rugby union player. His position is back-row forward or lock forward. Career Coombs attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, and is a fluent Welsh speaker. He played for Newport Youth and Pontypool RFC be ...

taking his place. ---- Notes: *

and

earned their 104th caps for Italy, surpassing

Andrea Lo Cicero Andrea Lo Cicero Vaina (; born Catania, 7 May 1976) is an Italian rugby union footballer, who retired from playing in 2013. Born in Catania, Sicily, Lo Cicero began his professional career in the town of his birth with Amatori Catania. Later he ...

on 103 as Italy's most-capped players. ---- Notes: * Jordi Murphy (Ireland) made his international debut. * Ireland's

drew level with

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a former rugby union player who played as scrum-half. Born in Lusaka, Zambia, Gregan represented Australia at an international level, and is Australia's second most capped player. He played S ...

for the most caps in international rugby history, with 139. O'Driscoll has 131 caps with Ireland and eight with the

. * England retained the Millennium Trophy. ----

Round 4

Notes: *

surpassed

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

for the most caps in international rugby history with 140 – 132 for Ireland, eight for the

. *With

unselected for this match,

became Italy's most capped player with 105 caps. ---- ---- Notes: * George Ford made his international debut for England. * Wales'

drew level with Stephen Jones as the most-capped Welsh player with 104 caps. * England won the Triple Crown for the first time since

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 ...

. ----

Round 5

Notes: *

George Biagi George Biagi (born 4 October 1985 in Irvine, Scotland) is a retired Italy international rugby union. He represented Italy on 23 occasions. He was born in Scotland to Scots/Italian father and an Italian mother and later went to Italy to study. ...

made his international debut for Italy. * With

unselected for this match,

joined Castrogiovanni as the most capped Italian rugby player with 105 caps. ---- Notes * This was Scott Johnson's final match in charge of Scotland, before being replaced by

Vern Cotter Vernon Anthony Cotter (born 27 January 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He currently coaches the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby. He started his coaching career at Bay of Plenty including winning the Ranfur ...

. *

surpassed Stephen Jones as the most-capped Welsh player with 105 caps. * This was Wales' biggest winning margin over Scotland. It was previously the 46–22 victory at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

during the

2005 Six Nations Championship The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th ...

. *

Stuart Hogg Stuart William Hogg (born 24 June 1992) is a Scottish professional rugby union player, who plays for Montpellier of the French Top 14. He has represented Scotland at international level, having made his test debut against Wales during the 2 ...

's red card was the third of the 2014 tournament, but only the third since Scott Murray was sent off when playing for Scotland against Wales in

. ---- Notes: * This was the final Test match for

, who had previously announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2013–14 season. *This game was the deciding game of the 2014 Six Nations Championship: *If the game were drawn, or if France won by less than 70 points, England would win the Championship. *If France won by 71 points or more, they would win the Championship. If they won by exactly 70, it would be decided on whichever team (France or England) had score more tries. *Ireland won; sealing the title for the first time in 5 years.

Statistics

Points scorers

Try scorers

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom,

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

televised all the matches live. There was a forum show on the

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...

for satellite and cable viewers after several matches. Wales matches were televised live in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

. Elsewhere, the tournament's matches were televised live by

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

in France,

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

in Ireland and DMAX in Italy in the first year of a four-year contract.

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Six Nations 2014 rugby union tournaments for national teams

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2013–14 in European rugby union 2013–14 in Irish rugby union 2013–14 in English rugby union 2013–14 in Welsh rugby union 2013–14 in Scottish rugby union 2013–14 in French rugby union 2013–14 in Italian rugby union February 2014 sports events in Europe March 2014 sports events in Europe Royal Bank of Scotland