| Triple Crown (rugby Union) |
Article Index for Triple Crown |
Website Links For Triple |
Information AboutTriple Crown (rugby Union) |
|
If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three, which does not necessarily happen every season, then they win the Triple Crown. This was most recently achieved by Ireland in 2006 . The Six 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 Six Nations is said to have won the Grand Slam . The team finishing bottom is said to have won the Wooden Spoon . 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 Marrington 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
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|