Six Nations in numbers: Unwanted records, new highs, new lows, top individual stats, milestones and more

Jared Wright
A look into the stats, records & facts from the 2023 Six Nations after Ireland claimed a Grand Slam defeating Wales, France, Italy, Scotland and England.

Following the conclusion of the 2023 Six Nations, where Ireland were crowned the best team in Europe, here’s a look at the Championship in numbers.

Grand Slam champions Ireland

1 – Ireland’s world ranking before the start of the Six Nations and at the end. They became the first team to be ranked first in the world at the beginning of a tournament and win the Championship.

4 – Ireland clinched their fourth Grand Slam, third in the Six Nations era, and fifth title since Italy joined the Championship in 2000. 

4 – Four Ireland players played every minute of the Grand Slam: James Ryan, Josh van der Flier, James Lowe and Mack Hansen.

119 – It took just 119 seconds for Ireland to score the first try of the Championship, courtesy of Caelan Doris. It is the third quickest Ireland try in a Six Nations Test.

10 – Ireland ended a 10-year wait for success in Cardiff, beating Wales away in a Six Nations Test for the first time in five attempts dating back to 2013.

24 – The Champions’ 24-point margin of victory was their second-largest away to Wales in any Test match. Their largest away win was back in 2001 when Ireland secured a 36-6 win in their first meeting at the Principality Stadium.

14 – Ireland secured their 14th Six Nations victory over England; they are the only team with a winning record (58 per cent win rate) against the Red Rose since Italy joined the Championship.

23 – Ireland recorded their 23rd win over Italy in 24 Six Nations attempts.

1 – Andy Farrell’s charges defeated France for the first time in four attempts.

48 – The 13-point margin of victory over Les Bleus was also Ireland’s largest Championship triumph against France in 48 years, beating the 25-6 win in the 1975 Five Nations.

27 – Ireland racked up 27 league points, just one off the maximum tally after failing to score four times against Scotland. 

6 – Farrell’s side racked up four-plus tries in a record-equalling seven Six Nations matches until failing to do so against Scotland. 

France records and stats

1 – There was just one drop goal in this year’s Six Nations, slotted by France full-back Thomas Ramos against Ireland.

14 – Ireland halted France’s winning run of 14 successive victories, claiming a 32-19 win in Dublin. It had been France’s longest-ever winning streak.

18 – Les Bleus conceded 18 penalties against Italy, their highest tally in a Six Nations match since 2003 (also against Italy – 20).

20 – France have won 20 of their last 21 Test matches at home.

49 – France prop Uini Atonio finally broke his Test try duck against Wales, scoring in his 50th Test match for Les Bleus after failing to score in his previous 49.

84 – Thomas Ramos fell five points short of equalling Jonny Wilkinson’s all-time record for the most points scored in a single Championship.

174 – France scored more points (174) than any other team in the Six Nations and topped the try-scoring charts by dotting down 21 times, once more than champions Ireland.

Scotland records and stats

3 – Scotland have now won three games in five of the past seven editions of the Six Nations. They achieved this just once in their previous 17 campaigns.

27 – It has taken 27 years, but Scotland finally won back-to-back matches to start a Six Nations campaign. They defeated England and Wales in their opening fixtures, winning successive opening games for the first time since Italy joined the tournament.

99 – Their 35-7 triumph was also their biggest at home over Wales in 99 years, dating back to a 35-10 win in 1924.

35 – Duhan van der Merwe beat 35 defenders throughout the competition, bettering his own record of 31 in 2021 when he beat Brian O’Driscoll’s record of 30 in 2000. Penaud had the next-best tally (25).

25 – Van der Merwe accounted for 25 per cent of Scotland’s defenders beaten in the tournament. The Scots’ total of 141 was only surpassed by France (144). 

114 – For the first time in 114 years, Scotland have claimed back-to-back away wins over England.

England records and stats

23 – For the first time in 23 years, England lost a Test match to Scotland after leading at half-time; the last time this occurred was in 2000.

6 – England beat Wales in Cardiff for the first time since 2017, ending a six-year wait with a 20-10 victory.

10 – Steve Borthwick’s side conceded just 10 points against Wales, their lowest tally at the Welsh capital since 2003 (9-26).

17 – The 31-14 win over Italy was England’s lowest margin of victory over Italy since 2013 when Stuart Lancaster’s side defeated the Azzurri 18-11.

40 – England missed 40 tackles against the Azzurri, their most ever in a Six Nations match.

18 – France beat England at Twickenham for the first time since 2005, ending an 18-year wait for victory at the venue.

9 – The number of times France lost to England at Twickenham before their record win.

7 – The number of tries Les Bleus scored at Twickenham.

3 – Thibaud Flament, Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud scored two tries apiece on the day – the first time three different Les Bleus players have ever registered a brace in a single Six Nations match.

23 – The number of points Ramos scored at Twickenham against England.

24 – How many points England were down at half-time (27-3).

41 – The number of times France kicked in that match, their most since 2010 v Wales.

43 – The biggest winning margin in the Six Nations this year, with France claiming a 53-10 victory over England at Twickenham in Round Four.

53 – The most points England have conceded at Twickenham, overtaking the 42 South Africa scored in 2008.

Wales records and stats

1 – For the first time in their history, Wales scored four tries in a Six Nations defeat, going down 41-28 to France.

7 – By defeating Italy, Wales avoided losing seven Six Nations matches in a row. Seven consecutive losses is their worst run in the tournament which took place over the 2002 and 2003 Championships. 

8 – Wales have now won each of their last eight Six Nations away games against Italy.

12 – Wales defeated Italy by 12 points, their largest margin of victory in the Six Nations since their last trip to Rome when they won by 41 points.

13 – Warren Gatland has won his last 13 Six Nations matches against Italy, 11 with Wales and two with Ireland.

Italy records and stats

9 – Italy scored the fewest number of tries in the tournament (9). 

18 – The Azzurri picked up the Wooden Spoon for the 18th time in total, and for the eighth time in succession. 

20 – Kieran Crowley’s side scored 20 points against Ireland, their best tally against the side since 2013. 

22 – How many tries Italy conceded in the tournament, the most of any team and three more than the next worst by Wales (19).

25 – The loss to Wales was Italy’s 25th successive home defeat in the Six Nations since beating Ireland 10 years ago.

Cards

12 – Twelve yellow cards were issued in this year’s Six Nations. 

5 – Italy collected five of those 11, with Lorenzo Cannone sin-binned twice, Simone Ferrari, Marco Riccioni and Pierre Bruno each once. Wales’ Liam Williams was also sin-binned twice.

3 – There were three red cards this Six Nations, with Grant Gilchrist, Mohamed Haouas and Freddie Steward all being sent off.

18 – That took the red card tally in the Six Nations – since 2000 – to 18. Haouas became the first player to be sent off twice in the Six Nations, while Steward became the third England player to be red-carded.

5 – Gilchrist’s sending-off takes Scotland’s red cards in the tournament’s history to five, the most of the six teams, while Wales is still the only team not to see red.

Tries

5 – Damian Penaud scored five tries in the Six Nations, with the 26-year-old becoming France’s joint-top scorer in the Championship’s history. His pair against England matched Serge Blanco and Philippe Sella’s tallies of 14.

6 – The number of tries Ireland conceded in the Six Nations, half the next best tally posted by Scotland (12).

23 – George North scored his 23rd try in the Six Nations to become Wales’ top try scoring in the Championship’s history – only Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll (26) and Scotland’s Ian Smith (24) have crossed more times.

Stats leaders

4 – The number of tries Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Finn Russell assisted.

5 – James Ryan, Jamie Ritchie and Caelan Doris all claimed five turnovers, with Mack Hansen and James Lowe making the most out of the backs claiming four apiece.

5 – All five of Ryan’s turnovers were at the lineout, with the Irish lock the only player to win more than two lineout steals.

9 – Nick Tompkins completed more offloads (9) than any other player in the tournament despite playing just 106 minutes. Taulupe Faletau topped the stats for the forwards (8). 

13 – Andrew Porter was the most penalised player in this Championship, conceding 13 penalties. He also played 363 minutes, 50 more than the next-highest front rower, Ken Owens (313). 

18 – How many conversions Thomas Ramos scored, adding to his 10 penalties – both tournament highs.

39 – Federico Ruzza won the most lineouts in the Six Nations, securing possession 39 times, 21 times more than the next best from Ollie Chessum. 

62 – Freddie Steward made the most carries in the tournament (62), while Pierre Schoeman and Taulupe Faletau topped the charts for the forwards with 60.

83 – Scotland’s Matt Fagerson made the most tackles in the tournament, notching up 83 in five appearances. Gael Fickou topped the stat for the backs with 67.

562 – The amount metres Hugo Keenan made in his five appearances. Lorenzo Cannone made the most from the forwards (308).

Six Nations milestones and records

2 – Johnny Sexton has now won two Grand Slams and four Six Nations titles in total.

67 – Alun Wyn Jones made his 67th Six Nations, and possibly his last, appearance against France in the Championship’s final round. He falls short of Sergio Parisse’s record of 69.

100 – Dan Cole, Stuart Hogg and Taulupe Faletau notched up their 100th Test cap for England, Scotland and Wales respectively. 

565 – Johnny Sexton is now the all-time leading points scorer in the Six Nations after scoring nine against England in the final round. He started the game with 557, tied with O’Gara, but now holds the record himself.

READ MORE: Six Nations Team of the Tournament

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