Wales crushes Ireland to win third Six Nations Grand Slam in 11 years | sport

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Warren Gatland won his third Grand Slam for Wales. The head coach scored his last campaign in the Six Nations, with at least the men in red, in the manner of his first by beating all the others. Ireland did not consider it good enough when he was sacked in 2001, but his record since then has been marked by unparalleled success.

No coach in the history of the championship, Five Nations or Six, had organized three Grand Slams and this victory reflected the mental and physical determination he had brought to a team known for its flaky and its tendency to implode after the success. . In terms of individual players, this is not the best team in Wales, but it has never been stronger.

Gatland said in the meeting that matches between teams of almost equal strength were usually decided according to the person who wanted it a little more. From the kickoff that Alun Wyn Jones had chosen after winning the draw, Wales had the appetite for scrap dogs that had not been fed for a long time. week. They tore everything apart and their 16-0 lead was not only an opportunity but also a malfunction for the Irish team.

Statistically, there is no more dangerous side among the 22 opponents than Ireland. After 23 minutes here, when they led 10-0, they were given a penalty that they had touched at the foot and lined up at 12 meters. The maneuver proved beneficial for them at the time of Joe Schmidt and Wales was set up to defend the maul instead of challenging the composition of the group.

Ireland progressed but the second row, Adam Beard, in the manner of one of his predecessors, Luke Charteris, took advantage of his long reach to get his hands on the ball. Ireland tried to relax his hold, knowing that otherwise they would concede a scrum but Justin Tipuric reached out. A few minutes later, Ireland scored a goal on a goal of 22 in Wales. CJ Stander then gave him a free kick too fast by hitting the ball in the back of a teammate.

There were two key moments in the half. Wales is defended as a team to thwart its opponents proud not to be crumpled, which is typical of their championship campaign. The Welsh were neither the most adventurous nor the most technically equipped, but no player showed such badurances from those around him and not even the early loss of George North following a wrist injury did not give a new impetus.

Dan Biggar was replaced by Gareth Anscombe at the back and Liam Williams was replaced by the right wing.

North had prepared them for a perfect start, chasing the Anscombe bid and bouncing off Jacob Stockdale. Wales played a few phases after the lineup and, after eliminating Stander, drew the advantage, Anscombe skillfully descrambling the space to allow Hadleigh Parkes to exploit a defensive defense and score .

The match was 70 seconds old and the crowd, which led the Welsh national anthem to a catchy conclusion, was at full voice. Ireland is waiting for an answer but, having chosen to keep the roof open, judged dangerous handling in the rain. Wales used their scrum half, Gareth Davies, to attack at the bottom of the hierarchy, pushing Ireland to make decisions.

The first Irish opportunity came after five minutes when Josh Adams, after a long shot, tripped Keith Earls. The referee, Angus Gardner, felt that the offense had been committed inadvertently and limited his sanction to a penalty promptly inflicted by Jonathan Sexton. He kicked the ball towards Stockdale who, without Wales reacting to the unexpected, headed for the line at 45 meters. He circled Gareth Davies and seemed destined to do so until Parkes displayed the desire evoked by Gatland, caught the wing and forced himself to hurt himself.

It was typical of a team that was abandoning nothing, forcing its own destiny. Ireland was baffled, missed two runs and was penalized at three scrums. Without their basics, they were trained in the game of Wales to jostle in space. The home team only carried the ball for 47 meters in the first half, but she spent most of her time in half of Ireland and took advantage of most of her chances.

Anscombe completed the first test that he helped create with three penalties, all carelessly conceded by Ireland, Stander and Tadhg Furlong who went astray and Cian Healy collapsed.

This is the pressure effect exerted by the pressure and control exercised by Wales. The most striking problem for the locals comes 11 minutes later, when the Irish team moves in 17 stages out of 22, when Tadhg Beirne forces Scarlets center last season.

There was a symmetry on the interval score. Wales had missed 16-0 at the break in Paris at the opening night of the tournament, which had allowed one of the biggest returns in its history. The cause of Ireland was not helped by their refusal to accept the closure of the roof. The rain was steady rather than strong, not helping the team catch up.

Whatever the case may be, Wales has never succumbed, under the impetus of its captain, Wyn Jones, who screamed in pain in the first minutes after being twisted on the knee. He was healed for three minutes but the warrior did not leave the battlefield, adrenaline frightening him, as he continued to challenge himself until the end.

Ireland did not respond to the second half of the campaign. Two penalties from Anscombe in the third quarter, after Healy and Stander conceded softly, allowed Wales to do more than three converted tries.

Ireland still had some lines of attacks, but the crown was torn off the champions' heads. The biggest joy of the half, except the one that greeted the final whistle of the game, came when Sexton pbaded the ball to touch rather than Stockdale at 10 meters.

Jordan Larmour beat Ireland's duck with the last shot of the match, but that was no consolation as Wales helped them to take second place in the world, after being 10th when Gatland took over.