2014 Six Nations Championship

2014 Six Nations Championship
Date1 February – 15 March 2014
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Champions Ireland (12th title)
Triple Crown England (24th title)
Matches played15
Attendance1,038,744 (69,250 per match)
Tries scored61 (4.07 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Ireland Johnny Sexton (66)
Top try scorer(s)England Mike Brown (4)
Ireland Johnny Sexton (4)
Player of the tournamentEngland Mike Brown
Official websiteOfficial website
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The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 120th edition of the tournament.[1]

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.[2] This was their first championship since 2009, and the 12th title they have won, including predecessor championships.[3][4]

The final game also saw the retirement of Brian O'Driscoll 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.[5][6][7]

England won the Triple Crown by beating Wales, Scotland and Ireland[8] – 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 – three English, four French, two Scottish, one Irish, one Italian and one Welsh. Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni became the most-capped Italian players with 105 caps,[9][10] with Gethin Jenkins earning the same number to become the most-capped Welsh player.[11] 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.[12]

  1. ^ "Six Nations 2014 team captains' press conference". Daily Telegraph. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  2. ^ "France 20 Ireland 22". Daily Telegraph. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Ireland clinch Six Nations crown after beating France in thriller". Guardian. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ^ "France 20 Ireland 22". ESPN. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. ^ Irish Rugby: Ireland – Profile: Brian O'Driscoll Archived 11 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 March 2011
  6. ^ Brian O'Driscoll: Rugby Union Profile ESPN Scrum Retrieved 21 March 2011
  7. ^ "Brian O'Driscoll elated by perfect Ireland finale". BBC Sport. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ^ "England prevail to claim Triple Crown". ESPN. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Six Nations 2014: Sergio Parisse calls on Italy to restore pride with first ever win against England". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Six Nations 2014: Mako Vunipola in for Italy v England in Rome". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Six Nations 2014: Wales thrash Scotland as Stuart Hogg sent off". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Statistical Analysis and Match Review: Six Nations 2014" (PDF). IRB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2021.