Wales go to Rome on Saturday to set a target for either Ireland or then England to beat while knowing this could be the final Six Nations match for the architect of Saturday’s remarkable victory that threw this season’s championship wide open.
Shaun Edwards, defence coach with Wales during the Grand Slam seasons of 2008 and 2012 and the championship year of 2013, is out of contract after the World Cup in the autumn.
Following the coup which led Gareth Davies to become chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union and with Roger Lewis soon to depart as chief executive, negotiations about any contract extension are yet to start.
The head coach, Warren Gatland, is signed up until 2019 but his assistants, including Edwards and the attack coach, Rob Howley, believe they will have to repeat their 2011 World Cup performance of getting to a semi-final before the WRU makes an offer.
After watching his defence win Saturday’s game by withstanding an eight-minute siege during which Ireland went through a total of 45 phases without making an impact, Edwards said: “It was an emotional game for everyone and only Six Nations games bring emotions out like that, particularly for myself because it could be one of my last Six Nations games, contracts being up after the World Cup. If it ends up that way then it’s a great way to sign off.”
The news that Edwards is out of contract after the autumn should alert many sides. In 10 years with Wasps he won silverware most seasons, including two Heineken Cups and three championships in a row, and has twice turned down England – after approaches from Brian Ashton and Martin Johnson. The first offer was rejected because of family issues, the second because Edwards had shaken hands on a deal with Gatland, his former Wasps partner, and refused to break his word.
Wales’ run of success since 2008 has been based on the soundest of defensive foundations. During that first Grand Slam they conceded only two tries in five games and in their most recent championship season, 2013, they went 400 minutes without their line being crossed.
However, Saturday was particularly special because Ireland, seeking to retain the title, were the only side undefeated in this season’s Six Nations and going for a grand slam having out-thought and outplayed England in Dublin. However, roles were reversed at Cardiff. Wales got off to a quick start, went 12 points up in as many minutes and then put in a huge defensive effort.
The statisticians said that Wales put in 289 tackles, later revised down to a still remarkable 250, to 104 from Ireland, which is closer to average for a Test. Luke Charteris alone made 31, a Six Nations record and quite something for a player of 6ft 9in.
The Welsh second row and back row put in a combined 132 hits that often drove the attacking green line backwards. From the 49th minute, when Ireland won a lineout in Welsh territory, until the fly-half Johnny Sexton conceded a siege-lifting penalty in the 57th minute, Ireland drove towards to the Welsh five-metre line only to be driven 20 metres backwards. A penalty then took them back to the five-metre line, but then they retreated another 10 metres before Sexton was caught going over the top at the breakdown.
“There won’t have been many games like that,” said the Welsh fly-half Dan Biggar, before lauding Edwards’ role in the victory. “It just seemed like wave after wave and was testament to the amount of work put in. It shows how together we are and to come through against probably the best side in Europe at the minute was massive.”
He said that even though he damaged a shoulder during that spell he still put in one big tackle. “It was just a stinger so I was trying to hide on the wing for as long as possible.
“I wasn’t much use to anyone, but I made that one tackle because I don’t think I would have been the No1 person with Shaun Edwards on Monday morning if I’d missed it because of a bump on the shoulder. What we’ve got in this camp is that if you make a mistake, everyone has licence to let them have it a little bit, which is good.
“We need that. We need that in our leaders and Shaun is an absolute leader. He wants us to be the best we can be and he sets high standards. You don’t want to let him down and that’s huge testament to him and he’s a big part of why we have been so successful over the last few years.
“He was over the moon. He doesn’t give too much away. He was extremely proud of our effort. It was something he’d talked about during the week that we had to stop their momentum, because once they get momentum they are a very good side.”
Instead, once Wales broke the siege Scott Williams, on the field only a minute after replacing Jamie Roberts, strode between the Irish wing Tommy Bowe and the forwards Jamie Heaslip and Cian Healy to put Wales 20-9 ahead with less than quarter of the game to go.
After their earlier efforts it seemed almost insulting when the referee Wayne Barnes awarded a penalty try against Wales for collapsing a rolling maul, but the full-back Leigh Halfpenny added a fifth and final penalty to take the championship into a final weekend with England leading on points difference of +37 against +33 for Ireland and +12 for Wales.
Wales Halfpenny; North, J Davies, Roberts (S Williams, 59), L Williams; Biggar, Webb (Phillips, 68); Jenkins (Evans, h-t), Baldwin (Hibbard, 57; Baldwin, 79), Lee (Jarvis, 14), Charteris, AW Jones, Lydiate (Tipuric, 68), Warburton (capt), Faletau.
Try S Williams. Pens Halfpenny 5. Drop goal Biggar. Sinbin Warburton 28, Davies 78.
Ireland R Kearney; Bowe, Payne, Henshaw, Zebo; Sexton (Madigan, 75), Murray (Reddan, 65); McGrath (Healy, 56), Best (Cronin, 63), Ross (Moore, 63), Toner (Henderson, 63), O’Connell (capt), O’Mahony, O’Brien, Heaslip (Murphy, 72).
Try Penalty. Con Sexton. Pens Sexton 3.
Referee Wayne Barnes (Eng). Attendance 73,950.
