Revisit the 2009 Six Nations Championship here at RugbyPass. Our rugby gurus have reexamined every aspect of the tenth Six Nations tournament, cataloguing every exciting match, exhilarating try and last-gasp point.
From Italy’s bottom-of-the-table finish to Ireland’s first clean sweep in more than six decades, browse below to read our review of the Six Nations 2009.
2009 Six Nations Stats: Who Won the Six Nations 2009?
Six Nations 2009 Winner: Ireland
The 2009 Six Nations Championship was the tenth edition of the modern competition and the 115th overall – the first Championship was contested in 1883. It was also a landmark year for Ireland, who achieved their first Grand Slam since the 1948 Five Nations.
The men in green ended their Championship drought with a spectacular clean sweep. They defeated all five of their opponents to claim their 11th title (their last was in 1985), second Grand Slam and 10th Triple Crown.
The tournament opened on Saturday 7 February 2009 with an encounter between England and Italy. The final game was held on Saturday 21 March 2009. It saw Ireland defeat the reigning champions, Wales, at the Millenium Stadium.
As well as winning the tournament, the Irish squad boasted two of the tournament’s top scorers. Ronan O’Gara was the top point scorer with 51 points and Brian O’Driscoll was the top try scorer with four tries – O’Driscoll shared this achievement with England’s Riki Flutey. Additionally, O’Driscoll was voted the 2009 Six Nations Player of the Tournament.
Round One Review
Match one: England 36-11 Italy (Twickenham Stadium, London)
Match two: Ireland 30-21 France (Croke Park, Dublin)
Match three: Scotland 13-26 Wales (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
The 2009 Six Nations opened in style. With a brace from Harry Ellis and one try apiece from Andy Goode, Riki Flutey and Mark Cueto, England trounced Italy 36-11.
Ireland’s opener was an equally thrilling game. Held at Croke Park, this was a match that was packed with late drama. First, Lionel Beauxis kicked a drop goal at the end of the first half. In the second, he landed a penalty with four minutes left on the clock. Then came Ronan O’Gara. Never one to be outdone, his last-gasp penalty ensured Ireland saw off France 30-21.
Next, it was time for Wales to take to the pitch. With three tries in the first half and a fourth in the second, the defending champions outplayed Scotland 26-13.
Round Two Review
Match one: France 22-13 Scotland (Stade de France, Saint-Denis)
Match two: Wales 23-15 England (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Match three: Italy 9-38 Ireland (Stadio Flaminio, Rome)
In round two, Scotland endured their second successive loss. Both teams were slow off the mark, but the action picked up in the second half. Although Scotland finally made it across the line in the 69th minute and called the result into question, a fifth penalty from Lionel Beauxis sealed France’s 22-13 win.
The Wales v England match was a fierce battle. Wales fought to keep their crown while an in-form England kept them on their toes. In the end, Stephen Jones and Leigh Halfpenny proved too much for England’s defence.
Round two of the 2009 Six Nations closed with a comprehensive 38-9 victory for Ireland. The Irish squad travelled to Rome and then ran circles around the Azzurri. By the final whistle, Ireland had scored five tries – including two from Luke Fitzgerald – while Luke McLean kicked all of Italy’s points.
Round Three Review
Match one: France 21-16 Wales (Stade de France, Saint-Denis)
Match two: Scotland 26-6 Italy (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Match three: Ireland 14-13 England (Croke Park, Dublin)
Round three of the 2009 Six Nations was the round of home advantage. In fact, all three teams won their home matches.
First up, France beat Wales at the Stade de France. Although Stephen Jones slotted two early penalties, it was Morgan Parra’s third in the 70th minute that cemented France’s 21-16 win. Interesting fact: this was the first ever Friday night Championship fixture.
Next, Scotland breathed a sigh of relief as they ended their losing streak against Italy. The Scots lost to the Azzurri at the 2007 and 2008 Six Nations but they managed to avoid a third successive defeat in 2009. With two tries, two conversions and four penalties, Scotland sailed past Italy with a 20-point victory.
Ireland moved one step closer to the Grand Slam with their narrow 14-13 victory over England. This scrappy game went down to the wire thanks to Delon Armitage’s 78th-minute try. Fortunately for Ireland, they held on during the final stages.
Round Four Review
Match one: Italy 15-20 Wales (Stadio Flaminio, Rome)
Match two: Scotland 15-22 Ireland (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Match three: England 34-10 France (Twickenham Stadium, London)
In round four, Wales strengthened their hopes of winning a second title. However, the game was more than a little rocky for the defending champions. It was Tom Shanklin’s late try and James Hook’s conversion that stole their narrow win, over the Azzurri.
The second fixture was dominated by two players: Ronan O’Gara kicked 17 of Ireland’s 22 points and Chris Paterson kicked all of Scotland’s. However, it was O’Gara’s men that left Edinburgh victorious.
The last match featured a magnificent 34-10 result for England. The England squad scored four tries during the first half, with Riki Flutey completing his brace during the first minute of the second.
Round Five Review
Match one: Italy 8-50 France (Stadio Flaminio, Rome)
Match two: England 26-12 Scotland (Twickenham Stadium, London)
Match three: Wales 15-17 Ireland (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
After four rounds of tense encounters, Super Saturday had finally arrived. This year, there were two teams vying to win the title: Wales and Ireland. But first, France travelled to Rome to face Italy.
As expected, France dominated. Despite cheers from the home crowd, only Sergio Parisse crossed the line for the Azzurri. In comparison, Les Bleus played with flair and overpowered Italy. They ultimately scored 50 points, including seven tries!
Next, England played their final game of the Six Nations 2009 tournament. They produced a confident win against Scotland, defeating the visitors 26-12.
Finally, the match everyone had been waiting for: Wales v Ireland. The game was contested at Millennium Stadium and featured an astonishing climax.
Wales led after a drop-goal in the 76th minute, but then Ireland’s supporters roared as Ronan O’Gara responded with a 78th-minute drop goal of his own to edge his team into a two-point lead.
With the score sitting at 17-15, Wales’ fate rested on Stephen Jones. However, his fifth and final penalty attempt fell short. As a result, instead of winning the Triple Crown in the last minute of the tournament and denying Ireland the Grand Slam, Wales finished fourth and Ireland registered their first clean sweep in 61 years.
Six Nations Table 2009
Here are the Six Nations results from 2009:
Team | Won | Lost | Points Difference | Tries For | Total Points |
Ireland | 5 | 0 | +48 | 12 | 10 |
England | 3 | 2 | +54 | 16 | 6 |
France | 3 | 2 | +23 | 14 | 6 |
Wales | 3 | 2 | +19 | 8 | 6 |
Scotland | 1 | 4 | -23 | 4 | 2 |
Italy | 0 | 5 | -121 | 2 | 0 |
After winning the Grand Slam in 2008, Wales entered the 2009 tournament as the ones to beat. Sadly, an early loss against France left them in a precarious position: they needed a 14-point win against Ireland to hold onto their crown. Instead, a late drop goal by Ronan O’Gara sealed Ireland’s first clean sweep since 1948.
Meanwhile, two teams fell to the bottom of the table. With just two tries, Italy had delivered their worst Six Nations performance of all time. It was also a calamity for Scotland who won one match for the third Championship in a row.
