The 2022 Guinness Six Nations is now in the books, with France completing the Grand Slam at the end of what was a dramatic Super Saturday.
Les Bleus made sure of the clean sweep with a 25-13 victory over England at a thunderous Stade de France, where the celebrations went on long after the final whistle.
The French needed to make it five wins out of five as Ireland kept their lingering Championship hopes alive for a few more hours after a 26-5 win against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium that clinched the Triple Crown.
All this after Eduardo Padovani’s last-minute try had snatched a historic 22-21 win for Italy against Wales at Principality Stadium in what was the Azzurri’s first-ever victory in Cardiff.
But what numbers stood out at the end of the final round?
3 – It was a bulldozing return to the side for England openside flanker Sam Underhill, who did all he could to prevent a French Grand Slam by making three dominant tackles in Paris.
16 – Staying on the subject of tackling back rowers, Italy captain Michele Lamaro stopped a Welsh opponent in their tracks 16 times in what was a huge contribution towards their victory. In the Championship overall, nobody made more tackles than Lamaro, who finished with a tally of 86.
24 – The number of tries scored by Ireland in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations, making them its most prolific team. Four of those came in the win against Scotland, making it the fourth time the Irish had secured the try bonus point in victory.
37 – Italy’s dramatic victory over Wales was their first Guinness Six Nations triumph in 37 matches. Paolo Garbisi’s conversion with the last kick ensured that the 22-19 win at Scotland in 2015 is no longer the Azzurri’s most recent success in Rugby’s Greatest Championship.
65 – The amount of carries made by France No.8 Gregory Alldritt in the Championship, nine more than Scotland’s Stuart Hogg, who lies second in that particular table. Alldritt completed that tally with 13 against England, including the one that set up Antoine Dupont’s match-clinching try.
88 – Passes made by Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park against Scotland, meaning he had his hands on the ball just over once a minute in Dublin. Gibson-Park had the most passes in the Championship with 390, a full 103 more than nearest challenger Ali Price.
173 – Metres made by Italy winger Monty Ioane against Wales, which was by quite a distance the most ground made by an individual player during Round 5. Only Scotland captain Stuart Hogg (653) made more metres than the 498 eaten up by Ioane during the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
220 – How many tackles Hamish Watson has made in Rugby’s Greatest Championship since he last missed one, an astonishing run that extends back to Scotland’s final match of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations. Watson added 22 more to that amazing tally in a losing effort against Ireland.
2010 – Until last Saturday, this was the previous year of a France Championship victory, let alone a Grand Slam. Both of those statistics were consigned to history, as tries from Gael Fickou, Francois Cros and Antoine Dupont were enough to see off England and crown the French renaissance.
