The history of the Wales national rugby union team from 2005 to present (note that, as of September 2019, and despite reaching Number One in the Men's World Rugby Rankings for the first time in history, for a period of two weeks in late August 2019,[1] the rest of this article barely goes beyond 2015) covers a period where the side won four Grand Slams in the Six Nations Championship, as well as another Championship victory.
Wales were defeated by Fiji in a crucial 2007 Rugby World Cup match, which saw the side eliminated from the tournament in pool play.
They opened with an 11–9 win over England at the Millennium Stadium, thanks to a late long range penalty from Gavin Henson.
Wales beat Scotland away (46–22) and then, in front of a capacity crowd at the Millennium Stadium, played their final game against Ireland.
[7] On 10 May 2007, Wales and Australia decided to celebrate 100 years of Test rugby between the two countries with the establishment of the James Bevan Trophy.
Wales went unbeaten throughout the tournament, and won their second Grand Slam in four Championships after defeating France 29–12 at the Millennium Stadium.
Wales' 21–18 victory made them the only Northern Hemisphere nation to defeat a Tri-Nations country in 2008, and sent them up to fifth in the world rankings and later fourth.
At the 2011 World Cup, Wales defeated Fiji, Namibia and Samoa, only narrowly losing to South Africa at the pool stages.
It was at the semi-final stage that Wales came up short by the narrowest of margins, losing 9–8 to France after a red card for captain Sam Warburton in the 18th minute.