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Anscombe stars in stunning Grand Slam victory

International | 16th March 2019


Gareth Anscombe was the star of the show as he kicked Wales to an emphatic victory over Ireland to seal a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam.

The Cardiff Blues ace gave Wales the perfect start as he dinked a trademark chip, with the outside of his boot, over the Irish defence to send Hadleigh Parkes over the whitewash after little more than a minute.

Anscombe added the extras and was soon forced to full-back with Dan Biggar coming on to replace the injured George North.

But he remained imperious at the back and kept the scoreboard ticking with a flawless kicking display that took his personal tally to 20 points.

He was rightfully given the man-of-the-match award as raucous celebrations unfolded at the Principality Stadium and the 27-year-old was overawed by the occasion.

“It’s hard to put into words what this means, we’ve worked incredibly hard over the last year,” said Anscombe.

“We have a habit of winning. It’s a special group and we worked hard for each other.

“We wanted to enjoy it. We’re in the best stadium in the world, in front of our people, and we wanted to take the game to them.

“It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for me. It’s a day and weekend to remember for Welsh rugby.

“The celebrations will be a couple of days, I think. I don’t know if I’ll go to training on Monday. I’ll have to ask the coach.”

 

Josh Navidi was also a stand out performer, with more successful tackles (28) than any other player, while Dillon Lewis impressed from the bench.