As fate would have it, Wales’ opening game against Ireland was decided by a tip tackle. This time however Wales were the beneficiaries, following Stephen Ferris’ offence on Ian Evans. Leigh Halfpenny had missed a long-range penalty in the World Cup semi-final but this time, his 79th-minute strike clinched the Test match.
“The Six Nations to me has always been about momentum, and you need a bit of luck as well,” Gatland explains. “It was a tough call on Ferris, one of those decisions that could have gone either way. In game one, you’ve used up a bit of your luck and come away with a win.”
Wales returned home and comfortably beat Scotland, setting up another pivotal trip to face England. Wales had broken their Twickenham hoodoo four years earlier in Gatland’s first campaign, winning there for the first time in two decades.
It took a moment of Scott Williams’ magic – ripping the ball from Courtney Lawes and racing clear before chasing his own chip to score – in 2012 for Wales to maintain their perfect record. Plus some remarkable defensive work, not least from Halfpenny.
Jones adds: “I’m coaching now and whenever I see the backfield coverage and think ‘they could be working harder’, I think I’m probably spoiled having seen Halfpenny do it. He was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You never felt in any form of danger.”
Wales saw off Italy – even though, in Jones’ words, “we played pretty s—-“, with their minds half on the France game – to set up a Grand Slam chance.
Roberts maintains “it was one of those games we were never going to lose”, while Phillips was so relaxed he went on a blind date in London a few days before the match. “It was a bit of a bad idea,” he admits. “I didn’t have a great game but luckily we won and it makes for a good story.”
Alex Cuthbert scored Wales’ only try, his third of a breakout tournament. “Rags to riches, I love that story,” Roberts says. “A year or two before he was playing university rugby and all of a sudden he’s winning a Grand Slam on an academy contract.”
The game was a slog, but Wales, through Halfpenny’s goalkicking and tiring out France’s pack, won their second Slam in five years, confirming that the group who fell short at the World Cup were, indeed, a special side.
