Wales will arrive at the World Cup later this year as Six Nations Grand Slam champions after completing the third tournament clean sweep of head coach Warren Gatland’s reign.

Here, Press Association Sport looks back on how they did it.

France 19 Wales 24 (Stade de France, February 1)

George North
George North (left) celebrates the first of his two tries (David Davies/PA)

Wales were all over the place at half-time on a rainswept Friday night in Paris. They trailed 16-0, and there appeared no way back for them, but scrum-half Tomos Williams’ try sparked a fightback, before a George North double – his second being a long-range interception effort – completed a memorable recovery and set Gatland’s men off and running.

Wales: L Williams; North, Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, T Williams; Evans, Owens, Francis, Beard, Jones (capt), Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Italy 15 Wales 26 (Stadio Olimpico, February 9)

Italy v Wales – Guinness Six Nations – Stadio Olimpico
Josh Adams goes in for a try in Rome (Steven Paston/PA)

After a training camp on the Cote d’Azur in Nice, Wales headed to Rome with a team showing 10 changes from the one that beat France as Gatland looked to replicate a World Cup scenario by utilising his squad. Wales struggled for fluency, but Dan Biggar kicked 14 points and second-half tries from wing Josh Adams and centre Owen Watkin saw them home.

Wales: Williams; Holmes, J Davies (capt), Watkin, Adams; Biggar, A Davies; Smith, Dee, Lee, Ball, Beard, Wainwright, Young, Navidi.

Wales 21 England 13 (Principality Stadium, February 23)

Cory Hill
Cory Hill scores the crucial first try for Wales (Paul Harding/PA)

Wales faced potentially the make-or-break game of their campaign with regard to title aspirations, and they delivered impressively when it really mattered. The home side trailed by seven points at the interval, but a storming second 40 minutes left England floundering, with victory sealed through tries during the closing stages by lock Cory Hill and an outstanding Adams.

Wales: Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Evans, Owens, Francis, Hill, Jones (capt), Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Scotland 11 Wales 18 (Murrayfield, March 9)

Wales v Scotland – Autumn International – Principality Stadium
Jonathan Davies slides in for a try at Murrayfield (Paul Harding/PA)

Everything looked rosy for Wales at the break after tries by Adams – his third in successive Six Nations games – and centre Jonathan Davies put the visitors in charge. But the second period proved in stark contrast as Scotland launched wave after wave of attack at a Welsh defence that somehow held firm through a combination of heroic tackling and immense organisation.

Wales: Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Evans, Owens, Francis, Beard, Jones (capt), Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Wales 25 Ireland 7 (Principality Stadium, March 16)

Wales v Ireland – Guinness Six Nations – Principality Stadium
Hadleigh Parkes’ early try set the platform for Wales (David Davies/PA)

Wales reserved the best until last, crushing Ireland by their biggest margin in the fixture for 43 years. Wales never looked back after centre Hadleigh Parkes scored a try inside two minutes, while fly-half Gareth Anscombe kicked 20 points as the home side cruised to victory and clinched the Six Nations title, Triple Crown and Grand Slam in doing so.

Wales: Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Evans, Owens, Francis, Beard, Jones (capt), Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Total points scored: 114

Total points conceded: 65

Total tries scored: 10

Total tries conceded: 7