The final five minutes of Wales’s third Six Nations Grand Slam in just eight seasons were marked by as fervent a sporting atmosphere as you will witness.

Wales played out the last few moments of the game competently and patiently, making sure possession was secured without attempting to embark on anything spectacular as Hymns and Arias reverberated around the Millennium Stadium.

Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in party mood as Wales celebrate winning the 2012 Six Nations Grand Slam

Trailing by seven points, France could have denied their hosts the Slam – although not their 25th championship – with a converted try, but Wales dug deep to frustrate a French side which had been largely rudderless from the opening kickoff.

Wales hardly offered much in attack, but barely had to, just about weathering any occasional outbreaks of French fight (helped by a bizarre decision late on by the usually imperious Imanol Harinordoquy not to pass out wide when a try was surely on.

But as throughout this Six Nations, Wales’s defence carried them to victory. The back row of Toby Faletau captain Sam Warburton – who again left the field at the interval, this time with a shoulder problem – and particularly man of the match (and possibly the tournament) Dan Lydiate were again immense.

Lydiate’s tackle on Wesley Fofana, when the Welshman, in his preferred style, went super-low in order to prevent the attacker gaining any momentum, led to Leigh Halfpenny’s 52-metre penalty.

The flanker was slow to get up, exhausted after another huge effort. That he was given the match accolade was no surprise, his workrate summing up the commitment made by the whole squad.

Under Shaun Edwards’s expert tutelage, Wales conceded just three tries and 58 points all tournament, the lowest points total against in the Six Nations since England in 2003.

And while the back row was tackling everything which moved, the scrums were steady and Wales’s lineout was not quite as bad as it has recently been.

The Welsh side emerges on to the Millennium Stadium pitch before their 16-9 win over France. Photo: Flickr, sum of marc

Meanwhile, the Welsh backline was exciting, physical and clinical. The side scored 10 tries in their five matches, but all 10 came from backs (three for Alex Cuthbert, two each for Jonathan Davies and Leigh Halfpenny, and one for George North, Jamie Roberts and Scott Williams).

It was the first time since England’s Five Nations success in 1996 – albeit when they only scored three tries in their four games – when a team has won the championship without a forward scoring a single point.

Not that the forwards weren’t an integral part of a victorious Welsh side this time around – indeed, every member of the squad played a vital role in Warren Gatland’s second Slam as Wales coach.
And with the youth throughout the side – particularly among the backs – all the signs are positive for the Principality.

Wales hoping for controversy-free win

The last time Wales met France, a red card for Wales’s inspirational captain Sam Warburton defined the team’s brave but ultimately unfruitful World Cup run.

Tomorrow’s referee, Craig Joubert, also courted controversy when his officiating of the final attracted criticism from the defeated French side as well as many neutrals.

And there will be a degree of apprehension before tomorrow’s game because of the significant role played by the officials so far in this year’s event.

Wales’s opening weekend win in Dublin – pipping the Irish 23-21 thanks to a last-gasp Leigh Halfpenny penalty – was overshadowed by two so-called “tip-tackling” incidents.

Halfpenny’s winning kick came after referee Wayne Barnes judged, perhaps harshly, Ireland’s Stephen Ferris to have lifted Ian Evans dangerously.

But Ferris’s sin-binning meant he received the exact same punishment as Welshman Bradley Davies, who committed a far more dangerous offence earlier in the half.

Davies was spared a red card – though not the wrath of the subsequent citing committee – on the wrongful advice of Barnes’s touch judge and fellow Englishman Dave Pearson.

Compatriot and former World Cup whistleman Fred Howard told The Cardiffian after the match he thought Davies deserved red: “Pearson was very wrong in recommending a yellow card for the first [Davies’s] offence,” he said.

Wales’s home win over Scotland was less shrouded in controversy, although Frenchman Romain Poite looked to have made an error in disallowing a Scottish score for an apparent knock-on.

But when Wales secured the Triple Crown thanks to a 19-12 triumph over England at Twickenham, it sparked a huge debate over whether David Strettle had touched down for what could have been an equalising try with the last play of the game.

Strettle later insisted he had grounded the ball despite the attentions of Wales’s George North, Jonathan Davies and Halfpenny. But television match official Iain Ramage decided the play was inconclusive, allowing Wales escaped with the win – and the Triple Crown trophy.

Wales will point to Alain Rolland’s dismissal of Warburton as proof Wales have not always benefited from controversial decisions.

But both sides will be hoping Mr Joubert plays a low-key role in the sides’ Six Nations finale and the game is not won or lost thanks to the interpretation of the man in the middle.