The phoenix from the flames - remembering the Welsh Grand Slam of 2008
Ryan Jones lifts the Six Nations trophy after Wales completed the Grand Slam in 2008
Credit: Reuters/Dylan Martinez
It is so often the case in sport that it is from rock bottom that the strongest foundations are built.
When a team reaches its lowest point, it can be the perfect place from which to rebuild in a fresh image and create a new legacy.
However, it is not often that process happens as rapidly as the Welsh Grand Slam-winning side of 2008 did.
Just months on from a dismal World Cup exit, Ryan Jones stood proudly on the podium and lofted the Six Nations trophy to the skies as the Welsh nation created a cacophony of joy, celebration and recognition that is rarely matched anywhere else.
Names were made in their run to the trophy - Lee Byrne laid the foundations for his rise to the top of the world game, James Hook established himself as the man to wrest the 10 jersey from Stephen Jones, Ryan Jones elevated himself to the level of one of Wales’ most iconic captains and Shane Williams added another page to the truly astonishing legacy he has left on world rugby.
However, their ride to the title was far from straight-forward. What can be said, however, is it remains one of the finer redemption stories you are likely to find in rugby.
Warren arrives after World Cup failure
Warren Gatland had already made quite a name for himself as a coach at Wasps before taking the Wales job
Credit: David Rogers/Getty Images
Welsh rugby was at a crossroads in 2008.
A disappointing Six Nations the previous year, which had seen them finish fifth with only a solitary win to their name and a troubling loss to the Italians (although referee Chris White may have had a bigger hand in that than anyone), was followed by what can only be described as an abject exit from the 2007 World Cup at the hands of Fiji.
A 38-34 defeat in Nantes, after which it emerged Wales had been so confident of progression that they had already briefed the players on quarter-final preparations, and coach Gareth Jenkins was sacked in the car park of the stadium saw Welsh rugby hit its lowest ebb for decades.
However, even in darkness there is light - the sacking of Jenkins brought in one Warren Gatland. I’d wager a few Welsh rugby fans will remember his name.
His first task? The 2008 Six Nations tournament. Coming just three months after the World Cup disaster, expectations were not high.
The problem there is, as we all know well, that is exactly where Wales want to be.
Historic Twickenham comeback lights the fire
The Gatland era was opened in the toughest style anyone could have asked for - a trip across the Severn to face the old enemy.
Travelling to Twickenham to face England and looking for their first win there in 20 years, Wales found themselves 19-6 down at the break after a Toby Flood try and five kicks from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson.
For the first 40 minutes, the dream of a Grand Slam first time around for this new Welsh outfit looked a distant one indeed.
However, if any Welsh fans abandoned hope at half time that day, then it was quickly gathered up in abundance.
Step forward two of the key performers in this most thrilling of dramas - fullback Lee Byrne and flyhalf James Hook.
With a re-energised side having reduced the defecit to seven, Lee Byrne capitalised on some magnificent blindside work by Hook to go over for a try that brought Wales level after the latter nailed the touchline conversion.
Suddenly, the red dragon was roaring with gusto unforeseen.
Mike Phillips rounded off the incredible comeback by charging down Ian Balshaw’s kick and combining with Martyn Williams to go over for the game sealer.
Just like that, Wales had won and their nation believed that anything was possible.
Two, three and four
Shane Williams was hardly an unknown quantity by this stage, but the diminutive winger came to the fore as Wales marched forward in the 2008 tournament.
A double in a 30-15 win against Scotland, along with a score for the increasingly-dominant Hook, was followed by another brace against the Italians.
Byrne also added to his ever-growing reputation, which would see him considered among the best fullbacks in world rugby a year later, with his own two tries in a 47-8 mauling.
However, Wales could not relax with much sterner tests to come, and it was with some trepidation that the journey was made to Dublin and Croke Park for a showdown with Ireland.
A tense affair followed, with another Shane Williams try proving decisive as the Welsh outlasted the metronomic boot of Ronan O’Gara to record 16-12 victory.
A home tie against the typically flighty French was to follow in Cardiff - but no-one was getting cocky yet.
French masterclass seals redemption
Martyn Williams celebrates the try that clinched the Grand Slam against France in 2008
Credit: Getty Images
A Grand Slam decider has long been rugby’s great equaliser.
As any number of teams have shown in tournaments before and after 2008, the pressure of the final match can be the undoing of even the best-laid plans.
However, for this Welsh side, that turned out to not be a problem.
With the Millennium Stadium rarely seen in finer voice, the Welsh put a nervy first half behind them as another try to Player of the Tournament Shane Williams - his sixth of the year - helped blow the French away in the second half.
Wales recorded a resounding 29-12 victory to bring home the Grand Slam just months after an unceremonious World Cup exit that left them in some ways the laughing stock of the northern hemisphere.
As Mark Jones streaked clear in the dying moments of the match to start a passage of play that ended with the ageless Martyn Williams going over for the clinching try, it was as though the previous tournament had never happened as the Welsh crowd stood to a man to applaud the conquering heroes.
In that moment, the Warren Gatland legacy was born and Wales had truly taken on the role of the phoenix, rising from the flames, born anew.
And though they did not know it for sure, many in that Welsh crowd suspected Gatland and his team were not done there - and indeed they weren’t.
The likes of Lee Byrne, James Hook, Mike Phillips, Martyn Williams, Ryan Jones and Ian Gough are now etched into the annals of history as crucial parts of the side that came from the outers to claim one of the most remarkable Grand Slam victories in Six Nations history.
With the inscrutable Warren Gatland in charge and a group of players that were not only hitting their peaks individually but found a collective resolve few would have dreamed possible just months before, this Welsh team created one of the finest legacies the proud nation can remember.
