England Rugby: the Grand Slam years
On this day in 2016 England men won their last Grand Slam title, with a memorable victory over France in Paris.
England’s 2016 clean sweep was their 13th Grand Slam campaign since the Championship began in 1908. Dylan Hartley had become the 10th England captain, following greats like Martin Johnson, Will Carling, Bill Beaumont and Wavell Wakefield, to complete the feat.
That team stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the greats of the English game. Here's a look back at the other 12 Grand Slam winning teams
2003: Johnno's men storm on
Martin Johnson's England stormed to the Six Nations title before winning in New Zealand and Australia on tour and lifting the World Cup. Jason Robinson’s dancing feet delivered a 25-17 win over France and they won 26-9 on the road in Wales, before Italy and Scotland were beaten 40-5 and 40-9. A commanding 42-6 win at Lansdowne Road sealed the deal. Ten players shared their 18 tries.
Star Man: Fly half Jonny Wilkinson
1995: Carling era closes on a high
The last roar of the Will Carling era saw a third Slam in five years with Carling, Jeremy Guscott and the Underwood brothers providing seven of their nine tries. Ireland were beaten 20-8 in Dublin, France’s losing run in Le Crunch was extended by a 31-10 hiding, Wales were defeated 29-3 and Rob Andrew kicked England home with seven penalties and a drop goal in a 24-12 finale against Scotland.
Star Man: Fly half Rob Andrew
1992: Deadly Webb
England scored 14 tries in four games. They erased memories of their 1990 Murrayfield disaster with a 25-7 win, Ireland were thumped 38-9, four tries secured a 31-13 victory in Paris and Wales were beaten 24-0 to start the celebrations at Twickenham. Full back Jon Webb was deadly with the boot and scored three tries too for a 63-point contribution.
Star Man: Centre Jeremy Guscott
1991: Historic Cardiff win sets up Slam
Mike Teague’s try and Simon Hodgkinson’s boot earned a 25-6 win in Cardiff, England’s first since 1963, to kick start the campaign. England then reeled off a 21-12 win over Scotland and a 16-7 win in Ireland before a classic showdown with France at Twickenham. Philippe Saint-Andre scored one of the game’s greatest tries but Rory Underwood’s try and Hodgkinson’s penalties saw them home 21-19.
Star Man: Wing Rory Underwood
1980: Bill ends 23-year wait
Bill Beaumont’s team ended a 23-year wait for a clean sweep by turning all England’s 1970s potential into points at long last. Ireland were beaten 24-9 and a 17-13 victory in Paris set up the key game, an ugly 9-8 win over Wales secured by Dusty Hare’s late penalty. England turned on the style at Murrayfield with a hat-trick of tries from John Carleton in their 30-18 triumph and a starring role from young Clive Woodward in his first Five Nations.
Star man: Flanker Tony Neary
1957: Jeeps drives England on
The first time the Grand Slam title was used it was coined by The Times. England employed just 17 players in four games and built momentum after Fenwick Allison’s penalty beat Wales 3-0 in Cardiff. Ireland (6-0) and France (9-5) were disposed of before Eric Evans’s side cut loose in a 16-3 win against Scotland. A fitting reward for greats like Dickie Jeeps and Jeff Butterfield.
Star man: Scrum half Dickie Jeeps
1928: Unexpected success
The unexpected Grand Slam. Some England stars of the era, including long-standing captain Wavell Wakefield, had retired but forward Ronald Cove-Smith led them to a fourth clean sweep in the Roaring Twenties. They opened with a 10-8 win in Cardiff, squeaked home 7-6 in Dublin and then beat France 18-8 before tries by Joe Hanley and 19-year-old Colin Laird saw off Scotland 6-0 at Twickenham.
Star man: Forward Carl Aarvold
1924: Wavell's warriors
Wavell Wakefield captained the side that collected a third Grand Slam in four years. A 50+ points difference was a huge achievement in the era of the three-point try as England won 17-9 in Swansea and 14-3 in Belfast, then 19-7 against France and 19-0 against Scotland. Carston Catcheside scored in all four games, a feat not achieved again by an England player until Will Greenwood did so in 2002.
Star man: No.8 Wavell Wakefield
1923: Unstoppable force
A second Grand Slam for WJA ‘Dave’ Davies, who combined the win in Paris with his honeymoon. By now England were unstoppable with Wavell Wakefield a revolutionary No.8 of great power and pace. England won 7-3 against Wales and 23-5 against Ireland before the key 8-6 victory in Scotland. The clean sweep was completed with a 12-3 win in Paris finished off by Davies’s drop goal.
Star man: No.8 Wavell Wakefield
1921: Scrum powers England on
The Championship restarted after World War 1 in 1920 and ushered in a golden age for England, beaten only twice in five years. They specialised in scrum tactics, mixed experience and youth and cantered to four big wins under fly half WJA ‘Dave’ Davies. Wales were beaten 18-3, Ireland 15-0 and Scotland 18-0 before the 10-6 victory in Paris.
Star man: Fly half Dave Davies
1914: A record Lowe
A triumph overshadowed by what lay ahead. Six players Arthur Harrison, Alfred Maynard, Arthur Dingle, James Watson, Francis Oakeley and Ronald Poulton-Palmer were to lose their lives in the Great War. Poulton-Palmer was a superb attacking centre and England beat Wales 10-9, Ireland 17-12, Scotland 16-15 and France 39-13.
Star man: Centre Ronald Poulton-Palmer
1913: Cherry on top
England didn’t concede a try in recording their first clean sweep under captain Norman Wodehouse. They beat Wales 12-0, France 20-0 and Ireland 15-4. Forward Bruno Brown scored the only try in the decisive 3-0 win over Scotland in front of 25,000 at Twickenham. Inventive forward Cherry Pillman scored four tries, Bath wing Victor Coates six.
Star man: Flanker Cherry Pillman
