"It's absolutely amazing," he said. "You have dreams and what a great memory to take away. You dream for days like this and although France had their moments against we defended superbly.

“We’ve been pushed all the way in this championship.and have worked so hard for his. That is what has won us the championship. This is something special."

Coach Warren Gatland refused to take solo credit for the five match winning run saying: “It was a joint effort but the players are the ones who did the job and they deserve the credit. I'm really proud of them. The boys have worked hard in training and now they have a little bit of reward.

“At half time I told them just to stick at it and it might take 70 minutes to crack them. Once again our defensive effort was brilliant. They thoroughly deserve this Grand Slam."

Man-of-the-match Martyn Williams echoed the views of his skipper: "This is an unbelievable feeling. This is for all those people who have worked so hard.

"There were long periods in the first half when we were without the ball but that was when the character of this team really shone through. We have had a bit of luck along the way but as a group we've worked extremely hard for this Grand Slam.”

And replacement fly-half Stephen Jones added: "Things have snowballed since our first victory. The coaches have worked us hard.”