THE Grand Slam, the Triple Crown and Six Nations champions for the first time, plus a first victory over Ireland at home for 22 years all in one fell swoop - that's what Wales achieved on a glorious, unforgettable day at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday when the end result for once matched the splendour of the occasion.

It's never been done before, simply because the Six Nations didn't exist until six years ago and Wales hadn't won the Grand Slam for 27 long years, so the team of 2005 can be written into the history books.

Whether it's the first of many to follow the pattern of the golden decade of the Seventies only time will tell, but for now this class has earned immortality and the Seventies can be well and truly put to bed, if not forgotten.

But ironically there was even a remarkable parallel with the last Grand Slam-winning team of 1978, when Newport three-quarter Gareth Evans stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Gerald Davies on the wing, and this time Mark Taylor came in from the shadows in the same position when Rhys Williams and Hal Luscombe were both forced to withdraw.

It has been a phenomenal achievement because unlike their illustrious predecessors, this Welsh team were never given a chance at the beginning of the tournament, which they started as rank outsiders.

Ireland were most critics' favourites, followed by France and England, with Wales nowhere.

And even in the build-up to the Ireland game they were rubbished by former England coach Dick Best, among others, claiming their success was built on sand and that the British Lions tour party for New Zealand this summer should not be built around Wales.

They will all have to eat their words now as Wales added the pre-tournament favourites to their list of conquests.

Even if they didn't do it with quite the style of the second half against France and the first half against Scotland, they showed they have other strings to their bow.

For this time they had to withstand a pretty determined Irish side prepared to give it a real go, a side with a major line-out presence, a solid set piece, a kicking outside-half and some handy runners.

Yert again Wales came out on top, this time in a match more resembling a war of attrition as they proved they could emerge triumphant from a tight game as well.

But more than anything this Welsh team proved they could rise to the occasion, that they did have the stamina to go the extra mile and that they could shut out all the pre-match hype and deal with the sense of expectancy from their fanatical fans.

And those fans made their presence felt as never before, from the time they lined the route from the team hotel to the ground, from the ferocious singing of the national anthem as they tried to lift their team, and near the end when it was backs-to-the-wall time, and they sang with such passion again that even the engrossed players admitted afterwards they could hear it and feel it out on the pitch.

Really Wales won, if not exactly as they pleased - it was too competitive for that - but comfortably enough against what was expected to be another stern challenge.

They led 16-6 at the interval and then coasted ahead 29-6 before Ireland threatened with two tries in eight minutes in the final quarter, but there was never any likelihood of Wales being overhauled.

And so it proved as the final whistle signalled mass celebration, the huge 74,000-strong crowd singing with renewed fervour, Gareth Thomas and Michael Owen being jointly presented with the championship trophy and the whole squad and back-up team going on a lap of honour.

Rarely can such a big occasion have lived up to expectations so completely. The weather was right, the result was appropriate, the atmosphere was incredible, no-one left his or her seat for ages at the end -- it was just one of those days when everything went right and nobody wanted to end, a bit reminiscent of the balmy day in Durban in 1997 when the British Lions clinched their first Test series triumph in South Africa.

Wales had heroes all over the pitch. Scrum- half Dwayne Peel earned the man-of-the-match award for the second match running with another terrific performance, though centre Tom Shanklin couldn't have been far behind with a brilliant display in attack and defence against Brian O'Driscoll, while Brent Cockbain had a great game at lock and Gethin Jenkins proved a real powerhouse at loose head prop, certain of his Lions Test place this summer.

It was Jenkins who got Wales' first try when he hounded Irish outside-half Ronan O'Gara, who had one of his least effective games for Ireland, charged down his clearance kick and booted on before showing the patience to fall on the ball as it crossed the line.

No triumphant return to the stadium where O'Gara was a matchwinner two years ago.

Jenkins' try followed an early penalty by O'Gara, levelled by a Gavin Henson dropped goal which was touched in flight and helped over the crossbar by an Irish player.

A monster Henson penalty from two yards inside his own half and a Stephen Jones penalty before the interval made it 16-6 at the interval.

Then came the most crucial period of the match when Wales piled on 13 unanswered points from two more Jones penalties and their second try, a real beauty as Owen, whose vision and ball-handling ability again lit up the game, burst away, Martyn Williams played scrum-half and Shanklin put in a great run to send the supporting Kevin Morgan storming over for a cracker, which Jones converted.

Ireland then staged something of a fightback as replacement prop Marcus Horan burst over for a try, followed by another when David Humphreys, who replaced O'Gara and orchestrated the comeback, kicked high to the corner and Geordan Murphy gathered to jink inside and over for a try.

Humphreys converted both, but in between Jones landed his fourth penalty for a match haul of 16 points and a sure place on the Lions tour, probably as the Test outside-half.

Wales had proved they could come out on top in a crunch, competitive match by getting the better of Ireland and England, while they showed great courage to return from the dead in France with some spectacular rugby and they simply swept Italy and Scotland aside, scoring six tries each time.

One against England and two apiece against France and Ireland made for a grand total of 17 from their five games - another record on a day of records.

It was an unforgettable day which turned into a weekend of celebrations, did wonders for the Welsh beer industry and the economy in general and heralded weeks if not months more of the feelgood factor.

For Welsh rugby is truly back where it belongs - at the top of the tree.

Wales: K Morgan, M Taylor, T Shanklin, G Henson, S Williams, S Jones, D Peel, G Jenkins, M Davies (R McBryde 68), A Jones (J Yapp 66), B Cockbain, P Sidoli, R Jones, M Owen (captain), M Williams.

Scorers -- tries: G Jenkins, K Morgan; conversions: S Jones (2); penalties: Jones (4), Henson; dropped goal: Henson.

Ireland: G Murphy, G Dempsey, B O'Driscoll (captain), K Maggs, D Hickie, R O'Gara (D Humphreys 50), P Stringer, R Corrigan (M Horan 60), S Byrne (F Sheahan 62), J Hayes, M O'Kelly (D O'Callaghan 62), P O'Connell, S Easterby, A Foley (E Miller 59), J O'Connor.

Scorers -- tries: M Horan, G Murphy; conversions: D Humphreys (2); penalties: R O'Gara (2).