2010 Six Nations Championship in the Five Nations). This was also their seventeenth outright victory, including twelve victories in the Five Nations, excluding eight titles shared with other countries. France also retained the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy by defeating Italy in the tournament, to whom they had (then) never lost within the Six Nations. Ireland, 2009 Grand Slam winners, came second with three victories and two defeats. Despite defeating England and Wales, Ireland failed to win the Triple Crown after a 23–20 defeat to Scotland in their final match. England and Wales came third and fourth respectively with two victories each, while Scotland and Italy
Grand Slam (rugby union) term came into use. It is also applied to the 1908 and 1909 seasons, when matches with France took place during, but outside of, the then Home Nations Championships. However the Grand Slam honour is not applied to seasons in which only the four home nations were involved (1883–1907 and 1932–1939) – in that case a team that won all its matches is said to have achieved the Triple Crown. This honour is still competed for between the four home nations within the Six Nations Championship, and any Grand Slam-winning home nation will necessarily also win the Triple Crown. A