10 reasons why Wales won the Grand Slam

1. Defence was fantastic
2. Great tries from Williams Roberts Cuthbert JD2
3. Brilliant kicking from 1/2p
4. Steady line out from Owens and Rees
5. Strong breakdown work from Warbs AWJ and Lydiate
6. Strong scrum platform from Adam and Gethin
7. Gats faith in RP who had a shocker against England but stayed on and got better in the last quarter
8. North was a massive threat pulling in defenders
9. Strength in depth with Owens Tipuric Williams
10. Only need 14 men anyway
11. We are the Welsh and play with pride and ambition

8. Not only North, but Roberts, Cuthbert and North.
10. smacks of a bit of arrogance there mate.

12. Simulation of tip tackles to win penalties to beat Ireland

13. Bounce of the ball.
14. the pipty/pipty decisions helped a wee bit as well.

15. Employment of TMO's to disallow tries

1 Defence was good, but only similar to many other nations statistically. A very low number of turnovers conceded was the key for me
4 Credit too to Ian Evans for salmon-like leaping
6 excellent scrum +1

On a serious note.

Wales won because they were the most consistent than the rest. I said at the start that this Welsh side has the makings of something very good.

On another serious note, they had faith in their attacking play and when used it was effective. There were players in space when the offloads came, and the crashball runners unlike other teams in the six nations were looking to offload.

That my friends is why Wales won.

I would have also put Gatlands tactics down as one of the reasons as well to be honest.

5. Strong breakdown work from Warbs AWJ and Lydiate

Am i the only one who thinks he is seriously overated. Just dont think hes that good...Wales have far better ones...

Wales won because they made the least Mistakes IMO, the least missed tackles and the least errors.

Simple game, played very very well. Fantastic execution is what won Wales their GS. Well done

Heres a question...

Do you think this wales team is as creative...ad skillful as the past GS teams...or have they moved more towards using power and pace...

They have moved towards power and pace but they have also not lost that much on the footballing skills. For a big man, North is actually a very good footballer, his movement before and in contact is excellent.

1. Others were rebuilding or had new coaches etc.
2. The IRB wanted Wales to win to make up for the RWC disappointment.
3. Luck
4. Poor camera angles allowed them to scrape through against the 4th best team in the world.
5. Dull tactics that aren't true to the spirit of the game.
6. Playing Giants instead of little Shane.
7. The fixtures were kind to them.
8. France let them win rather than fight (heard that before)
9. On their day they can beat anyone.
10. Settled structure in place, a good blend of youth and experience and a will to win shown from all players.

eirebilly wrote:15. Employment of TMO's to disallow tries

Do we actually employ them. That is genius . Old Gatland is a clever fella

HERSH wrote:The fixtures were kind to them.

Yes, we have such a good record at Lansdowne Road and Twickenham...

Number 16, They scored more points than their opponents in each match.

dragonbreath wrote:

eirebilly wrote:15. Employment of TMO's to disallow tries

Do we actually employ them. That is genius . Old Gatland is a clever fella

Sure you do, them and ballboys to give you the wrong ball .

Wish Ireland had thought of it first though

GeordieFalcon wrote:Heres a question...

Do you think this wales team is as creative...ad skillful as the past GS teams...or have they moved more towards using power and pace...

No I don't and have said so a number of times but in fairness they have important qualities that the other sides lacked.

Peak SJ V RP = SJ
Peak Henson / Shanks v Roberts / Davies = Henson / Shanks (much more variety and higher skill levels)
Shane v anyone = Shane
Peak Kevin Morgan / Lee Byrne v Halfpenny = KM/LB
Peak Martyn v Sam = still Martyn

The packs are pretty even though Lydiate definately adds something that wasn't there before

What has to be remembered is that this is their first season of many together and to achieve what they have in year 1 is pretty special and one hopes that they will continue to improve

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

HERSH wrote:The fixtures were kind to them.

Yes, we have such a good record at Lansdowne Road and Twickenham...

Teams that have both Italy and Scotland at home more often that not win the 6 nations, two easy games allow some momentum to be built.

You missed my point 10!

dragonbreath I think those match ups are more or less right but where we have always struggled is with out and out ball carriers which as a unit Roberts ,Cuthbert,North and JD2 give us in spades in the backs .

I loved the 05 teams style but recent studies (and common sense) have shown that bigger teams with more grunt have better overall success so there are hopes that this squad know has the tools for prolonged success.

HERSH wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

HERSH wrote:The fixtures were kind to them.

Yes, we have such a good record at Lansdowne Road and Twickenham...

Teams that have both Italy and Scotland at home more often that not win the 6 nations, two easy games allow some momentum to be built.

You missed my point 10!

You are right in part but Wales had Ireland away as the first game, not the easiest place to go to build momentum for a tournament.

Wales would have beaten Scotland/Italy away.

munkian wrote:

HERSH wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

HERSH wrote:The fixtures were kind to them.

Yes, we have such a good record at Lansdowne Road and Twickenham...

Teams that have both Italy and Scotland at home more often that not win the 6 nations, two easy games allow some momentum to be built.

You missed my point 10!

You are right in part but Wales had Ireland away as the first game, not the easiest place to go to build momentum for a tournament.

Wales would have beaten Scotland/Italy away.

We had to play against a non depleted Irish pack of first choice players I front of a baying crowd...!

It turns out Lawes has a welsh granny - job done.

Barney McGrew did it wrote:It turns out Lawes has a welsh granny - job done.

What Job?

maestegmafia wrote:

munkian wrote:

HERSH wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

HERSH wrote:The fixtures were kind to them.

Yes, we have such a good record at Lansdowne Road and Twickenham...

Teams that have both Italy and Scotland at home more often that not win the 6 nations, two easy games allow some momentum to be built.

You missed my point 10!

You are right in part but Wales had Ireland away as the first game, not the easiest place to go to build momentum for a tournament.

Wales would have beaten Scotland/Italy away.

We had to play against a non depleted Irish pack of first choice players I front of a baying crowd...!

Plus the Irish players were fresh from making the Heineken Cup quarter finals with their provinces.

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

Plus the Irish players were fresh from making the Heineken Cup quarter finals with their provinces.

And we would have beaten you pesky Welsh as well if............................ well if we were better

9. On their day they can beat anyone.
10. Settled structure in place, a good blend of youth and experience and a will to win shown from all players.

Out of the mouths of babes, drunks and WUM's...

eirebilly wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

Plus the Irish players were fresh from making the Heineken Cup quarter finals with their provinces.

And we would have beaten you pesky Welsh as well if............................ well if we were better

If it hadnt been for those meddling kids.....................tee hee

andy powells minder wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

Plus the Irish players were fresh from making the Heineken Cup quarter finals with their provinces.

And we would have beaten you pesky Welsh as well if............................ well if we were better

If it hadnt been for those meddling kids.....................tee hee

The meddling kids (ball boys) were last 6N

Are you saying POC's head is made of rubber and can be pulled off to expose Eddy O Sullivan?

Glas

"13. Bounce of the ball.
14. the pipty/pipty decisions helped a wee bit as well"

Can't deny we had the luck this year.

These things even out, though. We've had our share of narrow defeats in recent years.

Why did Wales win the slam?
Mainly because they came out just ahead in very close matches against both Ireland and England - to be fair, on my viewing Wales were the better side against Ireland and deserved the bit of luck that cam in awarding the penalty against Ferris for the marginal tackle. Against England, it came down to one individual error (Lawes being stripped of the ball in fighting to gain yards in contact when he could have gone to ground), and a great bit of opportunism from Williams to exploit the chance that came his way.

At the moment, the difference between the best 4 of the 6Ns sides is pretty slim and comes down to 'on the day' performances, and Wales produced those when it mattered.

Good teams often have luck on their side, it's what you get for dazzling the eyes of the rugby gods

I didnt know that cheating directly translated to luck in Welsh

Show me any Grand Slam (apart from 2003) that didn't involve luck, fortune favouring the brave or some similar notion.

What does cheating even mean? I've heard it mentioned repeatedly but just can't make heads or tails of it! Can't seem to find it in the (Welsh) dictionary either

Of course luck favors the the brave. When you are winning, the ball bounces into your hands. Its happened to Ireland on a few occasions

No aimless kicking that has haunted Wales in the past. They preferred ball in hand and to punch gaps in the defensive line and trust in their ability to do so. If you compare that with Ireland who did not use smart kicking for some of their games (the long O´Gara kick off when they were 1 point down made no sense whatsoever for example).

A better spread of players across the park instead of relying on the genius of Shane Williams. Senior players like Ryan Jones discovered form and relatively new players like Cuthbert, Lydiate, North, Warburton etc all made vital contributions.

Just curious why are there 11 reasons and the number 10 in your title? Some front row forwards have cauliflower ears. This sounds more like brocolli brain suffered from too many big hits.

Just curious why are there 11 reasons and the number 10 in your title? Some front row forwards have cauliflower ears. This sounds more like brocolli brain suffered from too many big hits.

Number 11 is quite obviously a tongue-in-cheek reason

10 is more tongue and cheek than 11.

Let´s face it, the list is not exhaustive. Great work by Davies to cover the lack of form Roberts had coming back from injury could be another. Why is North not in number 2. Seems a bit select.

Anyway Grand Slams are worth celebrating so I certainly don't begrudge the list. But I could give you one reason why the Grand Slam euphoria might be undone: Australia.

Knowsit17 wrote:

Just curious why are there 11 reasons and the number 10 in your title? Some front row forwards have cauliflower ears. This sounds more like brocolli brain suffered from too many big hits.

Number 11 is quite obviously a tongue-in-cheek reason

I thought it was number 10.

Agh, KIa, could you not have waited 17 seconds before posting, now it looks like I plaguerised your post.

It looks that way because you did!

Take solace in the idea that great minds think alike.

15 - Found out a way to get Scotland down to 13 men again, after realising they can not beat them at home 15 vs 15

Riskysports wrote:15 - Found out a way to get Scotland down to 13 men again, after realising they can not beat them at home 15 vs 15

They had willing accomplices on that one - and I'm not talking about the ref and assistants.

15 - Gave Nick deLuca an extra portion of beans to ensure additional Brain Fart on pitch

Riskysports wrote:15 - Gave Nick deLuca an extra portion of beans to ensure additional Brain Fart on pitch

The Italians gave him a posh bean salad - it worked just as well!