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The numbers behind Wales' successful Six Nations campaign
By Ben Spratt
The 2019 Six Nations reached a thrilling conclusion on Saturday as Wales won the Grand Slam and Scotland held England in an incredible draw.
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Wales were rewarded for keeping their nerve after rivals Ireland and England slipped up earlier in the tournament, while France endured a tough campaign and Italy could not get a win.
With the competition over for another year, we look back at the key numbers with the help of Opta.
1 – Ireland lost at home in the Six Nations for the first time under Joe Schmidt. They had won 12 and drawn one of their 13 such matches before defeat to England.
4 – Italy took the Wooden Spoon for the fourth year in a row after losing all five of their matches.
12 – Wales won their 12th Grand Slam in tournament history and their fourth in the Six Nations, more than any other side; three of those have come during Warren Gatland’s tenure.
14 – Wales have won their last 14 Test matches, England are the only European tier one side to have ever won more consecutive matches in all competitions (W18 – 2015-17).
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22 – Italy have lost their last 22 Six Nations games. The Azzurri’s defeat to Scotland saw them surpass France’s record of 17 consecutive tournament defeats between 1911 and 1920.
24 – England led by 24 points at half-time on Saturday against Scotland but failed to win, the joint highest half-time lead any tier one team has failed to go on and win from in Test history; South Africa (v New Zealand) and Argentina (v Australia) each lost despite leading by 24 points after 40 minutes on the same day in October 2018.
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36 – England beat France by 36 points. Only once before in Test rugby have they won by a greater margin against France – a 37-0 victory in 1911.
50 – Warren Gatland took charge of Wales for the 50th time in the Six Nations against Ireland on Saturday. He won 36 of his 50 games (72 per cent win rate).
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76 – There were 76 points scored in the Calcutta Cup match between England and Scotland (38-38), making it the highest scoring draw in Test history.
134 – Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones won his 134th Test cap in against Ireland, drawing level with Gethin Jenkins as the fifth most capped player in history, behind only Richie McCaw, Brian O’Driscoll, George Gregan and Sergio Parisse.
Eddie Jones on England squad:
