WARREN Gatland hailed his Wales history-makers after they demolished Ireland to win a Grand Slam.

The head coach was given the perfect Six Nations send-off as his charges completed a clean sweep, their first since 2012, with a 25-7 success at Principality Stadium.

READ MORE: Match report from a stunning day in Cardiff

Gatland – who said champions Ireland made a mistake by leaving the roof open in horrendous conditions – started with a jibe at England counterpart Eddie Jones in his post-match interview.

"It was a fantastic performance, we didn’t look too tired did we?” he said to BBC One after wind-up merchant Jones had stated on Thursday that Welsh legs were looking weary.

"We spoke beforehand about the players playing for themselves, their families and the fans and being able to create a bit of history. You can never take that away from them now.

"I said if we won the first game against France we've got a good chance of winning the whole thing. If that creates that bit of belief in the players then maybe something like this can happen.

"Alun Wyn Jones has really matured as a player. He's done a great job of leading the team in this campaign. He's tough, he's resilient and he deserves all the adulation he gets."

Gatland and his coaching team will now continue to plot for Japan 2019, and will do so as one of the serious contenders for the Webb Ellis Trophy.

"We're just trying to slip under the radar. We know on our day that we're capable of beating good teams so I think we'll have a break now and start preparing for the World Cup,” said Gatland, who has won three Grand Slams.

"These boys will run through a brick wall for you. They're a really tight group and really close to each other. If we go there with a bit of luck and not too many injuries we've got a good chance of beating anybody."