The tournament began on 19 January and concluded on 15 March.

England were the champions, winning the championship outright for the first time since 1963; they had also shared in the quintuple tie in 1973.

It was England's 18th championship, excluding ten titles shared with other teams.

In winning all four matches they won the Grand Slam for the eighth time, equalling the record held by Wales.

Wales' close one point loss to England at Twickenham in a highly volatile match that took place during the 1980 British Steel strike, and Wales' later one-sided loss to Ireland at Lansdowne Road on the final weekend, signalled the end of Wales' glory days from the 1970s.