The silver-booted Henson smacks one over from 52 metres.

STEPHEN JONES: Gavin was my room-mate for that campaign, good room-mate, good company, great professional Gavin who's worked very hard on his game. It was great for me as he was playing 12, he had good knowledge of the game and good chat in the sense that he gave me good calls. It was a pleasure to play alongside Gavin.

Ryan Jones
Former Wales captain

Gethin sort of set the tone really for modern front-row play, as much as it pains me to say it because he's a very miserable man. But he's a wonderfully gifted rugby player he understands the game and it's a very very good competitor.

Kevin Morgan
Former Wales full-back

I had a bit of a grandstand view, I could just see over the horizon that Gethin was trundling down the field. It was a ruck around halfway and I could see O'Gara was shaping to kick so I was back in our own half trying to make sure we fielded the kick. You can't really see it because you're so far away you just hear the roar of the crowd and you know that someone had charged it down. I could just barely see number one on Gethin's back as he's racing down the field, just see a little bit of footwork and it's so far away you just hear the crowd cheering really - they tell you before you know yourself that he's scored and the whole stadium erupted.

Prop Gethin Jenkins flies out of the blocks to charge down Ronan O'Gara's kick. He plays football before flopping on the ball as it crosses the try line. Stephen Jones converts to rapturous applause.

Earlier in the tournament his kick beat England, now Gavin Henson is on target with a scruffy drop-goal that hits an Irishman on the way over. A good omen?

The game kicks off in bright sunshine and Ireland - who haven't lost in Cardiff for 22 years - start well, with fly-half Ronan O'Gara drawing first blood.

Well, the man singing "Guide me oh thou Great Jehovah" just before kick-off is Wynne Evans - an accomplished and successful operatic tenor whose credits include appearances in La Traviata and Rigoletto among many others on the stages of the The Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

But you might recognise him as an irritating singing waiter in a famous television advert for an online comparison site.

Wales: K Morgan; M Taylor, T Shanklin, G Henson, S Williams; S Jones, D Peel; G Jenkins, M Davies, A Jones, B Cockbain, R Sidoli, R Jones, M Williams, M Owen (capt). Replacements: R McBryde, J Yapp, J Thomas, R Sowden-Taylor, M Phillips, C Sweeney, S Parker.

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

Referee: Chris White (RFU).

Ryan Jones
Former Wales captain

The magic had built, and the whole nation was fixated on what was going to happen.

The streets were full but it wasn't as if they didn't want to move out of the way they couldn't move, there was nowhere for them to go. Thousands of people had descended on Cardiff without tickets just to come and experience and be part of the magic of what was going to turn out to be one of those 'where were you' moments.

I'd be wrong in saying you don't feel or you can't sense the emotion. It was uncharted territory. There was a weight of nervousness, it was an unknown and we were on the verge of something very very special.

Image source, Getty Images

"We are the nation of the possessed where rugby football is concerned. We identify with our national team more completely than any other nation.

"Now again we are in ecstacy for we have glimpsed at something that is an expression of some denied part of ourselves.

"One myth perpetuates another; one achievement gives way to the next.

"The moment we think the past is irretrievably lost, we rediscover it.

"The faces are different; the template is the same."

On twitter, Marc Davies says: 'The #RWC2011 Quarter Final was just as sweet......!!'

That's when Wales beat Ireland 22-10 in Wellington.

What do you think will happen today at the Millennium Stadium? – Email scrumv@bbc.co or tweet us using #ScrumV

Let's concentrate on 2005 then . . .

Wales had last won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 1978 when Gareth Edwards and Phil Bennett were in their pomp.

There had been near misses in 1988 and 1994, but the golden era was a distant memory when Wales swept aside Scotland to make it four wins out of four in the 2005 tournament.

The build-up to the Ireland match saw Wales gripped with something approaching hysteria.

Image source, Getty Images

Since the match in 2005, the meeting of Wales and Ireland has become one of the key matches of any Six Nations tournament.

Ben Dirs looked at the rivalry that's developed between the Celtic cousins.

But it's not all serious. BBC Wales caught up with Wales players Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and Mike Phillips this week for a quick game of "Guess Who".

It seems they know their team-mates very well, and Racing Metro scrum-half Phillips has a keen sense of comic timing.

Before we go back to 2005 (without the aid of the Tardis) check out the views of Gareth Thomas on this year's match.

Thomas was Wales captain in 2005, but missed the Grand Slam match with injury.

He says this season's match makes him miss playing the game.

And don't forget later today there's all the action from this season's Calcutta Cup match and full live coverage on BBC television, radio and online of this season's crunch match between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff.

Ireland are unbeaten after seeing-off Italy, France and England. Wales have recovered from a defeat by England on the opening weekend with away wins over Scotland and France.

Wales forwards coach expects today's clash in Cardiff to be a titanic, attritional battle.

"Teams are wearing each other down and unfortunately sometimes the spectators have got to pay a price for that," said McBryde.

What do you think will happen today at the Millennium Stadium? – Email scrumv@bbc.co.uk or tweet us using #ScrumV

That match from 2005 follows soon, but first it's 1963 and the Calcutta Cup match in Twickenham.

Good morning and welcome to another big day of Six Nations Championship action.

Today we have Wales v Ireland in Cardiff and England v Scotland in Twickenham.

But before that, let us rewind to 2005 when Ireland came to Cardiff chasing a Triple Crown and Wales were on the brink of a first Grand Slam in 27 years.

Something had to give.