Ireland on the cusp of all-time Six Nations record, Scotland equal 128-year-old run

Ireland-players-celebrate-against-Wales

Ireland’s win over Wales at the weekend sees them equal an impressive Six Nations record whilst history could be made in the near future by Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe.

With the help of Opta, Planet Rugby reviews the statistics that matter after the third round of rugby’s greatest championship.

Ireland

Andy Farrell’s Ireland, who are favourites to claim the Grand Slam, beat Wales 31-7 at the weekend to secure their 11th win on the bounce in Six Nations matches, which is the joint most of any team in history alongside Eddie Jones’ England between 2015 and 2017.

It is also Ireland’s longest run of home wins with 18 in a row – the most in their history and third of all-time in tier one rugby. There were milestones for Peter O’Mahony, who became the ninth Irishman to reach 50 Six Nations caps, whilst Dan Sheehan became the highest-scoring hooker since Italy joined the Five Nations to make it Six in 2000.

Scotland

Gargantuan wing Van der Merwe’s hat-trick was the first ever against England in the Six Nations era and took him to 26 tries for Scotland, only one short of all-time leader Stuart Hogg, leaving the star a perfect chance to underline his status as the country’s greatest try scorer in their history.

The 30-21 win over England in the Calcutta Cup clash is their fourth Six Nations home victory in a row, a feat they last achieved between 1893 and 1896. It also showcases their recent dominance in the fixture, winning five of their last seven against England, which is greatly improved from the winless run in the nine games prior to that.

France

Les Bleus slumped to a frustrating 13-13 draw at home to Italy, which is the first time since 1997 that France has failed to beat the Azzurri on French soil. The draw was also the eighth in Six Nations history.

The draw marks Les Bleus’ longest run without a win at home since four games between 2017 and 2018.

It was not all doom and gloom as Charles Ollivon’s try for France was his 14th since the turn of the decade, leaving him behind only All Black Ardie Savea as the leading Tier One forward try scorer since 2020.

Interesting stats

– Wales conceded a whopping 12 penalties in their last game, which was three more than what they conceded in the first two matches.

– England have trailed at half-time in their last five Six Nations games.

– Italy’s Ange Capuozzo has 11 tries since he debuted, the most of any Azzurri player during that time.