Six Nations: Why it will have to be Grand Slam or bust for Warren Gatland's fairy tale Wales farewell

Saturday's impressive victory over England has put Wales in the box seat for a first Grand Slam in seven years, but they cannot afford to slip up with the rivals still snapping at their heels

It would only take a look in the mirror to reveal why Wales should curb any talk of a Grand Slam immediately. The victory over England has left Warren Gatland’s side as the only team remaining in the Six Nations capable of sealing a clean sweep this year, and a glance at the fixture list suggests they have a strong chance of doing just that.

The trip north to Murrayfield to face Scotland would normally be referenced as something of a tricky hurdle to tackle, if 2017’s convincing defeat is anything to go by. But this Scotland side is set to be shorn of a long list of its most influential players, and as Warren Gatland pointed out in jest at the weekend, that was Rob Howley’s side while he was away on British and Irish Lions duty.

If Wales successfully negotiate their trip to Murrayfield, only Ireland will stand between them and a first Grand Slam since 2012 - something that will be all the more impressive in a Rugby World Cup year. 12 months ago Ireland were the clear favourites against every team they came up against, but it’s not entirely clear whether the same can be said this time around. Ireland have already been beaten by England, were less than convincing against Italy and are not exactly at full strength either.

But here lies the danger that Wales must be alert to. They themselves are yet to produce anything close to an 80 minute performance, and Gatland knows it.

“The sign of a good team is we can put various issues behind us pretty quickly and move on and start thinking about the next phases,” Gatland said of his own side, but he could easily have been talking about Ireland or Scotland.

That’s what has been proven over the first three weekends of the Six Nations. On their day, any side is capable of beating another - something that Italy reminded us on Sunday as they could easily have undone an off-colour Irish side. There’s no doubting that Wales find it easier to gee themselves up when England come to town, such is the ferocity of the Principality Stadium, but if they allow even the smallest bit of complacency to creep into their game over the next three weeks, they will come unstuck.

That simply cannot happen if Wales want to win the championship, and the likelihood is that if they want to take top spot for the fourth time under Gatland’s guidance, they will have to do it with a Slam. For if they slip up against Ireland, and England secure third bonus point of the championship against Italy next weekend, Eddie Jones’ side will be back in the driving seat.

England are only two points off Wales despite Saturday’s defeat thanks to the 10 combined tries they scored against Italy and France, while Wales really slipped up by not securing one in Rome against Italy like Ireland did at the weekend. Should England manage to repeat those try-scoring exploits against both Italy and Scotland, all they need is an Irish victory in Cardiff to take the title, meaning it is imperative that Wales go and take the spoils by doing it the hard way.

One thing that has resonated through the last three weeks though is the six words that Gatland repeated on Saturday: “Wales have forgotten how to lose”. When the Kiwi said it following the last-gasp win over France, little was made of it such was the underwhelming performance in Paris. But after the way that Wales so impressively fought back from the brink against England to record a 12th consecutive victory for the first time in Welsh history, those words carry a whole new weight.

“The last year has been pretty good,” Gatland said. “With the international scene you always think about winning the last game of the tournament because then you know you can enjoy the next month or two. It would be pretty special if we could win the Championship in my final year with Wales and sign off like that.”

The maths shows that Gatland’s side will have to make it a special finish if they are to meet his wishes, for they can ill-afford to slip up, and while Saturday’s triumph was achieved in such an impressive manner, Wales are still a long way from the finish line.