The 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, and the 109th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by England, who completed a grand slam, and went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup later the same year. Italy won their first match with Wales (30–22), finishing in 6th place for the first time in the process.
| 2003 Six Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 15 February – 30 March 2003 | ||
| Countries |  England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | England (25th title) | ||
| Grand Slam | England (12th title) | ||
| Triple Crown | England (23rd title) | ||
| Matches played | 15 | ||
| Tries scored | 74 (4.93 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Jonny Wilkinson (77) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Damien Traille (4) | ||
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This was the sixth time in the Championship's history, but the first time since it became the Six Nations, that two teams met in the final round with undefeated records, both England and Ireland having won their first four games, making the final match a decider for the Grand Slam. It was also the first time Ireland had been involved: and the first that was won by the away team. Wales were whitewashed, losing all five of their games, and earned themselves the wooden spoon as a result.
Participants
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Squads
editTable
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England
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5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 173 | 46 | +127 | 18 | 10 |
| 2 | Ireland
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5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 97 | +22 | 10 | 8 |
| 3 | France
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5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 153 | 75 | +78 | 17 | 6 |
| 4 | Scotland
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5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 81 | 161 | −80 | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | Italy
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5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 100 | 185 | −85 | 12 | 2 |
| 6 | Wales
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5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 82 | 144 | −62 | 10 | 0 |
Source: [citation needed]
Results
editRound 1
edit| 15 February 2003 13:30 GMT |
| Italy | 30–22 | Wales |
| Try: De Carli 3' c Festuccia 19' c Phillips 58' c Con: Dominguez (3) 4', 20', 58' Pen: Dominguez 30' Drop: Dominguez (2) 35', 68' | Report | Try: S. Williams 6' c Shanklin 13' c Peel 76' m Con: Harris (2) 7', 14' Pen: Harris 25' |
| Stadio Flaminio, Rome Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Joël Jutge (France) |
| 15 February 2003 16:00 GMT |
| England | 25–17 | France |
| Try: Robinson 48' c Con: Wilkinson 49' Pen: Wilkinson (5) 14', 19', 28', 40', 58' Drop: Wilkinson 63' | Report | Try: Magne 16' c Poitrenaud 66' m Traille 80' Con: Merceron 16' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 73,500 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand) |
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| 16 February 2003 15:00 GMT |
| Scotland | 6–36 | Ireland |
| Pen: Ross (2) 48', 56' | Report | Try: Hickie 28' c Murphy 64' c Humphreys 72' c Con: Humphreys (3) 29', 65', 73' Pen: Humphreys (5) 7', 36', 46', 62', 79' |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 67,500 Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia) |
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Round 2
edit| 22 February 2003 14:30 GMT |
| Italy | 13–37 | Ireland |
| Try: Dallan 54' c Con: Pez 55' Pen: Domínguez 33' Pez 70' | Report | Try: Stringer 18' c Kelly 30' m Humphreys 43' m O'Driscoll 59' c Murphy 72' c Con: Humphreys (3) 19', 59', 73' Pen: Humphreys (2) 25', 39' |
| Stadio Flaminio, Rome Attendance: 22,500 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England) |
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| 22 February 2003 17:30 GMT |
| Wales | 9–26 | England |
| Pen: Sweeney (3) 7', 21', 59' | Report | Try: Greenwood 46' c Worsley 54' c Con: Wilkinson (2) 46', 55' Pen: Wilkinson (2) 13', 66' Drop: Wilkinson (2) 16', 25' |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 69,727 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand) |
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| 23 February 2003 14:00 GMT |
| France | 38–3 | Scotland |
| Try: Pelous 6' m Poitrenaud 41' c Traille 60' c Rougerie 78' c Con: Gelez (3) 42', 61', 80' Pen: Gelez (4) 2', 15', 25', 40' | Report | Pen: Paterson 4' |
| Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 78,692 Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia) |
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Round 3
edit| 8 March 2003 14:00 GMT |
| Ireland | 15–12 | France |
| Pen: Humphreys (4) 6', 27', 38', 67' Drop: Murphy 1' | Report | Pen: Gelez (4) 10', 42', 48', 69' |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 47,500 Referee: André Watson (South Africa) |
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| 8 March 2003 16:00 GMT |
| Scotland | 30–22 | Wales |
| Try: Douglas 13' c Taylor 20' c Paterson 75' c Con: Paterson (3) 15', 22', 75' Pen: Paterson (3) 4', 39', 40' | Report | Try: Cooper 36' c Taylor 78' m R. Williams 79' c Con: S. Jones (2) 38', 80' Pen: S. Jones 17' |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Pablo De Luca (Argentina) |
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Notes:
- Referee Pablo De Luca was injured during the match and replaced by touch judge Tony Spreadbury at half-time.[1]
| 9 March 2003 14:00 GMT |
| England | 40–5 | Italy |
| Try: Lewsey (2) 2' c, 14' c Thompson 8' c Simpson-Daniel 11' c Tindall 19' m Luger 65' c Con: Wilkinson (4) 3', 9', 12', 15' Dawson 67' | Report | Try: Mi. Bergamasco 55' m |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 72,000 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) |
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Round 4
edit| 22 March 2003 14:00 GMT |
| Wales | 24–25 | Ireland |
| Try: S. Jones 14' c M. Williams 50' c Thomas 61' c Con: S. Jones (3) 15', 51', 62' Drop: S. Jones 75' | Report | Try: Gleeson (2) 34' m, 41' m Pen: Humphreys (4) 5', 17', 24', 58' Drop: O'Gara 75' |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 72,500 Referee: Steve Lander (England) |
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| 22 March 2003 16:00 GMT |
| England | 40–9 | Scotland |
| Try: Lewsey 20' c Cohen 49' c Robinson (2) 63' c, 75' c Con: Wilkinson (3) 21', 50', 64' Paul Grayson 76' Pen: Wilkinson (4) 1', 9', 39', 53' | Report | Pen: Paterson (3) 15', 18', 30' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 72,000 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland) |
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| 23 March 2003 14:00 GMT |
| Italy | 27–53 | France |
| Try: Pez 39' c Mi. Bergamasco 61' m Persico 64' c Phillips 79' m Con: Pez (2) 40', 65' Pen: Pez 12' | Report | Try: Betsen 2' c Traille (2) 14' c, 17' c Rougerie (2) 20' c, 71' c Michalak 34' c Castaignède 40' c Con: Yachvili (6) 3', 15', 18', 21', 35', 41' Pen: Yachvili (2) 9', 31' |
| Stadio Flaminio, Rome Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales) |
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Round 5
edit| 29 March 2003 13:00 GMT |
| France | 33–5 | Wales |
| Try: Castaginède 25' c Clerc 51' c Michalak 66' c Con: Yachvili (3) 26', 52', 66' Pen: Yachvili (4) 33', 45', 62', 71' | Report | Try: Thomas 3' m |
| Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 78,906 Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand) |
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| 29 March 2003 15:00 GMT |
| Scotland | 33–25 | Italy |
| Try: White 9' m McLaren 13' m Logan 35' c Paterson 60' c Con: Paterson (2) 36', 61' Pen: Paterson (3) 5', 21', 78' | Report | Try: Mi. Bergamasco 3' m Pez 24' c Palmer 66' c Con: Pez (2) 25', 67' Pen: Pez (2) 7', 47' |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 45,739 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland) |
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| 30 March 2003 14:00 BST |
| Ireland | 6–42 | England |
| Pen: Humphreys 24' Drop: Humphreys 4' | Report | Try: Dallaglio 6' c Tindall 57' c Greenwood (2) 61' c, 76' m Luger 79' c Con: Wilkinson (3) 7', 61', 80' Grayson 58' Pen: Wilkinson 67' Drop: Wilkinson (2) 26', 38' |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 47,900 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) |
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Red carpet incident
editThe deciding game between Ireland and England was overshadowed by an incident in the pre-game ceremonies in which the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, had to walk on the grass instead of the red carpet to meet the Irish team. England had lined up on the left-hand side when facing the tunnel, which was said to be Ireland's lucky side. When asked to move his team, England captain Martin Johnson refused, so Ireland lined up to the left of them, with no team now on the right hand side, leaving insufficient red carpet on that side. A day after the game the Irish Rugby Football Union sent a written apology to the president for the England team's failure to "follow established and communicated protocol", while the Rugby Football Union also sent her a "full and unreserved apology".[2] Having dismissed it at the time as "a fuss about nothing", Johnson later explained ahead of meeting the president again in Ireland for the 2011 Championship that he had lined up on that side as it was customary to line up on the side you warmed up on, that he had no prior knowledge of the protocol, and his subsequent refusal to move was because the request came from some "random guy", rather than the match referee.[3]
References
edit- ^ Harris, Norman (8 March 2003). "Scots on rampage". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "RUGBY: Rugby apology for McAleese". UTV. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ "18 March 2011". Irish Examiner. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.