The Irish overturned a 6-0 interval deficit with early second-half tries from Brian O’Driscoll and Tommy Bowe.

But Stephen Jones kicked his third and fourth penalties and appeared to have won the Triple Crown for Wales with a drop-goal with five minutes remaining.

But Ronan O’Gara’s drop-goal regained the lead with two minutes left, and Jones’s last-gasp penalty fell short.

Wales, from being within two minutes of denying Ireland a Grand Slam, but not their first-ever Six Nations title, suddenly had to come to terms with finishing fourth in the championship.

The hosts, needing to win by 13 points to retain their title, planned to target O’Gara from the off, but skipper Ryan Jones set a bad example with a trip on the fly-half in the first minute.
Ireland celebrate historic Grand Slam
Ireland lock Donncha O’Callaghan objected to Jones’s actions and a minor tussle between the players earned an early warning from English referee Wayne Barnes, but O’Gara failed with the long-range penalty attempt.

Ireland responded with a Gordon D’Arcy break only for Gavin Henson’s tackle to thwart Luke Fitzgerald, and a testing O’Gara cross-kick that Shane Williams and Lee Byrne failed to deal with.

The immediate pressure on Wales was relieved when Ian Gough’s challenge knocked the ball out of Jerry Flannery’s hands and Henson sent a huge clearance kick downfield.

But when Wales had their first defensive line-out, the hosts were in danger of cracking as Matthew Rees’s throw could not be cleanly gathered and Shane Williams rescued his side, but was forced to concede a five-metre scrum.

Wales held firm in defence, Mark Jones’s tackle on Ireland captain O’Driscoll forcing him to knock-on in a passage of play that led referee Barnes to warn both captains about off-the-ball incidents.

O’Gara kicked the ball out on the full twice, perhaps indicating the early attention Wales paid to him was paying dividends.

Lock Paul O’Connell led the way as Ireland stole home line-out ball on successive occasions and as both sides belied the occasion to vary their attacking play, that advantage boosted the visitors’ confidence.

The Grand Slam chasers were happy to kick for touch in the belief they could successfully attack Wales’ line-out.

But after Lee Byrne departed with an ankle injury, Henson switching to full-back to accommodate Jamie Roberts, Denis Leamy held on too long in a tackle on Martyn Williams at the back of a line-out and Stephen Jones kicked the 33rd-minute penalty.

Another throw to Williams at the back spelled danger for Wales as the veteran flanker was unable to gather, but Fitzgerald blocked the defence from tackling O’Gara and Jones struck from 49 metres to give Wales a 6-0 lead going into the break.

Ireland began the second half with a Bowe burst down the right from O’Driscoll’s pass and an O’Gara cross-kick that Mark Jones made safe, but failed to mark before he stepped into touch.

 
Ireland celebrate in Cardiff as they win a historic Grand Slam
That gave Ireland the platform and territory their forwards craved and after a series of close-quarter drives, O’Driscoll’s good leg strength and body angle was enough for him to claim the score.

French television match official Romain Poite had to make that decision in the 44th minute, but two minutes later Bowe claimed O’Gara’s chip and raced away from the pursuing Shane Williams to score under the posts.

O’Gara converted both tries for a 14-6 lead, but Wales were soon back in the hunt.

O’Callaghan’s petulant push on Mike Phillips after the scrum-half had knocked on gave fly-half Jones the chance to hit the mark, which he did via an upright.

A timely O’Driscoll tackle on Tom Shanklin helped thwart a Wales attack and Bowe was denied by a knock-on as he won an aerial joust with Ospreys team-mate Williams.

The other aerial battle, at the line-outs, was also going in Ireland’s direction. But Irish composure again failed them to allow Jones to kick a fourth penalty.

Wales coach Warren Gatland attempted to solve his side’s line-out issues by sending Luke Charteris on for Gough and Huw Bennett for hooker Matthew Rees ahead of the final quarter.

A rare long-range Gavin Henson penalty attempt fell short after 68 minutes and Ireland brought on Peter Stringer at scrum-half for O’Leary for the final 10 minutes.

And that is when the drama truly unfolded. For the first time in the game, Wales’ strike runners began to make their mark.

Wing Williams slipped to end one attack, but after Phillips’s thunderous charge through the Welsh defence, Jones dropped the goal that put his side back into the lead.

O’Gara replied moments later after his opposite number kicked out on the full to give Ireland the attacking platform.

Jones had one last chance to redeem the season for Wales, but his effort from just inside the Ireland half fell short and Ireland were at last able to taste Grand Slam champagne.

——————————————————————————–

Wales: Byrne; M Jones, Shanklin, Henson, S Williams; S Jones, Phillips; Jenkins, Rees, A. Jones, Gough, A Jones, D Jones, M Williams, R Jones (capt).
Replacements: Roberts for Byrne (30), Bennett for Rees (55), Charteris for Gough (55).
Not Used: Yapp, J Thomas, Fury, Hook.

Ireland: Kearney; Bowe, B O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, Fitzgerald; O’Gara, O’Leary; Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O’Callaghan, O’Connell, Ferris, D Wallace, Heaslip.
Replacements: Murphy for Kearney (66), P Wallace for Fitzgerald (76), Stringer for O’Leary (69), Best for Flannery (68), Leamy for Ferris (blood, 7).
Not Used: Court, M O’Driscoll.

Att: 74,625

Gatland made his comments ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash in Cardiff in which Ireland bid for the Grand Slam and Wales solely for the championship.

Gatland said: “Probably, out of all the teams in the Six Nations, the Welsh players dislike the Irish the most.

“Players’ experiences against Ireland haven’t always been the greatest, so they are very motivated.”

Gatland had a a 38-Test reign as Ireland coach between 1998 and 2001 and his comments came after he named a team showing eight changes from the line-up that fumbled its way to a 20-15 win against Six Nations wooden-spoon favourites Italy last weekend.

Ireland are on the verge of winning the Grand Slam for the first time since 1948. But Wales could retain the Six Nations trophy if they beat Ireland by 13 points or more.

They last achieved that at Ireland’s expense 26 years ago – while a victory of any description would secure a third Triple Crown in five seasons.

Gatland added: “It’s about winning the game first, win the Triple Crown, deny them the Grand Slam and then see what position we are in.

“There is a lot of pressure and expectation on the Irish team to come to our back-yard and perform.

“After the Scottish game [on Saturday], the Irish players were an hour-and-a-half in the changing room celebrating and singing, so they were clearly happy where they were at.

“It’s how they handle that pressure. There has been expectation on them over a number of years and in a couple of World Cups as well.

“At international level, when there has been that expectation either to perform in Six Nations tournaments or World Cups, they’ve sometimes faltered a little bit.

“It will be interesting to see how [coach] Declan [Kidney] handles that and how the players handle that this week.

“They’ve performed well in this Six Nations, but we’re at home with a massive crowd behind us.

The only real surprise is Powell keeping his place but perhaps his physical approach is what’s needed against the irish

the magnificent sevens
“We’ve got to really concentrate on ourselves and put them under as much pressure as we can.”

Reflecting on events in the Eternal City, Gatland said: “I’ve been criticised for the number of changes I made, and in hindsight maybe we made too many changes.

“I am not afraid to put my hand up and say maybe it was the wrong decision. Tactically, we got some things wrong against Italy.

“We feel we haven’t played as well as we could have done in this Six Nations and we want to address that.

“To win the title again would be a massive achievement. If we play to our potential on Saturday, we are capable of winning and winning well.”

He added: “With a healthy head-start, you have to say Ireland are probably favourites to take the title.

“But we are confident we can come up with a win – and who knows what will happen if we can get ourselves ahead in the game and that Millennium Stadium factor begins to kick in?”

——————————————————————————–

Wales: Lee Byrne; Mark Jones, Tom Shanklin, Gavin Henson, Shane Williams; Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips; Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Adam Jones, Ian Gough, Alun-Wyn Jones, Ryan Jones (capt), Martyn Williams, Andy Powell.
Replacements: Huw Bennett, John Yapp, Luke Charteris, Dafydd Jones, Warren Fury, James Hook, Jamie Roberts.

Ireland: Rob Kearney; Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll (capt), Gordon D’Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald; Ronan O’Gara, Tomas O’Leary; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell (capt), Stephen) Ferris, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Rory Best, Tom Court, M O’Driscoll, Denis Leamy, Peter Stringer, Paul Wallace, Geordan Murphy.

The ex-Wales captain has been part of the Cardiff Blues coaching set-up for two years and is still under contract.

Negotiations between the Blues and the Welsh Rugby Union are ongoing, Gatland having stated his desire to have his back-room staff in place by Christmas.

Howley, 37, was one of Gatland’s key players in a successful time at Wasps.

The London side’s current head coach – Shaun Edwards – was Gatland’s assistant at that time, and he could still come into the Wales set-up in a part-time role to look after defence.

The appointment of Bridgend-born former scrum-half Howley, who won 59 Wales caps and two for the Lions, seems likely to spell the end of Nigel Davies’ involvement with the national team.

Davies was attack coach under former boss Gareth Jenkins and took over as caretaker coach for last month’s one-off Test against South Africa following Jenkins’s departure.

Gatland has been meeting the rest of Jenkins’s back-room team this week, with decisions to be made over Davies, kicking coach Neil Jenkins, defence coach Rowland Phillips and forwards coach Robin McBryde.

The games will be South Africa’s first home games since winning the World Cup, and will be followed by a Test with Italy ahead of the Tri Nations series.

Wales fell to a 34-12 defeat against the Springboks in Cardiff last month.

They have beaten the Boks just once in a 101-year history of encounters between the sides, and have never triumphed in South Africa.

Speaking on BBC Wales’ Scrum V rugby programme, Evans cited naive play in the 12-34 loss to South Africa, played under caretaker coach Nigel Davies.

Gatland takes over next month and Evans expects rapid change, but warns we must look at deeper problems in the game.

“I think the initial improvement will be dramatic, but the next step will be the crucial one,” said Evans.

“Gatland’s focus will be the Test team, but we need to deliver a sustainable future for Welsh rugby and that will be the job of the [yet to be appointed] Elite Performance Director [EPD].

“On the field, though, there appeared to be a frantic desire to do something out of nothing, then you look at South Africa and they were simply ruthlessly efficient.

“We were lateral, lacked aggression going into the tackle and made mistakes when we had attacking chances. There is a lack of mental toughness.”
 
Evans’ views were supported by former Wales captain and outside-half Jonathan Davies.

“[South Africa coach] Jake White was right when he said it’s all about composure,” Davies told Scrum V.

“Wales are tactically naive and try to play too much football. They fail to cross the gain line and don’t kick enough from bad ball.

“You can’t question the commitment and the talent is there, so over the next four years we need continuity with players and coaching staff.

“Gatland is a very good coach, and he will bring maturity, discipline, a set-piece platform, and a strong defensive pattern.

“Beyond that, the EPD needs to go knocking on [Welsh Rugby Union group chief executive] Roger Lewis’ door to get the money and resources for the grassroots game.”

Davies believes that a place needs to be found within Welsh rugby for Nigel Davies and the rest of former coach Gareth Jenkins’ back-room staff.

“They have all gained so much experience from what happened at the World Cup,” said Davies.

“We can’t lose that and there has to be a coaching role for them at some level in Wales.”

The Springboks scored five tries on the way to their 34-12 victory at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Tries from Juan Smith, Jaque Fourie (2), JP Pietersen and Ryan Kankowski proved too much for the Welsh.

Nigel Davies’ side showed flashes of what they are capable of with Colin Charvis and Morgan Stoddart crossing either side of half-time.

While Wales dominated first-half territory, the South Africans were clinical with the possession they had.

Nearly every venture into Wales’ 22 resulted in points for the world champions.

Outside-half Francois Steyn got their first points of the game, sending over an early penalty, after Wales number eight Jonathan Thomas had been penalised for a high tackle on Bakkies Botha.

The set-piece was always going to be the most crucial area of the game and Wales struggled in both the line-out and in the scrum.

In particular, prop Rhys Thomas, making his first Wales start, was being given a torrid time by CJ van der Linde.

It took the South Africans until midway through the first half to get their first try of the afternoon.

Flanker Juan Smith scored it, beating several weak tackles and make it 10-0.

Hook, who had earlier dislocated a finger, was then the victim of a high tackle from South African flanker Schalk Burger to give Wales their first opportunity to add some points.

But Hook, still rattled from the hit by Burger, sent his penalty wide from in front of the posts.

The Springboks punished Wales with two tries in five minutes, both coming from centre Fourie.

His first came in the corner after quick hands gave South Africa space out wide.

Minutes later a clinical move from a South African line-out saw Fourie cut through the Wales midfield with ease.

Wales looked to be heading towards a first-half whitewash but just before the break Charvis finished off Stoddart’s chip and chase for 22-5.

It was Charvis’ 22nd try for Wales, also making him the world record try scorer for a forward.

South Africa took just four minutes to respond in the second half with the unusually quiet Bryan Habana showing blistering pace out wide before releasing Pietersen to cross for 27-10.

Andre Pretorius sent over the conversion, his third of the game, as South Africa moved into a comfortable lead.

Wales continued to plug away and Stoddart, making his Wales debut, got his reward for a decent game.

James Hook created it, launching a cross-field kick behind South Africa’s defence for Stoddart to gratefully receive and touch down for Wales’ second try.

That sparked mass changes from both sides and the game became disrupted as a result.

Mike Phillips injected his usual physical presence following his introduction, upsetting more than one South Africa player in the process.

But South Africa continued to put pressure on Wales’ defence and with 12 minutes remaining number eight Kankowski finished off an overlap to increase his side’s lead.

Wales pressed for their third try of the game but the experienced South African defence held out to send White off in style.

For Wales’ new coach Warren Gatland, who takes over from caretaker coach Davies, the performances of several of the newcomers to the squad would have given him encouragement ahead of next year’s Six Nations.

——————————————————————————–

Wales: Stoddart, M. Jones, Parker, Henson, Shanklin, Hook, Peel, Jenkins, Bennett, R. Thomas, Evans, A. Jones, Charvis, Sowden-Taylor, J. Thomas.
Replacements: James for Stoddart (69), Sweeney for Hook (76), Phillips for Peel (53), T. Thomas for Bennett (53), D. Jones for R. Thomas (69), Charteris for Evans (53), Popham for Charvis (61).

South Africa: Pienaar, Pietersen, Fourie, Steyn, Habana, Pretorius, Januarie, van der Linde, Smit, J. du Plessis, Botha, Muller, Burger, Smith, Kankowski.
Replacements: Ndungane for Pietersen (75), Olivier for Pretorius (59), Jantjes for Januarie (78), B. du Plessis for van der Linde (75), van der Merwe for J. du Plessis (64), van den Berg for Botha (40), Lobberts for Kankowski (78).
Sin Bin: van den Berg (48), B. du Plessis (77).

James Hook is preferred at fly-half to Stephen Jones, partnering Dwayne Peel.

Robin Sowden-Taylor is handed the seven shirt, with Dragons veteran Colin Charvis at blind-side flanker and Jon Thomas starting at number eight.

Henson last played for Wales in June during the tour to Australia, missing out on World Cup selection, but last started a game for his country – again against the Wallabies – more than a year ago.

Cardiff Blues prop Gethin Jenkins captains Wales from loose-head, with prop Rhys Thomas locking the scrum on the other side.

Huw Bennett is chosen at hooker, holding off the challenge of the Blues’ Thomas Rhys Thomas who is named on the bench.

Rookie wing Tom James had been tipped to start in opposition to Springbok speedster Brian Habana but has to be content to be named among the replacements.

Instead caretaker coach Nigel Davies has erred on the side of caution by naming James’ regional colleague Tom Shanklin out of position in the 11 shirt.

Shanklin is normally found at outside centre, but Sonny Parker forms an all-Ospreys midfield with Henson that is further aided by Hook’s inclusion at 10.

Scarlets and Lions fly-half Jones is on the bench, with Mike Phillips the reserve scrum-half.

Prop Duncan Jones, lock Luke Charteris and back-row Alix Popham complete the bench, with Michael Owen missing out completely despite a good game for the Dragons in their loss to London Irish.

Stoddart, 23, had been dropped from the squad when Davies trimmed the numbers from 31 to 24 on Sunday night.

But the Scarlets youngster returned in place of the injured Lee Byrne and will now make his debut.

Shane Williams (thigh) and Matthew Rees (hand) are out injured, while Adam Jones, Ian Gough, Gareth Cooper and Ceri Sweeney were lost in the cut.

The Springboks match will be Davies’ only game as coach before Warren Gatland takes over in December.

Davies had promised to base his final selection on the weekend’s Heineken Cup action.

After disappointing performances from all four regional teams, Adam Jones, Gough and Stoddart were the major casualties, while Williams missed the Ospreys loss at Gloucester and Rees picked up his hand injury in the Scarlets’ defeat to Wasps.

The hooker is expected to be out for around six weeks.

World Cup captain Gareth Thomas missed out on the original squad, along with Will James, the injured Chris Horsman, Kevin Morgan and Dafydd James.

——————————————————————————–

Wales team v South Africa:

Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets); Mark Jones (Scarlets), Sonny Parker (Ospreys), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), Tom Shanklin (Blues); James Hook (Ospreys), Dwayne Peel (Scarlets); Gethin Jenkins (Blues, capt), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Rhys Thomas (Dragons), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Colin Charvis (Dragons), Robin Sowden-Taylor (Blues), Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys).
Replacements: T Rhys Thomas (Blues), Duncan Jones (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Dragons), Alix Popham (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Ospreys), Stephen Jones (Scarlets), Tom James (Blues).

 
But Shane Williams (thigh) and Matthew Rees (hand) miss out due to injury.

Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Cooper, Morgan Stoddart, Adam Jones and Ian Gough are cut from the 31 men named last week.

That leaves full-back Lee Byrne, rookie wing Tom James, prop Rhys Thomas and his namesake hooker Rhys Thomas set for places in the team, named on Tuesday.

Veteran flanker Colin Charvis is hotly tipped to start at open-side as the other contender, Robin Sowden-Taylor, is being kept out of the Blues team by Martyn Williams, who has retired from Test rugby.

The Springboks match will be Davies’ only game as coach before Warren Gatland takes over in December.

Davies had promised to base his final cut on the weekend’s Heineken Cup action.

After disappointing performances from all four regional teams, Adam Jones, Gough and Stoddart are the major casualties, while Williams missed the Ospreys loss at Gloucester and Rees picked up his hand injury in the Scarlets’ defeat to Wasps.

The hooker is expected to be out for around six weeks.

Henson last played for Wales on the summer tour to Australia, but missed out on World Cup selection because his fitness was not at the required level after long injury absences.

He has been in regular regional action this season, but there have been doubts that he is back to his best, Wales legend Phil Bennett saying that it is “debatable” whether he is ready for a Test return.

“It hasn’t been a great weekend results-wise for our regional teams, but certain players have still been able to put their hands up and get themselves selected for the squad to face the world champions,” said Davies.

“Henson has moved his game on another step and is showing signs of playing like his old self again. He offers us a variety of options and the whole of Wales is looking forward to seeing his form continue to improve.

“Shane Williams would be a loss for any team, but Tom James is an exciting winger who gets the opportunity to come into the fold and he is a quality prospect for the future.

“Byrne is back in the frame and his presence at full-back and his big left boot have edged Stoddart out of contention – although the young Scarlet is also definitely one for the future.

“In the forwards, Michael Owen is someone who has caught the eye in particular alongside Luke Charteris for the Dragons.

“Prop Rhys Thomas has been on our radar at a national level for some time and he has been impressive since returning from injury.”

World Cup captain Gareth Thomas missed out on the original squad, along with Will James, the injured Chris Horsman, Kevin Morgan and Dafydd James.

——————————————————————————–

Wales squad to face South Africa:

Backs: Lee Byrne (Ospreys), Mark Jones (Scarlets), Tom James (Blues), Tom Shanklin (Blues), Jamie Robinson (Blues), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), Sonny Parker (Ospreys), Stephen Jones (Scarlets), James Hook (Ospreys), Michael Phillips (Ospreys), Dwayne Peel (Scarlets)

Forwards: Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys), Alix Popham (Scarlets), Colin Charvis (Dragons), Robin Sowden-Taylor (Blues), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Michael Owen (Dragons), Luke Charteris (Dragons), Rhys Thomas (Dragons), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), T Rhys Thomas (Blues), Gethin Jenkins (Blues, capt), Duncan Jones (Ospreys)

 
But World Cup captain Gareth Thomas misses out, along with Will James.

Chris Horsman, Kevin Morgan and Dafydd James are all injured, while Martyn Williams has retired from Test rugby.

Morgan Stoddart, Tom James, Lee Byrne, prop Rhys Thomas, Luke Charteris and Robin Sowden-Taylor come in, while South Africa have lost Victor Matfield.

The World Cup-winning lock has been released due to personal commitments.

The Wales squad will be cut to 24 after this weekend’s Heineken Cup games.

The Springboks match will be Davies’ only game in charge before new Wales coach Warren Gatland takes over in December.
 
“We’ll identify the squad for the selection of the final 24 after the last Heineken Cup game by the Welsh regions on Saturday evening,” Davies told BBC Sport Wales.

“This announcement is designed to let the players know they are in with a chance and we will be looking for them to react positively in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Heineken Cup.

“Henson is one of the players who is in the category of needing a big game this weekend to convince us he is ready to return to the international arena.

“He has been showing encouraging signs for the Ospreys and it will be a tough test for him at Gloucester playing against Mike Tindall and Anthony Allen.

“We have to remember that this is a squad for a one-off Test, not a series.

“We still need a certain amount of experience to take on a team of the calibre of South Africa, and with Martyn Williams retiring, we felt we needed to retain the unique talents and physicality of Colin Charvis within the group.”

Davies paid tribute to 100-cap man Thomas, who has not ruled himself out of future international consideration.

“Gareth is still making himself available to Wales, but we have to balance that with the need to move forward,” said Davies.

“He’s a very influential character who has been fabulous for Wales, but [new captain] Gethin Jenkins needs a bit of space to exert his own personality on the team.”

Hot selection debates surround the full-back spot, with Byrne and youngster Stoddart – the only uncapped man in the squad – in outstanding form.

Up front, a long-term successor is needed for Martyn Williams at open-side flanker, with Sowden-Taylor likely to be the favourite, although Charvis could delay his introduction to the team.

In-form Dragons prop Rhys Thomas could claim the tight-head shirt ahead of Adam Jones.

——————————————————————————–

Full Wales training squad:

Backs: Lee Byrne (Ospreys), Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets), Mark Jones (Scarlets), Shane Williams (Ospreys), Tom James (Blues), Tom Shanklin (Blues), Jamie Robinson (Blues), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), Sonny Parker (Ospreys), Stephen Jones (Scarlets), James Hook (Ospreys), Ceri Sweeney (Dragons), Michael Phillips (Ospreys), Dwayne Peel (Scarlets), Gareth Cooper (Gloucester)

Forwards: Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys), Alix Popham (Scarlets), Colin Charvis (Dragons), Robin Sowden-Taylor (Blues), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Michael Owen (Dragons), Luke Charteris (Dragons), Ian Gough (Ospreys), Rhys Thomas (Dragons), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), T Rhys Thomas (Blues), Gethin Jenkins (Blues, capt), Duncan Jones (Ospreys)