Wales 29 France 12:WALES WERE pushovers last year, but if one moment highlighted the difference the head coach Warren Gatland has made this year it was not the opportunism of Shane Williams for the opening try, the unyielding blitz defence introduced by Shaun Edwards or the refined kicking game that left France with plenty of ball but nowhere to run, but an attacking scrum Les Bleus had 15 minutes from the end when they were 10 points down.
France had not looked like scoring a try, but neither had they achieved much in the way of position. A rare mistake by Wales, after they had secured turnover possession through the prop Gethin Jenkins, saw them concede a scrum under their own posts.
As France's backrow got ready for their set move, Wales applied an eight-man shove and drove their way to the ball. "That was the moment we knew we would win," said their captain, Ryan Jones.
Wales's second Grand Slam in four years appears to have been built on firmer foundations than in 2005, when a split appeared in the management team and the players quickly picked up on it.
There is no division in Gatland's set-up: in recruiting former colleagues at Wasps, Edwards and Rob Howley, to his coaching team, backed up by the former Wales internationals Robin McBryde and Neil Jenkins, he has set up a clear chain of command and the big decisions are his. Edwards and Howley wanted the stadium roof to be open on Saturday, feeling the rain would hamper France's handling game. Gatland disagreed, trusting the ability of his players to execute his game plan in a positive statement of intent, something they did so expertly that France had run out of ideas long before the end.
A feature of Wales's season is that in each match they have finished the second half strongly; 107 of their 148 points came after the interval, when they conceded 27 of their 66 points, and both the tries against them were scored in the first period.
By keeping the ball in play by kicking it downfield rather than into touch they ensured games were played at a high tempo and their opponents all struggled in the final quarter, like a boxer eventually feeling the effects of early body punches.
France's forwards seemed to be looking up to the closed roof long before the end as if hoping oxygen masks would drop down from it.
The French had arrived needing to win by 20 points to retain their title but never fashioned a way of breaking down the sternest defence in the tournament; even when Wales committed no players to a breakdown, France tried to move the ball rather than rumble up the middle while Wales patiently waited for the mistake that would let them in.
It came 19 minutes from the end when David Skrela threw a pass behind the quickly advancing Yannick Jauzion. Shane Williams hacked the ball into France's 25 and beat Anthony Floch to boot it towards the line. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, who before the match had said Wales, "unlike New Zealand", did not inspire fear, would have conceded a penalty try and earned a yellow card had his attempted trip on the Wales wing succeeded. But, summing up his team's display, he was too slow and Williams set a Wales try-scoring record by touching down after the ball had bounced off a post.
It was Williams's sixth try of the tournament and the fourth consecutive match in which he had scored. His predatory instinct is a vital component of a team who play a pressure game, and it was fitting that his namesake, the flanker Martyn Williams, should round off the scoring after making a break from scrumhalf to cap a remarkable personal display five months after retiring from international rugby.
Persuading Martyn Williams to change his mind was the smartest phone call Gatland has ever made. He was the player of the Six Nations in 2005 and, like Shane Williams, gets even better with age. He put in a relieving kick any outhalf would have been pleased with, he forced a number of turnovers and he was invariably in support in attack.
The selfless nature of Wales's game was shown in the way the tight-five forwards Gethin Jenkins and Ian Gough made telling tackles after chasing kicks, and Gavin Henson showed what Wales missed last year with his invention and grit.
Although the score was level at 9-9 going into the final quarter, Wales never looked like losing. The task for Gatland now is to do what no Wales coach has done since the 1970s and build on success, as he did at Wasps.
He was in bullish mood yesterday, saying his aim was to get his side challenging the major Southern Hemisphere nations regularly, starting with the summer tour to the World Cup holders, South Africa.
"I stated originally that it would take two years for us to get where we need to be physically, and that is still the case because we need to become leaner," he said.
Wales are certainly meaner under him: whereas the 2005 side lit up the Six Nations with some breathless attacking rugby, this year's vintage is more pragmatic.
In their last nine halves of rugby they have conceded one try, after an overthrow from their own lineout. It is that unyielding attitude that will count against the Sanzar nations, and the best of Wales under Gatland is yet to come.
WALES: Byrne (Ospreys); M Jones (Llanelli Scarlets); Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), Henson, S Williams (both Ospreys); Hook (Ospreys; S Jones, Scarlets, 56), Phillips (Ospreys); Jenkins (Blues), Bennett (Ospreys; Rees, Scarlets, 56), A Jones (Ospreys; D Jones, Ospreys, 75), Gough (Ospreys; Evans, Ospreys, 75), AW Jones, Thomas (both Ospreys), M Williams (Blues), R Jones (Ospreys, capt).
FRANCE: Floch (Clermont Auvergne; Heymans, Toulouse, 70); Clerc, Jauzion (both Toulouse), Traille (Biarritz), Malzieu (Clermont); Skrela (Stade Français; Trinh-Duc, Montpellier, 66), Elissalde (Toulouse; Yachvili, Biarritz, 66); Barcella (Auch), Szarzewski (Stade; Servat, Toulouse, 64), Mas (Perpignan; Poux, Toulouse, 64), Nallet (Castres, capt), Thion (Biarritz; Mela, Albi, 80), Dusautoir (Toulouse), Ouedraogo (Montpellier; Vermeulen, Clermont, 64), Bonnaire (Clermont).
Referee: M Jonker (South Africa).
Guardian Service
