Wales clinch Six Nations and Grand Slam clean sweep
|(CNN)The rain sluiced down but the Cardiff crowd was unshrinking and the Welsh players irrepressible as they trounced defending champion Ireland to secure the Six Nations title and a Grand Slam season clean sweep of northern hemisphere international rugby.
Welsh triumphed 25-7 in a pulsating atmosphere at the Millennium Stadium to clinch its first title since 2013 and first Grand Slam for winning all five matches since 2012.
Center Hadleigh Parkes scored a try after 80 seconds and fly-half Gareth Anscombe kicked 20 points as Wales’ earned a fourth Grand Slam of the Six Nations era and third under Kiwi coach Warren Gatland, who is leaving his post after this autumn’s World Cup.