1972 Five Nations Championship
The 1972 Five Nations Championship was the forty-third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The championship was not completed for the first time since World War II.
Scotland and Wales did not travel to Dublin to play Ireland because of the escalating political situation. Although the remaining fixtures of the schedule were fulfilled, as both Ireland and Wales won all their matches, neither could claim the title. To fill the gap of the missing two fixtures, France played a friendly match in Dublin.
In total nine matches were played between 15 January and 29 April. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
This was the first Five Nations Championship where a try was worth four points.
This tournament saw France play its last matches at its decades-long home ground of Colombes. The opening of the rebuilt Parc des Princes that June saw France move its Five Nations matches to that ground.
Participants
The teams involved were:| Nation | Venue | City | Head coach | Captain |
| Twickenham | London | John Elders | Bob Hiller/Peter Dixon | |
| Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir | Colombes | Fernand Cazenave | Benoit Dauga/Walter Spanghero/Pierre Villepreux | |
| Lansdowne Road | Dublin | Syd Millar | Tom Kiernan | |
| Murrayfield | Edinburgh | Bill Dickinson | Peter Brown | |
| Cardiff Arms Park | Cardiff | Clive Rowlands | John Lloyd |