1981 Five Nations Championship
| 1981 Five Nations Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 17 January 1981 - 21 March 1981 | ||
| Countries |  England Ireland France Scotland Wales | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | France (7th title) | ||
| Grand Slam | France (3rd title) | ||
| Matches played | 10 | ||
| Tries scored | 25 (2.5 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Dusty Hare (30) | ||
| Top try scorer(s) | Laurent Pardo (2) Steve Munro (2) | ||
| |||
The 1981 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-second series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-seventh series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 17 January and 21 March.
France were the winners, winning the championship outright for the eighth time. They had also shared the title on four other occasions. In winning all their four matches they also won the Grand Slam for the third time.
Participants
The teams involved were:
| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| England
|
Twickenham | London | Mike Davis |
| France
|
Parc des Princes | Paris | Jacques Fouroux |
| Ireland
|
Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Tom Kiernan |
| Scotland
|
Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Jim Telfer |
| Wales
|
National Stadium | Cardiff | John Lloyd |
Table
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
| 1 | France
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 49 | +21 | 8 |
| 2 | England
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 4 |
| 2 | Scotland
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 54 | −3 | 4 |
| 2 | Wales
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 4 |
| 5 | Ireland
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 0 |
Squads
Results
| 1981-01-17 |
| France | 16–9 | Scotland |
| Tries: Blanco Bertranne Con: Caussade Pen: Gabernet Vivies | Tries: Rutherford Con: Renwick Pen: Irvine |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 44,448 Referee: K. Rowlands (Wales) |
| 1981-01-17 |
| Wales | 21–19 | England |
| Tries: Davis Con: Fenwick Pen: Fenwick (4) Drop: Davies | Tries: Hare Pen: Hare (5) |
| National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: J.B. Anderson (Scotland) |
| 1981-02-07 |
| Ireland | 13–19 | France |
| Tries: MacNeill Pen: Campbell (3) | Tries: Pardo Pen: Laporte (2) Gabernet Drop: Laporte (2) |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 51,000 Referee: C. Norling (Wales) |
| 1981-02-07 |
| Scotland | 15–6 | Wales |
| Tries: Tomes Irvine c Con: Renwick Pen: Renwick | Pen: Fenwick (2) |
| Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: D.I.H. Burnett (Ireland) |
| 1981-02-21 |
| Wales | 9–8 | Ireland |
| Pen: Evans (2) Drop: Pearce | Tries: Slattery MacNeill |
| National Stadium, Cardiff Referee: F. Palmade France |
| 1981-02-21 |
| England | 23–17 | Scotland |
| Tries: Davies Slemen Woodward Con: Hare Pen: Hare (3) | Tries: Munro (2) Calder Con: Irvine Pen: Irvine |
| Twickenham, London Referee: D.I.H. Burnett (Ireland) |
| 1981-03-07 |
| France | 19–15 | Wales |
| Tries: Gabernet Pen: Laporte (3) Gabernet (2) | Tries: Richards c Con: Evans Pen: Evans (2) |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,249 Referee: A. Welsby (England) |
| 1981-03-07 |
| Ireland | 6–10 | England |
| Drop: Campbell MacNeill | Tries: Dodge Rose Con: Rose |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: J. P. Bonnett (France) |
| 1981-03-21 |
| England | 12–16 | France |
| Pen: Rose (4) | Tries: Lacans Pardo Con: Laporte Drop: Laporte (2) |
| Twickenham, London Attendance: 62,000 Referee: A. L. Hosie (Scotland) |
| 1981-03-21 |
| Scotland | 10–9 | Ireland |
| Tries: Hay Pen: Irvine Drop: Rutherford | Tries: Irwin Con: Campbell Pen: Campbell |
| Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: L. M. Prideaux (England) |