In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the national teams of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales as part of the Six Nations Championship. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three then they win the Triple Crown. This was most recently achieved by Ireland in 2007, as they have done 3 times in the last 4 years. The RBS 6 Nations Championship also involves France and Italy, but they do not take part in the Triple Crown. A team that beats all five other teams in the RBS 6 Nations is said to have won the Grand Slam. The team that finishes bottom is said to have won the proverbial wooden spoon, if they lose every game then they are said to have been whitewashed.
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Name
No-one is altogether sure what the origins of the name 'Triple Crown' are. The Irish Times has the first recorded use of the term in its introduction to the newspaper’s Ireland v Wales match report on Monday, 12 March 1894: After long years of seemingly hopeless struggle Ireland has achieved the triple crown honours of Rugby football. For the first time in the annals of the game have the Hibernians proved beyond cavil or doubt their right to be dubbed champions of the nations and that the Irishmen fully deserve the great distinction no one will deny … Hurrah for Hibernia! The name may derive from the Triple Crown of James I/VI who was the first King to rule over England, Scotland and Ireland. Wales at that time was treated as being part of England and not a separate entity. In Act 4, scene I of Macbeth, Macbeth refers to King James' "treble sceptre".
Trophy
In 1975 a retired miner by the name of Dave Merrington from South Hetton, County Durham got to work with his penknife and turned a lump of coal hewn from the Haig Colliery in Cumbria into a surprisingly ornate work. It has a crown sitting on a four-sided base on which are represented a rose, a shamrock, a thistle and the Prince of Wales feathers. Despite a campaign to have it awarded to the Triple Crown winners, it was rejected by all four Home unions. It is kept in the Museum of Rugby at Twickenham. As no trophy was historically awarded for winning the Triple Crown, it was often called 'the invisible cup'. However, in 2006, the primary sponsor of the competition, the Royal Bank of Scotland, commissioned a trophy to be awarded to Triple Crown winners. The award, a silver dish known as the Triple Crown Trophy, was contested for the first time in the 2006 Six Nations. Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll claimed the trophy for Ireland at Twickenham on March 18 after a last-minute try from Shane Horgan gave Ireland a 28-24 win over England.
Winners
 England |
1883, 1884, 1892, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1934, 1937, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003 (23 times) |
 Ireland |
1894, 1899, 1948, 1949, 1982, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2007 (9 times) |
 Scotland |
1891, 1895, 1901, 1903, 1907, 1925, 1933, 1938, 1984, 1990 (10 times) |
 Wales |
1893, 1900, 1902, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1950, 1952, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 2005 (18 times) |
| 1883 | England |
| 1884 | England |
| 1885 | Not achieved |
| 1886 | Not achieved |
| 1887 | Not achieved |
| 1888 | Not achieved |
| 1889 | Not achieved |
| 1890 | Not achieved |
| 1891 | Scotland |
| 1892 | England |
| 1893 | Wales |
| 1894 | Ireland |
| 1895 | Scotland |
| 1896 | Not achieved |
| 1897 | Not achieved |
| 1898 | Not achieved |
| 1899 | Ireland |
| 1900 | Wales |
| 1901 | Scotland |
| 1902 | Wales |
| 1903 | Scotland |
| 1904 | Not achieved |
| 1905 | Wales |
| 1906 | Not achieved |
| 1907 | Scotland |
| 1908 | Wales |
| 1909 | Wales |
| 1910 | Not achieved |
| 1911 | Wales |
| 1912 | Not achieved |
| 1913 | England |
| 1914 | England |
| 1915-19 | Not held due to World War I |
| 1920 | Not achieved |
| 1921 | England |
| 1922 | Not achieved |
| 1923 | England |
| 1924 | England |
| 1925 | Scotland |
| 1926 | Not achieved |
| 1927 | Not achieved |
| 1928 | England |
| 1929 | Not achieved |
| 1930 | Not achieved |
| 1931 | Not achieved |
| 1932 | Not achieved |
| 1933 | Scotland |
| 1934 | England |
| 1935 | Not achieved |
| 1936 | Not achieved |
| 1937 | England |
| 1938 | Scotland |
| 1939 | Not achieved |
| 1940–46 | Not held due to World War II |
| 1947 | Not achieved |
| 1948 | Ireland |
| 1949 | Ireland |
| 1950 | Wales |
| 1951 | Not achieved |
| 1952 | Wales |
| 1953 | Not achieved |
| 1954 | England |
| 1955 | Not achieved |
| 1956 | Not achieved |
| 1957 | England |
| 1958 | Not achieved |
| 1959 | Not achieved |
| 1960 | England |
| 1961 | Not achieved |
| 1962 | Not achieved |
| 1963 | Not achieved |
| 1964 | Not achieved |
| 1965 | Wales |
| 1966 | Not achieved |
| 1967 | Not achieved |
| 1968 | Not achieved |
| 1969 | Wales |
| 1970 | Not achieved |
| 1971 | Wales |
| 1972 | Not achieved |
| 1973 | Not achieved |
| 1974 | Not achieved |
| 1975 | Not achieved |
| 1976 | Wales |
| 1977 | Wales |
| 1978 | Wales |
| 1979 | Wales |
| 1980 | England |
| 1981 | Not achieved |
| 1982 | Ireland |
| 1983 | Not achieved |
| 1984 | Scotland |
| 1985 | Ireland |
| 1986 | Not achieved |
| 1987 | Not achieved |
| 1988 | Wales |
| 1989 | Not achieved |
| 1990 | Scotland |
| 1991 | England |
| 1992 | England |
| 1993 | Not achieved |
| 1994 | Not achieved |
| 1995 | England |
| 1996 | England |
| 1997 | England |
| 1998 | England |
| 1999 | Not achieved |
| 2000 | Not achieved |
| 2001 | Not achieved |
| 2002 | England |
| 2003 | England |
| 2004 | Ireland |
| 2005 | Wales |
| 2006 | Ireland |
| 2007 | Ireland |
See also
- Six Nations Championship
- Grand Slam
- Calcutta Cup
- Millennium Trophy
- Wooden spoon
- England national rugby union team
- Ireland national rugby union team
- Scotland national rugby union team
- Wales national rugby union team
External links
- "Triple Crown becomes tangiable (sic)", RugbyRugby.com, 25 January 2006
- Official Six Nations Site
- Link to image of Triple Crown Trophy
