Grand Slam (rugby union)
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In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship (or its predecessors) manages to beat all the others during one year's competition or when a touring side from one of the Southern Hemisphere nations plays and defeats all four Home Nations sides in a single tour. The last team to have won the Six Nations Grand Slam was Ireland in 2009, and the last team to win a Grand Slam tour was New Zealand, in 2008.
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[edit] Six Nations Championship
In the Six Nations Championship and its predecessors, a grand slam is where one team beats all its opponents during one year's competition. [1] The grand slam winners are awarded the six nations trophy (as tournament winners), but there is no special grand slam trophy. The grand slam is just a matter of pride over glory.
Although the term grand slam had long been in use in the game of Contract bridge, the first time that the expression is known to have been applied to rugby union was in 1957, in a preview of a match between England and Scotland:
There is much more than usual at stake for England to-day in the match against Scotland at Twickenham ...
The last time when England achieved the grand slam under present conditions was as long ago as the 1927-28 season, but it is difficult to try to build up a case against her repeating the performance to-day.
—The Times, 16 March 1957
Three teams—Wales in 1908–09, England in 1913–14, 1923–24 and 1991–92, and France in 1997–98—have won two consecutive Grand Slams; no team has yet achieved three consecutive Grand Slams.
Prior to 2000, each team played four matches, two at home and two away from home. Following the inclusion of Italy in 2000, each team plays five matches, two at home and three away in one year, and the opposite in the following season. When Wales won the Grand Slam in 2005, it was the first time that the feat had been achieved by a team that had played more matches away than at home. This was repeated in 2009 with Ireland winning matches away to Italy, Scotland and Wales. The Welsh Grand Slam in 2008 saw them become the second team to win two Grand Slams in the Six Nations, but the first to do so with both three away games and two home games.
The Grand Slam has been achieved 35 times—England leads, with 12 wins, followed by Wales (10), France (8), Scotland (3) and Ireland (2). Italy has yet to win a Grand Slam.
In Welsh, the Grand Slam is called Y Gamp Lawn, in French Le Grand Chelem.
| Nation | W | Grand Slam Season |
|---|---|---|
 England |
12 | 1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1957, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2003 |
 Wales |
10 | 1908, 1909, 1911, 1950, 1952, 1971, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2008 |
 France |
8 | 1968, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004 |
 Scotland |
3 | 1925, 1984, 1990 |
 Ireland |
2 | 1948, 2009 |
 Italy |
0 |
| 1882–1907 | France did not take part in the championship |
| 1908 | Wales |
| 1909 | Wales |
| 1910 | Not achieved |
| 1911 | Wales |
| 1912 | Not achieved |
| 1913 | England |
| 1914 | England |
| 1915–19 | No tournament during World War I |
| 1920 | Not achieved |
| 1921 | England |
| 1922 | Not achieved |
| 1923 | England |
| 1924 | England |
| 1925 | Scotland |
| 1926–27 | Not achieved |
| 1928 | England |
| 1929–31 | Not achieved |
| 1932–39 | France was suspended from the championship |
| 1940–46 | No tournament during World War II |
| 1947 | Not achieved |
| 1948 | Ireland |
| 1949 | Not achieved |
| 1950 | Wales |
| 1951 | Not achieved |
| 1952 | Wales |
| 1953–56 | Not achieved |
| 1957 | England |
| 1958–67 | Not achieved |
| 1968 | France |
| 1969–70 | Not achieved |
| 1971 | Wales |
| 1972–75 | Not achieved |
| 1976 | Wales |
| 1977 | France |
| 1978 | Wales |
| 1979 | Not achieved |
| 1980 | England |
| 1981 | France |
| 1982–83 | Not achieved |
| 1984 | Scotland |
| 1985–86 | Not achieved |
| 1987 | France |
| 1988–89 | Not achieved |
| 1990 | Scotland |
| 1991 | England |
| 1992 | England |
| 1993–94 | Not achieved |
| 1995 | England |
| 1996 | Not achieved |
| 1997 | France |
| 1998 | France |
| 1999–2001 | Not achieved |
| 2000 | Tournament expanded to include Italy. |
| 2002 | France[1] |
| 2003 | England[2] |
| 2004 | France[3] |
| 2005 | Wales[4] |
| 2006–07 | Not achieved |
| 2008 | Wales[5] |
| 2009 | Ireland[6] |
Similar in concept to the Grand Slam is the Triple Crown, which is won if a team from one of the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) manages to beat the other three teams. The Triple Crown was won most recently by Ireland, in 2009, as part of their Six Nations Grand Slam victory.
[edit] Grand Slam Tour
A Grand Slam tour is one in which the touring side plays Test matches against each of the four Home Nations. If the tourists win all four games, they are said to have achieved the grand slam.
This feat has been achieved four times by South Africa, three times by New Zealand and once by Australia, who has the record of being the only Southern Hemisphere team to suffer a grand slam of defeats against the Home Nations, in 1957–58.
South Africa have the distinction of being the only team to have achieved the grand slam against the Five Nations: in the grand slam tours of 1912–13 and 1951–52, France was among the nations that they defeated.
  South Africa |
1912–13, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1960–61 |
 New Zealand |
1978, 2005, 2008 |
 Australia |
1984 |
Because of the congested schedule in international rugby, grand slam tours may become less common. The last successful grand slam tour was in 2008, when New Zealand achieved their third grand slam. The All Blacks' previous Grand Slam tour, in 2005, was originally intended to include only three Test matches; only the late inclusion of the game against Wales made it possible for the All Blacks even to contemplate winning the grand slam. In addition, New Zealand played only test matches in 2005 and played only one non-test in 2008, as opposed to frequent midweek and weekend tour games against provincial sides which categorised other Grand Slam tours.
[edit] List of Grand Slam Tours
| Teams | Achieved | Year |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand |
1905-1906 | |
 South Africa |
1906 | |
| South Africa |
 |
1912-1913 |
| Australia |
1927-1928 | |
| South Africa |
|
1931-1932 |
| New Zealand |
1935-1936 | |
| Australia |
1947-1948 | |
| South Africa |
|
1951-1952 |
| New Zealand |
1953-1954 | |
| Australia |
1958 | |
| South Africa |
|
1960-1961 |
| New Zealand |
1963-1964 | |
| Australia |
1966-1967 | |
| South Africa |
1969-1970 | |
| New Zealand |
1972-1973 | |
| Australia |
1975-1976 | |
| New Zealand |
|
1978 |
| Australia |
1981-1982 | |
| Australia |
|
1984 |
 South Africa |
1998 | |
| South Africa |
2004 | |
| New Zealand |
|
2005 |
| New Zealand |
|
2008 |
| Australia |
2009 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "France masterclass in doing Le Slam". Guardian News and Media Limited. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2002/apr/08/rugbyunion.sixnationsrugby2002. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
- ^ "Awesome England clinch Grand Slam". BBC Sport Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/international/2892271.stm. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
- ^ "France win Grand Slam by beating England". www.theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/28/1080412219871.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
- ^ "Wales 32-20 Ireland". BBC Sport Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/international/4358121.stm. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
- ^ "Wales 29-12 France". BBC Sport Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/7295598.stm. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
- ^ "Wales 15-17 Ireland". BBC Sport Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7954758.stm. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
