Warren Gatland has been praised by his countryman and rival Joe Schmidt after making history with a third Grand Slam – and lifting Wales to No.2 in the world rankings.
The two coaches may have been at odds over whether or not to close the Principality Stadium roof before the game, but Ireland coach Schmidt bowed to Gatland’s sustained record of success after the Wales mastermind had clinched his third Grand Slam.
The victory means Wales will now rise to the second best team on the planet when the World Rugby rankings are updated after this final round of Six Nations matches. Only New Zealand, the World Cup holders, are above them.
Ireland – who had been No.2 after beating the All Blacks last November – drop a place to third.
Schmidt’s team were humbled 25-7 as Wales clinched the title without much danger of losing their unbeaten streak that now runs to 14 games and he admitted: “I take my hat off to Warren Gatland.
“To be 12 years as an international coach and be so competitive – I’ve done six years and it nearly killed me.
“You could see what it meant to them. They know how to fight their way to the finish.
“They got the benefit of some set-piece decisions and built off their first try. We knew what they were going to do, a bit like we knew what England were going to do, but it was hard to stop them. The margins are fine.
“Warren Gatland spoke about the 5% extra you get from going for a Grand Slam, we benefited from that belief of those four wins in Twickenham last year.
“The way that game started added to that belief. We were unlucky with a couple of calls, they defended well and our discipline wasn’t what it needed to be.”
Schmidt admitted it may have been a mistake to leave the stadium open to the elements as the roof caved in on his side who suffered their worst defeat to Wales since 1976.
“Two years ago we had the same underfoot conditions when they closed the roof, it was drier today than it was the last time,” said Schmidt.
“Whoever gets ahead early on is always harder to catch. They won the toss and got the ball behind us and that’s how fine the margins are.
“Maybe it was a mistake not to have the roof closed. In hindsight, what would it have looked like if the roof was closed? I don’t know. You deal with that you deal with it and that’s the way we’ve always been.”
Wales’ inspirational captain Alun Wyn Jones, who delivered outstanding performance in the second row, said: “Anything can happen when you work hard and you’re a proud nation and we’ve shown that.
“Warren’s the man at the top and we’ve been under pressure but he’s always been unwavering. He’s got a bit left on his contract but I’m sure we’ll miss him when he’s eventually gone.
“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.”