# 2016 Six Nations Championship
The 2016 [Six Nations Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/six-nations-championship) was the 17th Six Nations and 122nd edition of the annual rugby union tournament, won by England with a five-match clean sweep that gave the country its 27th outright title, 13th [Grand Slam](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-slam-rugby-union) and 25th Triple Crown (beating England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland each). The tournament ran from 6 February to 19 March 2016, and for the first time since 2000 both the champion and the last-placed team were decided before the final round.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Champion | England, five wins from five, 10 table points, +62 points difference[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) |
| Titles won | England's 27th outright Championship, 13th Grand Slam, 25th Triple Crown[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) |
| Decisive round | Scotland's 29-18 win over France in round four gave England the title and Italy the wooden spoon before the final day[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) • [2](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/england-win-2016-six-nations-scotland-s-2918-triumph-over-france-gifts-england-the-title-for-the-first-time-since-2011-a6928906.html) |
| Grand Slam match | England beat France 31-21 at the Stade de France on 19 March, a first Grand Slam since 2003[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) |
| Leading scorers | Owen Farrell 69 points; George North four tries; Stuart Hogg Player of the Tournament[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) |
| Last place | Italy, winless with a seventh whitewashed Championship and a record 29 tries conceded[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) |
| Scoring system | The traditional two-points-for-a-win system was still in use; bonus points were introduced only from 2017[3](https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/m6n/championship-history-mens) |
## Tournament summary
England entered the Championship under a new head coach, [Eddie Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-jones-rugby-union), who had replaced Stuart Lancaster after the 2015 World Cup and won the Grand Slam in his first season.[2](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/england-win-2016-six-nations-scotland-s-2918-triumph-over-france-gifts-england-the-title-for-the-first-time-since-2011-a6928906.html) Defending champions Ireland, one of the pre-tournament favorites, drew 16-16 with Wales in Dublin in the opening round and lost narrowly to France in round two, and finished with two losses and a draw.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
The fourth round decided the tournament. Ireland first beat Italy 58-15 in Dublin, scoring nine tries, the most Ireland have scored in a Six Nations match. England then beat Wales 25-21 at [Twickenham](https://www.edgepedia.org/twickenham), holding off a late Welsh fightback to claim a 25th Triple Crown before an attendance of 81,300. Finally Scotland beat France 29-18 at Murrayfield, a result that mathematically gave England the title and confirmed Italy's 11th wooden spoon with a round to spare.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/12/england-wales-six-nations-match-report) It was the first time in the Six Nations era that both the champion and the last-placed team had been settled before the final day.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
On Super Saturday, 19 March, Wales thrashed Italy 67-14 in Cardiff, a 53-point margin that was Wales' largest winning margin in Championship history, and Ireland beat Scotland 35-25 in Dublin, in a match in which Scotland's Ross Ford made his 100th appearance. England then completed the Grand Slam by beating France 31-21 in Paris, scoring two early tries and adding two late penalties.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
## Final table
| Team | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points difference | Tries for | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 5 | 0 | 0 | +62 | 13 | 10 |
| Wales | 3 | 1 | 1 | +62 | 17 | 7 |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 1 | +41 | 15 | 5 |
| Scotland | 2 | 3 | 0 | +7 | 11 | 4 |
| France | 2 | 3 | 0 | −27 | 7 | 4 |
| Italy | 0 | 5 | 0 | −145 | 8 | 0 |
Source: RugbyPass.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
## Records and individual performances
[Owen Farrell](https://www.edgepedia.org/owen-farrell) finished as the tournament's top point scorer with 69 points, Wales' George North was the leading try scorer with four, and Scotland's Stuart Hogg was named Player of the [Tournament](https://www.edgepedia.org/tournament).[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) Italy conceded 29 tries, a new record, in a seventh whitewashed Championship.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) Scotland's 36-20 win over Italy in Rome in round three set a Scottish record for points in a Six Nations match, with Greig Laidlaw contributing 21 points, and ended a run of nine consecutive Six Nations defeats.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/) The Murrayfield win over France was Scotland's first at home against France since the 2006 tournament and ended a seven-match losing streak at the ground.[1](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
## Context and aftermath
The 2016 Championship was the last played under the traditional scoring system in which a win was worth two points and a draw one; bonus points were introduced for the first time in the 2017 tournament, awarding four match points for a win, an extra point for four or more tries, and a losing bonus point for defeats by seven points or fewer.[3](https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/m6n/championship-history-mens) England carried their momentum forward, arriving at the 2017 Championship on a run of 14 consecutive Test victories that they extended to 18 during that tournament.[2](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/england-win-2016-six-nations-scotland-s-2918-triumph-over-france-gifts-england-the-title-for-the-first-time-since-2011-a6928906.html)
## References
1. [2016 Six Nations Championship in Review, RugbyPass](https://www.rugbypass.com/six-nations/history/2016/)
2. [England win 2016 Six Nations: Scotland's 29-18 triumph over France gifts England the title, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/england-win-2016-six-nations-scotland-s-2918-triumph-over-france-gifts-england-the-title-for-the-first-time-since-2011-a6928906.html)
3. [Guinness Men's Six Nations History and Origins, Six Nations Rugby](https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/m6n/championship-history-mens)
4. [England weather late fightback to deny Wales and secure triple crown, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/12/england-wales-six-nations-match-report)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › Rugby union international teams, tours, and tournaments*
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