Chapter Four

TRIPLE CROWN TIME

The build-up to the third game of the Six Nations championship against England was a weird time. Wales had only won once at Twickenham in twentyfour years, and yet as we prepared to head up to London we were being tipped as hot favourites. Some people were even suggesting it was a done deal and that we were certain to secure the victory that would win us the Triple Crown. We knew differently.

Going into the match, we were confident, but by no means did we think we would thump them, even if that's always what you want to do. This was England's first home game in the championship and we knew they would come out all guns blazing. It was going to be a massive test for us.

The English are big men and so physical. I think in the future they are going to be a real force. Like us, they are a young squad, and in the next couple of years they will really come into form.

We knew going up there it was going to be a battle, and it was. It was the toughest game of the championship for me. I was aching for days afterwards. All the boys were battered and bruised.

We always knew it would be close and it proved to be one hell of a Test match. I'd never played up in Twickenham before in the Six Nations, and it was an awesome experience to go in on the bus. There was a great atmosphere, with loads of Welsh fans around, and you knew this was going to be a special occasion.

The game was hard and physical from the outset. Our skipper Sam Warburton hurt his knee early on, but strapped it up and just dug in. He was desperate to stay on, especially after coming off at halftime in Ireland. You don't want to give anyone a chance to take your shirt and, in Sam's case, his understudy on the openside flank, Justin Tipuric, had been playing so well. ‘Tips' had had an awesome game when he came on against Ireland.

There's so much competition for places in the squad that the boys just dig in and play through the pain. That's why the team is so good to belong to. The guy next to you is going through the same pain as you are, and he's willing to put his body on the line, so you don't mind doing it either.

I always room with Sam when I am away with Wales. Numbers six and seven usually room together, so there's always a lot of banter between us. He's a quality player. He's been a bit unlucky with injuries this last year or so, but I think that's a knock-on effect from how he plays. He punches well above his weight for his size and he always puts his body on the line. Sooner or later it does catch up with you and you miss games. But when he's fit I think he's the best seven in the world. He's also a great skipper, because he leads by example. He may not say much but I don't think he has to. It's more a case of ‘Follow me, boys.' That's all I want from my captain.

Sam had a fantastic game that day at Twickenham, even though he was virtually playing on one leg. He led from the front and was quite rightly named Man of the Match. After about half an hour, he put in a crucial tackle on Manu Tuilagi when the powerful England centre looked certain to score a try. There was a stoppage of play after that and I remember watching a rerun on the big screen and thinking that was one hell of a tackle. He had no right to make it really, but he just dived head first at Tuilagi's legs and hauled him down. It was a fantastic effort and part of a great all-round performance from Sam on the day.

The other member of the back row through the Grand Slam campaign was my Dragons teammate Toby Faletau.

Toby is a law unto himself. It takes a while to get chatting to him because he's not only the politest guy you'd ever want to meet, he's also really shy. He does his talking by the way he plays. He is a world-class No 8 and he's only going to develop more. I don't know what he's made of, but the way he copes with the physical demands of the game is incredible. I'll say to him the day after a game, ‘How's your body feeling?' and he'll say, ‘Oh, I'm all right,' while I'm thinking, ‘I'm in bits here!'

Toby prefers to stay out of the limelight. When he played for the Dragons last season, he was getting Man of the Match week after week. But I think he'd rather not have had it, because it meant he had to do a TV interview after each game!

He's just a really humble guy. The more time you spend with him, the more you realise he's a good boy. It's great to have people like him in the squad.

I really like playing with Sam and Toby. We seem to complement each other. The back row is such a big part of the game. If you can get on top of your opponents in that area it goes a fair way to winning the match. So you need balance. You need a six who does a lot of tackling and hits quite a few rucks, a seven who scavenges for the ball, and a No 8 who is the main ball carrier. That's a good back row and I like to think we've got that with myself, Sam and Toby.

Those two guys were fantastic at Twickenham, where our victory was based on digging deep and taking our chances when they came. We looked in a bit of trouble when our flyhalf Rhys Priestland was sin-binned just after halftime. In the past, when we have gone down to fourteen men we have been punished, so this time we really tried to tighten things up. We looked to keep hold of the ball and it was the pickandgo area that was key. That period was crucial and it meant we were still in the game going into the closing stages.

Then it was ‘super sub' Scott Williams who took the chance that mattered, producing the individual moment of the match, four minutes from time. Scott ripped the ball off Courtney Lawes, chipped ahead and won the race to touch the ball down. When he scored the try, I was still on the 22 just waving him on! It was a great effort.

That key contribution from Scott again shows the strength in depth we have. He had come off the bench to replace the injured Jamie Roberts in the centre and he ended up winning the game for us. In our team you just know whoever comes on in a game is going to do a good job, and that keeps you on your toes for your place!

Scott's try put us in front 19–12, but there was still work to do and a dramatic finish to come.

We had managed to shut England out in terms of tries, but it was touch and go at the end.

In the last minute of the game, the England winger David Strettle went over in the corner.

I was running across the field and I didn't think it was a try. But the decision went up to the video referee and it was an agonising wait. We were desperate to know, but because the video screens are so high up you can't really see from the pitch. I couldn't make it out either way and I was just praying for the ref to signal ‘no try' and blow his whistle for the end of the game.

When he eventually did, I was so happy. I'd never won any silverware and to win the Triple Crown at Twickenham was just brilliant. It was an awesome feeling for all of us. And walking around the field afterwards with the trophy was a really good feeling. That day will stay as a massive highlight of my career. It's why you play the game: to be at the highest level and win the top prizes.

After the match, we had to go for ice treatment in our mobile cryotherapy unit, which was in the parking lot. We got out there OK, but on the way back the fans spotted us, so everybody wanted a picture. I remember walking back in as Sam was walking out. I said, ‘I wouldn't bother if I was you. You'll never get out of there.' I think he just had an ice pack!

That whole day was a great experience. We had won the Triple Crown. But there was still a bigger prize to go for.