GERRY THORNLEYon how Warren Gatland's side deserved their Grand Slam, with talented young stars producing match-winning plays when needed

A NON-VINTAGE Super Saturday to round off a non-vintage campaign. The final round of games may have spared us a Sunday afternoon kick-off, but rather typical of the tournament, it was full of crash-test-dummy rugby with fairly little in the way of ingenuity and thrills.

Fair play to Wales, like all Grand Slam-winning sides, they made their own luck, witness the end-game winning drive against Ireland which had it not yielded an erroneous penalty, would probably have earned a try, drop goal or an alternative penalty.

On that day and throughout they were hardly ever at full-strength but adapted to injuries with a sequence of young match winners – George North, Alex Cuthbert, Scott Williams and Cuthbert again – coming up with match-winning plays.

Carrying on from their World Cup semi-final, they have a crop of young players that ought to have them in good shape for years to come and perhaps the only handicap may be providing the head coach (for a year) along with much of his back-up staff and playing squad for the Lions’ trek to Oz next summer.

England, too, have been radically reinvented and more of their young guns are liable to emerge as strong Lions candidates over the next 12 months or more.

Only Wesley Fofana emerged as an eye-catching new talent from either Les Bleus or the Azzurri, who along with the Scots have filled the bottom two places for the last five years. And there’s scant evidence this is going to change any time soon.

Otherwise, the competition’s oldest teams only had the old reliables such as Thierry Dusautoir and Sergio Parisse, along with William Servat, as contenders for the team of the championship, with the latter partly a sentimental choice thanks to the curious selection policy of Phillipe Saint-Andre. (And if only he had started Julien Dupuy and Lionel Beauxis against Ireland.)

One could well believe the theory that Dimitri Yachvili was excused duty from the Irish and English games to help preserve Biarritz’s Top 14 status. In his five league games for Biarritz they have won four. In the 15 without him, they have won two.

Beauxis’ kicking radar can be wildly askew but to bring Francois Trinh-Duc into the endgame against England for the attempt at a winning drop goal was bizarre.

Then there’s the heavy emphasis on straight running, physicality, defence and a kicking game, and there’s little evidence in the coaching history of Saint-Andre and Patrice Lagisquet that France will be inclined to vary from that script.

An ageing team given one last tilt at glory following the heartbreak of their one-point World Cup final defeat, France look as if they will have to rebuild. Then again, like England and Wales, they do have the numbers and talent to do so. It’s usually more of a gradual process for the rest, including Ireland.

15 ROB KEARNEY

Leigh Halfpenny’s contribution to the Grand Slam, not least as goal-kicker, was immense and Ben Foden was ultimately reborn but the outstanding Kearney was astonishing under high ball in defence and attack, and full of inventive running.

14 TOMMY BOWE

Tournament’s supreme try-scorer, excellent in employing outside-in defence and also in chasing high kicks. Hard to fault at all.

13 JONATHAN DAVIES

May not look the most athletic, but no doubting his huge contribution, such as game-turning try in opener in Aviva and his influential effort in Slam clincher.

12 WESLEY FOFANA

Still a bit raw around the edges and messed around by his coach, but tries in each of his first four games and the one bright spark for France going forward.

11 GEORGE NORTH

The prototype for the new breed of winger, phenomenally powerful runner and game-breaker, whose barnstorming run and offload for Davies’ try and his own match-winner in the Aviva set up the Welsh Slam.

10 OWEN FARRELL

Jonathan Sexton had a good tournament and Rhys Priestland was actually a little iffy by comparison, but for a debut campaign to seamlessly and nervelessly switch from 12 to 10, embolden England’s game and kick everything was pretty impressive.

9 MIKE PHILLIPS

Edoardo Gori’s performance last Saturday was a ray of light for Italy but Phillips’ physicality around the fringes, big plays and, while he takes a step or two, the length, accuracy and pace of his pass made him the stand-out nine again.

1 GETHIN JENKINS

Cian Healy and Alex Coribisiero had big tournaments but Jenkins was again rock solid in the scrums, stepped in as captain and, as usual, was akin to a fourth backrower around the pitch.

2 WILLIAM SERVAT

The impact of the remarkable Toulouse hooker was lessened primarily by his coach, but in his farewell tournament Servat was immense every time he appeared on the pitch, making the French pack gel appreciably more.

3 DAN COLE

You could make a case for Adam Jones, in his third Grand Slam campaign, but for a Leicester reserve Dan Cole came of age in this tournament and specifically over the last two weekends.

4 RICHIE GRAY

As Scotland hit a wall and disintegrated, Gray was by some distance their stand-out performer. Outstanding in the lineouts and also a remarkable carrier, as evidenced by that try against Ireland.

5 IAN EVANS

Paul O’Connell remained peerless, but given his campaign was curtailed to three games you’d have to say the influence of the athletic, hard-working Ian Evans was greater.

6 STEPHEN FERRIS

Likewise, you could make a case for others, most notably Dan Lydiate and Thierry Dusautoir, but Ferris was a force of nature, especially in leading the Irish defence, in every game.

7 CHRIS ROBSHAW

As with O’Connell, injury curtailed Sam Warburton’s influence whereas you have to say as a debut captain Robshaw’s sheer volume of work set the tone for a rebuilt, more humble and honest English effort.

8 BEN MORGAN

Fast-tracking the supposedly unfit Morgan from two appearances off the bench to, ultimately, man-of-the-match efforts against France and England was probably Stuart Lancaster’s best trick.