Grand Slam tours
Encyclopedia
A Grand Slam tour is a tour by a Southern Hemisphere
rugby union
national team in which the team plays and beats all four "home" nations - , , and .
This feat has been achieved four times by and New Zealand
and once by , who are the only Southern Hemisphere team to suffer a Grand Slam of defeats against the Home Nations
, in 1957–58.
South Africa is the only team to have achieved the Grand Slam against the Five Nations: in the tours of 1912–13 and 1951–52. They also played, and defeated, France.
Because of the congested schedule in international rugby, Grand Slam tours may become less common. The last was in 2010, when New Zealand achieved their fourth Grand Slam. The original programme for the 2008 tour envisaged only three Test matches - the late inclusion of a Test against England made the Grand Slam possible for New Zealand. In addition, New Zealand played only one midweek match against Munster
, and the match was only included in the tour programme as a 30th anniversary commemoration of Munster's defeat of the All Blacks in 1978 (ironically the match was the All Blacks' only loss in that Grand Slam tour). Traditional Grand Slam tours (before rugby went professional in 1995) were usually much longer with weekend tour games against national test teams as well as midweek matches against provincial sides .
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
national team in which the team plays and beats all four "home" nations - , , and .
This feat has been achieved four times by and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and once by , who are the only Southern Hemisphere team to suffer a Grand Slam of defeats against the Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
, in 1957–58.
South Africa is the only team to have achieved the Grand Slam against the Five Nations: in the tours of 1912–13 and 1951–52. They also played, and defeated, France.
| 1912–13, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1960–61 | |
| 1978, 2005, 2008, 2010 | |
| 1984 |
Because of the congested schedule in international rugby, Grand Slam tours may become less common. The last was in 2010, when New Zealand achieved their fourth Grand Slam. The original programme for the 2008 tour envisaged only three Test matches - the late inclusion of a Test against England made the Grand Slam possible for New Zealand. In addition, New Zealand played only one midweek match against Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
, and the match was only included in the tour programme as a 30th anniversary commemoration of Munster's defeat of the All Blacks in 1978 (ironically the match was the All Blacks' only loss in that Grand Slam tour). Traditional Grand Slam tours (before rugby went professional in 1995) were usually much longer with weekend tour games against national test teams as well as midweek matches against provincial sides .
New Zealand
| Year | Achieved |
|---|---|
| 1905–06 | |
| 1935–36 1935-36 New Zealand rugby union tour of the British Isles and Canada -Matches:-Three-Quarters:* N. Ball * H.M. Brown * G.F. Hart * N.A. Mitchell * C.J. Oliver -Five-eighths:* J.L. Griffiths * T.H.C. Caughey * J.R. Page... |
|
| 1953–54 | |
| 1963–64 1963-64 New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America The 1963–64 New Zealand tour of Britain, Ireland and France was a rugby union tour undertaken by the New Zealand national rugby union team. The tour took in the five major Northern Hemisphere rugby nations of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France... |
|
| 1972–73 | |
| 1978 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2008 2008 end of year rugby tests The 2008 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, the Pacific Islanders and Canada tour the northern hemisphere. The tour ended with the traditional 'final challenge' Barbarians match, against Australia, which was the... |
|
| 2010 2010 end of year rugby tests The 2010 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals in the northern hemisphere, will see Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and tour the northern hemisphere. Test matches will also be arranged involving the various Pacific island teams and other non-Tier 1... |
South Africa
| Year | Achieved |
|---|---|
| 1906–07 | |
| 1912–13 1912-13 South Africa rugby union tour The 1912–13 South Africa rugby union tour was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams... |
|
| 1931–32 1931-32 South Africa rugby union tour The 1931-32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams... |
|
| 1951–52 1951-52 South Africa rugby union tour The 1951-52 South Africa tour of Britain, Ireland and France was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against the four British Home Nation teams and France. The tour also took in several matches against British, Irish and French club,... |
|
| 1960–61 | |
| 1969–70 1969-70 South Africa rugby union tour - Matches :... |
|
| 1998 | |
| 2004 | |
| 2010 |
Australia
| Year | Achieved |
|---|---|
| 1927–28 1927-28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada Between July 1927 and March 1928 the New South Wales Waratahs, the top Australian representative rugby union side of the time, conducted a world tour encompassing Ceylon, Britain, France and Canada on which they played five Tests and twenty-six minor tour matches.... |
|
| 1947–48 | |
| 1957–58 1957-58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France Between late 1957 and February 1958 the Australia national rugby union team - the Wallabies - conducted a world tour encompassing Britain, Ireland, France and Canada on which they played five Tests and thirty-six minor tour matches. They won 22, lost 16 and drew three... |
|
| 1966–67 1966-67 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France Between October 1967 and March 1968 the Australia national rugby union team – the Wallabies – conducted a world tour on which they played five Tests and thirty-one minor tour matches. Under the captaincy of John Thornett they toured UK, Ireland, France and Canada winning nineteen matches, losing... |
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| 1975–76 1975-76 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland The 1975–76 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team... |
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| 1981–82 1981-82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland The 1981-82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team . The touring team played twenty-three matches between October 1981 and January 1982, winning sixteen games, drawing one and losing six... |
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| 1984 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland The 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of eighteen matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in Britain and Ireland between 17 October and 15 December 1984... |
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| 2009 | |
Near Grand Slam tours
| Team | Who they missed out playing | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011... |
1924-1925 The Invincibles (rugby union) The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924-25 New Zealand rugby union team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada. The team was captained by Cliff Porter, and numbered among its top players George Nepia and brothers Cyril and Maurice Brownlie.Between September 1924 and... |
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| Ireland Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union... |
1967 | |
| Wales Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with... |
1990 | |
| England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
1996 | |
| Wales Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with... |
1996-1997 | |
| Scotland Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011... |
1997 | |
| Scotland Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011... |
2000 | |
| England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
2002 | |
| Scotland Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011... |
2005 | |
| Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders rugby union team The Pacific Islanders rugby union team is an international rugby union team, started in 2004, that represents Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. While Niue and the Cook Islands are not members of the Pacific Tri-Nations competition, they did supply players to the squad for the Pacific Islanders' tour in 2004... |
England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
2006 |
| England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
2006 2006 Wallabies Spring Tour The 2006 Australian national rugby union team tour to Europe, known in Australia as the 2006 Wallabies Spring Tour, is part of a 2006 end-of-year rugby test series and takes place in November 2006... |
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| Ireland Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union... |
2008 | |
| England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in... |
2008 | |
| Ireland Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union... |
2009 | |