Wales will not linger over this latest victory, it was not one they will dwell on once they are done talking about what they did wrong. “We just got away with it,” said the wing George North afterwards. The 13th win in their record-breaking streak left them feeling like “there is plenty to work on”. They had made too many handling errors, and conceded too many penalties and turnovers. “But sometimes winning is winning, regardless of how it looks.”
The game left them with less to savour, then, than it did to anticipate, since the victory set up that grand slam match against Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday, in what will be Warren Gatland’s last Six Nations game as head coach. Or at least, Gatland said, his “last for Wales”.
The coach could not keep his face straight when he said it, so he and everyone else fell about laughing at the joke. He has seemed in a good mood right through this Six Nations, sounding confident and relaxed ever since he predicted his team would win the tournament before it started. He is going to enjoy next weekend, too. “It’s going to be a great occasion, you won’t be able to get a ticket anywhere,” he said. “I’m excited about it, and looking forward to it. It’s a dream we can fulfil, an opportunity to do something pretty special as a group of players.”
He has been in this position twice before, in 2008 and 2012. Wales won both times. “It would be my last grand slam with Wales and if we do it, it would be unbelievable. I have loved my time in Wales. I never thought I would be here for so long,” he added. It is that emotional attachment which means the idea he might take charge of England one year seem so far-fetched. “I have had 10 Six Nations and when I look back I am proud of what we have achieved in terms of consistency. We have had a few seconds, a couple of grand slams, a championship as well, but our win record has been excellent – particularly against those big teams.”
Now, Gatland said, “We want to finish it off”, by beating the Irish one more time. “The challenge with Ireland is that they have a team with some older and experienced players; they are often the most dangerous because there is always a big match in an experienced team,” he explained. “You don’t always get as much consistency, but when it really matters they can turn on that big performance because they have done it before.” On top of that, he said, Wales’s matches against Ireland have what he calls “added spice” because “their provinces have had a lot of success in the Pro14 and in Europe, and sometimes that can breed jealousy”.
• Wales will win the Six Nations title and clinch a first grand slam for seven years if they beat Ireland in Cardiff, with the grand slam earning them three additional bonus points in the process.
• England will win the tournament if they beat Scotland with a bonus point and Wales lose to Ireland.
• A draw between Wales and Ireland - and England losing to Scotland at Twickenham - would see Wales win the title without a grand slam.
• Ireland can win the tournament if they beat Wales and restrict them to one bonus point and Scotland beat England. Or, if England beat Scotland without a bonus point, Ireland would require a points swing of 65 to win the tournament.
• Italy are guaranteed the wooden spoon.
“For our group of players, I know they get incredibly motivated to play against Ireland because a lot of them have been on the losing end on a number of occasions, particularly to their provincial teams.”
Not that they’ll need the extra motivation given everything they have got to play for. “When someone presents you with an opportunity to win a grand slam you want to take it with both hands. We are excited about next week, about being at home in front of our home crowd that were unbelievable in terms of the atmosphere created and the drive that they gave us against England. If they can produce that next week it will be a special night in Cardiff.”
North said he felt Wales were still “a yard off the pace from where we left off in the autumn”, that while they have “shown glimpses, we haven’t really hit our straps yet”. Alun Wyn Jones used the very same phrase himself, “We haven’t hit our straps.”
The players are sure “there is another level there”, North promised.
Gatland thinks they will find it on Saturday. “I don’t think you want to have any regrets, and I don’t think this group of players will have any regrets,” he said. “We want to win this championship and the only way we can win it now is by getting the grand slam. And if we do that I can promise you there will be some pretty serious celebrations afterwards.”
