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A watertight defence
John GriffithsSeptember 8, 2014
What's the fewest points conceded by a side winning the Grand Slam - and has any country won it without conceding a try? Dave John, Wales
England are the only side to win the Grand Slam by conceding just one score. They did so without conceding a try in 1913, beating Wales 12-0, France 20-0, Ireland 15-4 and Scotland 3-0. The only blot on their copybook was Dickie Lloyd's dropped goal for Ireland in Dublin.
Two sides managed Grand Slams giving away only two scored: Wales leaked a converted try and a penalty goal in their successful 1950 campaign and so did Eric Evans's England side of 1957.
France's best season in this respect was in 1977 when they won their second Grand Slam. Jacques Fouroux's team had only 21 points scored against them and, like England in 1913, did not have their line crossed. Their debit column comprised seven penalty goals.
John Griffiths is a widely respected rugby historian and is the author of several sports books, a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and co-author of the IRB International Rugby Yearbook. He has provided insight for Scrum.com since 1999.
