A THIRD Grand Slam on Saturday after Wales brutally dethroned Ireland as champions propels Wales head coach Warren Gatland into the pantheon as the greatest northern hemisphere rugby coach.

No other coach in the history of the Five and Six Nations has managed to lead his side to three Grand Slams.

Gatland hailed his players in an after-match interview and could not resist a quip at England boss Eddie Jones, who said Wales looked tired before their final game.

“It was a fantastic performance and we didn’t look too tired, did we?” said Gatland.

Wales go back to work today with the mother of all hangovers after a weekend of celebrating their team’s comprehensive victory over last season’s Grand Slam champions.

Ireland had made a huge fuss about having the stadium roof open and with the rain pouring down for the whole match did not handle the wet conditions well.

Wales are often slow starters but ignited this match with a stunning try within the first minute.

Gareth Anscombe’s kick-off was fielded by Jacob Stockdale, but the chasing George North bundled him into touch to set up an attacking line out. 

The forwards rumbled the ball forward before delivering the ball for man of the match Anscombe to send a delicate chip-kick through for Hadleigh Parkes to score the opening try.

Wales were too street smart and strong for the Irish and were clearly relishing the occasion.

The crowd played their part as well, roaring every Welsh move and cheering every Irish mistake.

“I said if we won the first game against France we’ve got a good chance of winning the whole thing. If that creates that bit of belief in the players then maybe something like this can happen,” Gatland said.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones should be crowned Six Nations player of the tournament after another colossal game on Saturday.

Jones was injured early in the first half after he caught his knee in a collision with Cian Healy. The crowd held their breath as the talismanic captain went down and stayed down for extensive treatment.

But there was no way Jones was about to be taken off and after extensive strapping of his knee by the doctor, he played on.

Jones resumed to boss the line out, opting to take responsibility and leap for Welsh ball, and made 16 tackles and seven carries. 

But it is his calm game management that knits this team together and is reminiscent of England’s World Cup winning skipper Martin Johnson at his best.

Jones now has three Grand Slam medals in his kitbag, along with 126 Welsh caps.

“I’m proud that a small nation like ours can achieve results like this,” Jones said. 

“At times we’ve been unconvincing so we like to think there’s still potential in us. We’re well aware we’ve just put a big target on our backs before the World Cup.”

The Welsh victory has also moved the side above Ireland in the world rankings and they are now the No 2 side in the world. The team were 10th in the world when Gatland took over.

The last Grand Slam side to go on to win the World Cup was Johnson’s England and with Wales on a 14-run series of victories they are now one of the favourites to take the title.

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt was also making his Six Nations farewell and paid a graceful tribute to Wales and Gatland.

“To be 12 years as an international coach I take my hat off to him. I’ve done six and it has damn near killed me.”

Schmidt was keen to stress that his side would perform in Japan.

“We would certainly encourage supporters not to lose faith, the team will turn up in Japan.”

At the other end of the M4 at Twickenham, England were hosting Scotland who had lost every game at HQ since 1983.

England raced into a commanding lead and went into half-time 31-7 up and looking to show why their Cardiff losing performance had been an aberration.

But Scotland struck back in a bizarre second-half reversal with mercurial fly-half Finn Russell inspiring his side to run in five unanswered tries to take an improbable lead with less than five minutes to go.

In the final moments, George Ford gambled with a penalty to the corner to set up a final line-out which was duly delivered with his forwards retaining possession before Ford scored the try himself to tie the game 38-38.

The draw means that Scotland retain the Calcutta Cup and have finally ended their run of losses at Twickenham.

For England and Jones, the second-half collapse has ignited the doubts about the team’s temperament and their on-field ability to manage a game.

Contrast England’s implosion with how Wales weathered the Scots’ second-half storm in Edinburgh and how they came back from being behind to beat both England and France.

Jones admitted after the match that there was something wrong psychologically with his side’s game management and that it has to be fixed before the World Cup.

Italy lost their final game against France 14-25, extending their losing Six Nations run to 22 games.

The Azzurri had opportunities to win this game, but managed to spurn them with a lack of precision. 

A superlative tackle by Damian Penaud in the final minutes denied Italy the chance to take the lead, before galloping away to score a try at the other end.

This has been a stunning Six Nations with Wales deserving to win the title as they improved with each game, building to their final dominant performance to defeat Ireland.

With the World Cup looming into view, northern hemisphere rugby has never been in such rude health and this year’s tournament has demonstrated why the fans love it so much.