1972 Five Nations Championship

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The 1972 Five Nations Championship of rugby union was incomplete, for the first time since World War II. Scotland and Wales refused to travel to Dublin to play Ireland because members of their teams had received anonymous threatening letters, purportedly from the IRA.

Anti-British sentiment was strong in Ireland at the time as it was the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Bloody Sunday shootings by the British Army, which occurred after the tournament's start, angered many people, and the British Embassy in Dublin was burnt out by a mob.

Nevertheless, the remaining fixtures of the schedule were fulfilled. Ireland and Wales won all their matches, so neither could claim the title. To fill the gap of the missing two fixtures, France played a friendly match in Dublin (as well as the scheduled match in Paris).

The England team did travel to Dublin in the 1973 Championship in spite of similar threats. Their appearance was applauded as a brave and generous act in the face of the prevailing tense atmosphere.

[edit] Results

Date	Home				Away	Venue
15 January	England	3	-	12	Wales	Twickenham
15 January	Scotland	20	-	9	France	Murrayfield
29 January	France	9	-	14	Ireland	Colombes
5 February	Wales	35	-	12	Scotland	Cardiff Arms Park
12 February	England	12	-	16	Ireland	Twickenham
26 February	France	37	-	12	England	Colombes
18 March	Scotland	23	-	9	England	Murrayfield
25 March	Wales	20	-	6	France	Cardiff Arms Park

29 April	Ireland	24	-	14	France	Lansdowne Road (friendly match)