Wales completed their first Grand Slam in 11 years as they hammered Ireland 25-7 on Saturday to clinch the 2019 Six Nations title in emphatic fashion!
Hadleigh Parkes ensured that Wales got off to the perfect start as he went over for an early try which Gareth Anscombe then converted.
Anscombe then kicked three more penalties to quickly establish a 16-0 lead within the first half as Wales went into the break on the cusp of the title.
Wales dominated the second 40 minutes just like the first as Anscomve converted another penalties to make Ireland pay for their lack of discipline within their own half.
Jordan Larmour bagged a late try but it was too little too late as Warren Gatland bowed out of his last Six Nations as head coach of Wales with a Grand Slam victory and a serious sign of intent for the World Cup later this year in Japan.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones, who led from the front with a man of the match performance, heaped praise on his team as well as his coach.
Anything can happen when you work hard and you’re a proud nation and we’ve shown that”, he said.
“Warren’s the man at the top and we’ve been under pressure but he’s always been unwavering. He’s got a bit left on his contract but I’m sure we’ll miss him when he’s eventually gone.
“At times we’ve been unconvincing so we like to think there’s still potential in us. We’re well aware we’ve just put a big target on our backs before the World Cup.”
Rory Best was humble as ever in his assessment of a disappointing match and praised Wales on their extraordinary campaign.
“Wales had a cracking start. They built into the game. They’re a very determined side and hard to beat here.
“We couldn’t get a footing in the game. Our set-piece wasn’t up to the standard that we expect. They put a lot of pressure on us and we struggled to respond.
“It’s been a very competitive Six Nations. We have to go and address why we lost. We’ve been inconsistent this championship and we’ll have to dust ourselves off and finish the calendar year strong.
“We can talk about the aftermath of this later on but you have to give credit to Wales – they’re deserved Grand Slam winners.”
England and Scotland play to exciting draw
While the pubs partied into the night across Cardiff and the rest of Wales, Scotland completely a remarkable comeback as they took England to a 38 all draw at Twickenham to share the Calcutta Cup in one of the most memorable matches in recent test match history.
England soared into a 31-0 lead in the first half hour of the matchas Jack Nowell, Tom Curry, Joe Launchbury and Jonny May all scored to have the Scots seemingly buried.
On the brink of half-time, Stuart McInally charged down Owen Farrell and dived over to give Scotland the tiniest of chances as the teams went into the shed.
The Mclnally try turned out to be a catalyst for a remarkable Scotland comeback as they ran in a further four tries in the second half to draw the scores level.
Sam Johnson then dove over to give Scotland the lead with England so shell-shocked they looked to be out of the contest.
Fianally, George Ford went over and the try converted as the sides shared the spoils in an incredible 76 point thriller which provided the perfect spectacle to bring the Six Nations to a close.
