Six Nations news: Five of the most memorable moments of all time

The Six Nations has had its fair share of iconic moments, from Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal to Italy beating the holders.

As a showcase of the best of northern hemisphere rugby, every year a different player or team etches themselves into the history books for one reason or another.

Sports News Blitz writer Charlie Elliot offers a rundown of the five most memorable moments in the tournament’s history.

Wales vs Ireland, 2009 – Ronan O’Gara drop goal

In 2009, Ireland secured the Grand Slam after having not tasted one for a whopping 61 years.

And Ronan O’Gara was the man who returned the clean sweep to Dublin.

Ahead of the final match, against Wales in Cardiff, their hosts had won three out of four games to be in with a shout of toppling the Irish.

The game was full of quality thanks to two outstanding sides, but a single kick from O’Gara’s legendary boot silenced the raucous Cardiff crowd and grabbed a piece of history.

After the final whistle, the emotional scenes from the players were just remarkable.

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Ireland vs England, 2003 – English Grand Slam

The greatest year in England’s rugby history started off with a bang when they won the Grand Slam at the 2003 Six Nations.

Going into the final match at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, both Ireland and England had won all four of their games, meaning it was all to play for.

Interestingly, it was the first time in the six-team era that this was the case.

England dominated the game, winning 42-6 thanks to tries from legends such as Lawrence Dallaglio and 18 points from Jonny Wilkinson’s boot.

Just how easily the visitors ended up winning the game was a sign of things to come, with World Cup success following in the summer.

France vs Ireland, 2018 – Johnny Sexton drop goal

After a hugely controversial and tightly fought game, Ireland were 13-12 down against their hosts in the 83rd minute.

Cue Johnny Sexton.

He nailed a 45-metre drop goal in the pouring rain to give his country a memorable end result that was made all the more sweet by the officiating that had come before.

For immediate context, France had got a very strange decision to go their way just a few minutes earlier, when Antoine Dupont went down clutching his knee but was deemed to have an injured head.

The subsequent HIA assessment meant that a specialist scrum-half was able to come on for the final few minutes in a sneaky repeat of what France had done the year before for props Uini Atonio and Rabah Slimani.

Just watching the scenes at full-time put into perspective how huge the win was for Ireland, with the French players noticeably in shock.

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France vs England, 2004 – The comeback that never was

The season where France won the Grand Slam for the first time in the era of six teams very nearly had one of the best comebacks of all time.

After an impeccable record in the first four games, France hosted England and looked sublime in building up a 21-3 lead going into the break.

However, an early Oliver Barkley penalty gave the visitors a glimmer of hope, which was then seemingly extinguished with a Dimitri Yachvili penalty restoring the 18-point lead.

The visitors did not go down with a fight, though, and were only three points behind heading into the last five minutes.

France were extremely worried but managed to just about hold on, much to the relief of those in blue and their fans.

Italy vs Scotland, 2000 – Italians break their duck

Boasting 250-1 odds to win the championship and having conceded 196 points in the recent World Cup, Italy were given absolutely no chance against Scotland in 2000, especially after the Scots had won the final edition of the Five Nations the year before.

The rank outsiders instead shocked the holders at the Stadio Olimpico, with a comprehensive 34-20 win that was spearheaded by 29 points from the boot of Diego Dominguez.

An almost entirely domestic-based Italian team handed their visitors one of their worst defeats of all time.

It silenced everyone who questioned whether Italy were good enough for the tournament and, although they remain not quite at the level of the other teams, the gap is closing year-on-year.

This season, they will certainly be expecting to beat Wales, a far cry from what was the case in years gone by.

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