Tries scored 28 (2.8 per match) | Matches played 10 | |
Date 13 January 1973 - 14 April 1973 | ||
The 1973 Five Nations Championship was the forty-fourth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-ninth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 13 January and 14 April. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
As each nation won their two home matches (and therefore lost their two away matches), the championship was shared between all five teams; no further tie-break was applied to separate teams finishing level on match points. This was the only time that the Five Nations championship finished in a five-way tie.
Due to the Troubles occurring in Ireland, which had resulted in the loss of over 100 British soldiers in 1972 and the potential risks both Scotland and Wales refused to play Ireland in Dublin. Defying expectations to the contrary, England agreed to travel. Despite a poor performance, resulting in an 18-9 loss, England received great credit for their attendance coupled with captain John Pullin's post-match quip "Well we might not be any good but at least we turned up".
Participants
The teams involved were: