Passion, self-belief and a battling spirit that refused to acknowledge the possibility of defeat, ultimately presented Wales with a match-winning try and victory at Wembley yesterday, in the process denying England the Grand Slam and presenting Scotland with the last Five Nations Championship.
With England six points clear and the game in its 83rd minute, Scott Gibbs, the never-say-die Lions centre, took a short pass from Scott Quinnell and danced his way past four defenders to score to the right of the posts.
Neil Jenkins coolly slotted the conversion, his eighth goal of the afternoon from eight kicks, to give Wales victory. Two more suspense-ridden minutes of stoppage-time were played before the whistle blew. England's beaten players collapsed to the turf and the Welsh embraced each other with heartfelt emotion. It was the most extraordinary outcome to a Five Nations tournament that anyone could remember.
Surprisingly England, who had struggled to score tries all season, plundered three in a nervy first half that often saw Wales hanging on by their bootstraps to avoid conceding more. Yet Wales possessed in Jenkins the hammer of the English: he landed six penalties before halftime, which together with two second-half conversions - Shane Howarth scored a 42nd minute try - gave the Welsh fly-half 22 points.
Throughout the match England had clear-cut ideas on how to score tries, often breaching the thin red line of defence with scissors moves and reverse passes of a rare calibre. English fly-half Matt Catt sent Matt Perry on a scything midfield run in the second minute from which Dan Luger profited, sprinting from halfway to score between the posts. Later Catt was on hand to collect a quickly rucked ball and send Steve Hanley crashing over from short range for a try on his Test debut. Shortly before half-time a Welsh blunder by Howarth and Gareth Thomas, who collided near the left touchline, allowed Richard Hill to thunder across. However, England began the second half in disastrous style, failing to get properly organised and allowing an unmarked Howarth on the right touchline to take Jenkins's long cut-out pass and sprint across the line. Wales, though, fell behind yet again, twice committing offences that enabled Wilkinson to put his side 31-25 ahead with two more penalties.
And so to the fairytale finale which gave the combative Gibbs his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the ultimate mark on this compelling drama. After Gibbs scored England's forwards rampaged as far as the Welsh 22, but that was as far as they got. This time the game was up.
Scorers: Wales: Tries: Howarth, Gibbs. Conversions: Jenkins 2. Penalties: Jenkins 6. England: Tries: Luger, Hanley, Hill. Conversions: Wilkinson 2. Penalties: Wilkinson 4.
WALES: Howarth (Sale); Thomas (Cardiff; Walne, Richmond, 64min), Taylor (Swansea), Gibbs (Swansea), James (Pontypridd); N Jenkins (Pontypridd), Howley (Cardiff, capt); Rogers (London Irish; Lewis, Cardiff, 64), G Jenkins (Swansea), Evans (Swansea; Young, Cardiff, 66), C Quinnell (Richmond), Wyatt (Llanelli), Charvis (Swansea), Sinkinson (Neath), S Quinnell (Llanelli).
ENGLAND: Perry (Bath); Luger (Harlequins), Wilkinson (Newcastle), Mather (Sale), Hanley (Sale); Catt (Bath), Dawson (Northampton); Leonard (Harlequins), Cockerill (Leicester), Garforth (Leicester; Ubogu, Bath, 69), Johnson (Leicester), Rodber (Northampton), Hill (Saracens), Dallaglio (Wasps, capt), Back (Leicester).
Referee: A Watson (South Africa).
