Six Nations 2012: Wales's old hands look for history to repeat itself

None of the Wales players who will feature in Saturday's Six Nations encounter with France at the Millennium Stadium was born in the 1970s but three of them have the opportunity to emulate a trio of their peers in that decade, regarded as the golden era of Welsh rugby, by taking part in a third grand slam campaign. The props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, along with the back-row Ryan Jones, were involved in the 2005 and 2008 grand slam campaigns. Two other members of the wider Wales squad also were, Stephen Jones and Gavin Henson, but they have not taken the field in this year's Six Nations. Three backs took part in all three grand slam years in the 1970s, Gerald Davies, JPR Williams and Gareth Edwards, and the significance of what the current players could achieve has not been lost on Jenkins or the two Joneses. "It is a big chance for us to make history and you have to look forward to it," said Jenkins, right, who led Wales to victory over Italy last weekend. "There is a massive expectation on us this week and, from my experience in 2005 and 2008, you have to block out everything in the exterior. "It is going to be talked up all week and I suppose I have an extra input this week because I have been involved in two grand slam campaigns. You have to make sure that you are right on the day to perform and the preparation will be geared to Saturday. We have gone in under the radar to win the last two grand slams but we have been favourites to win matches this year and that has not often been the case since I have been involved with Wales." Ryan Jones led Wales in 2008 but has spent much of this year on the bench, proof of the strength in depth Wales have built up in the last year that allows them to replace players seamlessly. "I sort of envy the boys who have not experienced a grand slam campaign because, given their naivety, expectation is a wonderful thing to have," said Jones. "This campaign is different from 2005 and 2008 in that success in those years was more of a surprise, virtually out of nowhere. This one is more constructed and we went into the Six Nations with expectation and so far we have achieved what we set out to. Everyone has now played in a high-stakes game and what we have is a group of guys who are incredibly level-headed. Attitudes and egos are left at the front door. This is, essentially, just another game and, if you take it in isolation, it is about getting a result on Saturday." Jones was among Wales's stand-out players in the opening two games against Ireland and Scotland, operating at flanker in the first and then in the second row as he covered for injuries, but the return of players saw him drop down to the bench from where he made a significant impact against England at Twickenham. "I am pleased with my contribution so far and feel that I have added value," he said. "Going into the last game, you feel you have helped put the team into this position. I am enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, I would have liked more game-time but that is the nature of the beast." Adam Jones who, like Jenkins, has started all except one of the Six Nations games in 2005, 2008 and this year, feels the young players in the current squad are better equipped to deal with the pressure of a grand slam week than he was seven years ago. "I had not come through an academy system and had only been playing international rugby for a year," he said. "The build-up to the final game in 2005 was daunting but the young kids we have now have come through the system and there will be no problem with them getting excited. "We were preparing for a World Cup semi-final a few months ago so and this is a similar build-up. We lost to France that day by a point after playing for most of the match with 14 men but this week is not about revenge. As a group we are more disappointed by our defeat in Paris in the last match of last year's Six Nations. We played poorly and that cannot happen again."