Gray’s tackling ton and Italy’s woeful run – the Six Nations in Opta facts

Ireland claimed their third Grand Slam by beating England in a thrilling Six Nations finale on Saturday.

It added to their Slams in 1948 and 2009 and provided their third triumph in five editions since Joe Schmidt’s appointment as head coach.

The prolific Jacob Stockdale and powerful back-row forward CJ Stander were key to their latest championship success, which came amid a record-breaking winning run.

With the help of Opta, we take a look at some of the best stats from another thrilling Six Nations.

History makers @IrishRugby

1948, 2009 and now….2018 Grand Slam champions #NatWest6Nations pic.twitter.com/C1dAWZxLUN

— NatWest 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 17, 2018

12 – Ireland secured their 12th consecutive victory in all competitions by beating England; they had never previously won more than 10 in a row (2002-03 and 2014-15).

17 – Italy’s loss to Scotland was their 17th successive defeat in the championship, equalling the record set by France in the Five Nations from 1911 to 1920.

3 – England lost three games in a Six Nations campaign for the first time since 2006.

7 – Stockdale became the first player to score seven tries in a Six Nations campaign when he dotted down against England. Only Cyril Lowe (eight in 1914), Ian Smith (eight in 1925) and Bill Stewart (seven in 1913) have scored as many in a single Five Nations edition.

– @JacobStockdale is the first player ever to score seven tries in a @SixNationsRugby campaign. Superstar. pic.twitter.com/Mtu3XLNR6A

— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 17, 2018

4 – Matteo Minozzi became the first Italian to score in four successive Six Nations games and the first to score more than three in a single campaign.

65 – Sergio Parisse made his 65th Six Nations appearance against Scotland, drawing level with Brian O’Driscoll as the most capped player in the competition’s all-time history. Parisse also became the first player to lose 100 Test matches in the same game.

100 – Scotland’s Jonny Gray became the first player to make 100 tackles in a Six Nations campaign (100/103), breaking Joe Launchbury’s record (85) from 2017.

A critical carry, fend and offload from Jonny Gray in the lead in to Scotland’s opening try against France. A big performance from both locks on Sunday #AsOne pic.twitter.com/xstrAFMFBW

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 13, 2018

17 – Owen Farrell missed 17 tackles in this year’s competition for England; only Luca Martin of Italy missed more in the same edition (20 in 2000).

31 – Guilhem Guirado made 31 tackles in France’s opening match against Ireland, matching the record for the most in a single championship set by Luke Charteris (31 v Ireland in 2015).

96 – Stander’s tally of 96 carries in the second most in a Six Nations campaign, only bettered by the Ireland number eight’s 104 from last year.

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