Grand Slam Man Read Free Page A

he is. If you make a mistake on the field, he's the first to run up to you and call you everything under the sun, just because he wants the best and he wants us to win. The first time I met him I thought, ‘Oh this guy really hates me.' But he's like that with everyone! And once you earn his respect, he's fine with you and now we get on really well.
    Gethin has been a fixture in the Wales front row for a long time now, as has his fellow prop Adam Jones. The Bomb, as we know Adam, just gets on with his business and he is the best in the world at it, in my view. He's second to none when it comes to scrummaging. All I want from my tighthead is for him to lock out the scrum and hit rucks. When it comes to looking at the stats on a Monday morning, Adam is always up there with the rucks he hits and he's a rock in the scrum. In terms of a person doing their job to a T, he's probably the best on the field. That's all you can ask. He's such a lovely guy as well.
    He and Gethin are like chalk and cheese in terms of personalities, but it just seems to work. Going into last season's Six Nations, they'd already got two Grand Slams under their belts and now another one was on its way.

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