WINNING THE HARD WAY Wales became just the ninth team in the history of the Championship to take the outright title despite losing their opening match. It was the first time Wales had accomplished such a feat, whilst France and Ireland have both managed to do it on three separate occasions each: 1904 Scotland lost 3-21 to Wales at Swansea 1935 Ireland lost 3-14 to England at Twickenham 1949 Ireland lost 9-16 to France in Dublin 1967 France lost 8-9 to Scotland in Paris 1974 Ireland lost 6-9 to France in Paris 1993 France lost 15-16 to England at Twickenham 1996 England lost 12-15 to France in Paris 2006 France lost 16-20 to Scotland at Murrayfield 2013 Wales lost 22-30 to Ireland in Cardiff This season was also the first time that Wales had retained the title since 1979. GRAND SLAM HEROES AND ZEROS Saturday’s match at Millennium Stadium was the 54th time that a grand slam could have been won in the history of the tournament. England have now failed to win the all-important last game to take a grand slam in five of the last six occasions they have attempted it – against Wales in 1999, Scotland in 2000, Ireland in 2001 and 2011 and now Wales again. Their solo triumph during this time period was in 2003 against Ireland. THE HEROES The best grand slam conversion rate is held by Wales, who have had 14 chances to take a slam going into the final round and then won the vital game on 11 occasions for a 79% success rate. Nation W D L Success Wales 11 0 3 79% France 9 0 4 69% England 12 0 7 63% Scotland 3 0 4 43% Ireland 2 1 4 29% GRAND SLAM SHOWDOWNS Interestingly on just six occasions have teams faced each other in the final round with BOTH nations having the chance of a grand slam – these matches happening in: 1978 Wales beat France 16-7 1984 Scotland beat France 21-12 1990 Scotland beat England 13-7 1991 England beat France 21-19 1995 England beat Scotland 24-12 2003 England beat Ireland 42-6 PARTY POOPERS In the 48 instances of a side having a chance to deprive another of a grand slam without the change of gaining a slam themselves, Wales are the best at ruining a party! The defeat of England was the sixth occasion that they have stopped a potential grand slam in its tracks, doing so against Ireland in 1926 and 1951, France in 1955, Ireland in 1969, and England in 1999 and 2013. Wales’s margin of victory has only been bettered once in a grand slam defeat, when England beat Ireland 42-6 in 2003, but on that occasion it not only deprived Ireland of a grand slam but won one for England too. NUMBER CRUNCHING Wales defended their RBS 6 Nations crown with an imperious victory over Grand Slam chasers England on the final weekend and Wales 2013 RBS 6 from looking at the data it was a fully deserved victory. The Nations Rank champions were the top scorers, made more clean breaks than any Points 24.4 1 other side, had the best tackle success rate and had the best Tries 1.8 1 discipline. Runners-up England were consistent performers across Goal Kicking % 82% 2 all categories although their low scrum success rate was possibly Carries 114.2 2 their undoing at the climax of the tournament. Scotland were Clean Breaks 4.2 1 clinical with limited possession a point highlighted by the final try of the competition, finished off by Tim Visser. Italy claimed two Defenders Beaten 16 2 wins for only the second time since their RBS 6 Nations Tackle Success % 92% 1 inauguration back in 2000, their impressive average gain rate and Pens Conceded 9.2 1 offloading especially catching the eye. France had a frustrating Turnovers Con 11.8 1= tournament but still managed to beat more defenders than any other Turnovers Won 6.2 1 nation over the five games. And finally Ireland were ravaged by LO% 85% 2 injuries which hit their performances across the board as they Scrum % 87% 3 struggled to hit full flow. Ruck % 97% 1 Below are the match averages of each team in the 2013 RBS 6 Time in poss 18:02 2 Nations. The figures show the very fine margins between all six competing nations but provide clues as to where it was all decided. 2013 RBS 6 Nations - Game Averages Team England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales Points 18.8 14.6 14.4 15.0 19.6 24.4 Tries 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.8 Goal Kicking % 77% 70% 71% 76% 85% 82% Carries 101.4 107.2 93.6 122.2 67.4 114.2 Metres Made 369.4 375.4 269.2 420.8 256.2 316.4 Clean Breaks 3.8 3.2 2.2 3.6 3.4 4.2 Defenders Beaten 11.8 16.2 11.6 13.4 8.4 16.0 Offloads 8.6 8.6 3.0 10.8 5.2 4.2 Passes 131.6 129.4 105.4 142.6 72.4 127.4 Kicks from Hand 27.8 29.0 27.4 25.4 27.8 26.6 Tackle Success % 89% 90% 90% 89% 89% 92% Penalties Conceded 11.8 10.0 12.6 13.2 14.8 9.2 Yellow Cards 0.4 0.0 1.0 0.8 0.4 0.2 Turnovers Conceded 14.6 14.6 11.8 15.8 11.8 11.8 Turnovers Won 5.6 4.8 5.4 4.4 5.6 6.2 Lineout success % 83% 81% 80% 90% 82% 85% Lineout Steals 1.6 1.8 1.0 2.2 2.4 0.6 Scrum success % 72% 89% 78% 91% 70% 87% Ruck success % 94% 95% 96% 94% 89% 97% Average Time in Possession 16:45 18:01 16:21 19:09 12:59 18:02 TOP TRUMPS Each RBS 6 Nations tournament uncovers new stars and reinforces the credentials of those already on their way to the top of the tree. The table below focuses on the back rowers and take a look at some of those players that caught the eye in this tournament. The back-row is undoubtedly one of the most important group of players on the field. The amount of work they get through in both attack and defence is immense and their success and impact in both of these areas is crucial to the success of their team. All the players below had a massive influence for their teams in this tournament and although they could not all help their respective countries to the final placing that they might have hoped for the definitely deserve much credit for their efforts. Louis Picamoles had an outstanding tournament and made more carries than any other player in the competition as well as gaining the most metres by any forward. He was the only player to make more carries than Sean O’Brien who was a one of just 10 Irish players to feature in every game. The Leinster star beat 12 defenders and caused real damage when carrying the ball. Toby Faletau has been one of Wales’ most consistent performers ever since the 2011 Rugby World Cup and his efforts did not diminish in this tournament. The 22-year-old completed 96% of his team high 48 tackles as well as making 63 bruising carries for a gain of 116 metres. England captain Chris Robshaw most definitely led from the front over the five matchdays. The Harlequins player was England’s top ball carrier and only Tom Wood made more tackles for the team than him. Sergio Parisse usually gets all the plaudits in Italy’s back-row but credit must also be given to his team mates including the indomitable Alessandro Zanni. Zanni was the top offloader in the tournament and also missed just one of the 37 tackles that he attempted. Finally, Kelly Brown. The Scotland flanker was immense in defence, completing the second most tackles in the competition. Name L Picamoles S O'Brien T Faletau C Robshaw A Zanni K Brown Team France Ireland Wales England Italy Scotland Minutes 388 385 399 400 400 385 Tries 2 0 0 0 1 0 Carries 70 69 63 57 50 24 Metres 351 187 116 152 241 27 Average Gain 5.0 2.7 1.8 2.7 4.8 1.1 Clean Breaks 5 1 1 1 3 0 Defenders Beaten 15 12 9 0 4 0 Offloads 8 3 3 6 12 1 Try Assists 0 0 0 0 0 0 Passes 27 12 14 36 19 4 Tackles 33 43 46 65 36 69 Missed Tackles 3 7 2 9 1 3 Tackle % 92% 86% 96% 88% 97% 96% Turnovers Won 2 4 0 2 0 7 Turnovers Conceded 11 5 3 4 3 4 Penalties Conceded 4 7 3 2 3 4 Lineouts Won (Steals) 1 7 3 7 19 (1) 2 Restart Catches 6 8 4 14 1 0 HOW MANY WELSH LIONS? With Wales winning the 2013 RBS 6 Nations title the question now arises as to how many Welshmen Warren Gatland will select in his British & Irish Lions tour party to Australia? The above chart illustrates the make up of originally selected British & Irish Lions squads (not including later replacements and substitutes) for all tours which have featured players from the four unions.