Mark Taylor slides in to score during an eventful draw in Cardiff
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Matches: Scotland 28 - 28 Wales

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: Scotland | Wales

Scotland grabbed two tries in the final five minutes to earn a 28-28 draw against Wales - only the second draw in over a century of combat between the Celtic cousins - in their Six Nations rugby union international here at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Twelve points adrift, the Scots looked down and out, only for James McLaren to set up the fightback by cutting to the line and prop Tom Smith to take it to the brink by galloping in from 20 metres.

But the nerveless hero was fly-half Duncan Hodge, who took over goalkicking duties after a disastrous afternoon for number one choice Kenny Logan and converted Smith's try to force the draw.

The result seemed so improbable after Neil Jenkins had produced one of the kicking displays which makes him the world's best, bagging 23 points and equalling the Five/Six Nations best for drop-goals with three.

Both sides had suffered defeat in their opening matches, although Wales' 44-15 capitulation against England at the Millennium Stadium created a sense of foreboding among the estimated 20,000 visiting fans in a capacity crowd. Wales failed to capitalise on early supremacy a fortnight ago and coach Graham Henry was not prepared to see his side make the same mistake twice. On every incursion into enemy territory, Wales tried to come away with a present, with Jenkins cast in the role of Father Christmas.

It took the Welsh wizard just 47 seconds to put his team on the board with the first of his drop-goals in the opening period, not quite as quick as John Leslie's eight second try in the previous Murrayfield meeting between the two teams, but just as mentally draining for the victims.

By the time the teams trotted in for their half-time chat, Jenkins, the only man to bag over 1,000 in Test matches, had also converted three penalties. The British Lions' successes only highlighted the on-going failures of Logan.

Ian McGeechan surprisingly opted to hand the goalkicking responsibilities to the Wasps star - who boasts an 80 percent success record at club level - only to see him miss four of eight shots at the uprights, one of which was under the posts.

Scotland's defence - as it had been against the French two weeks ago-- was impressive, but Scott Gibbs and Mark Taylor were back to their best in the centres, giving Wales a cutting edge they had lacked in the England debacle. It was a late tackle on Gibbs as the Swansea man chased his own grubber kick, which brought Scotland lock Richard Metcalfe a yellow card, although by the time he returned, the home side had galvanised themselves into a credible attacking force for the first time.

With Hodge so ineffective at fly-half, Scotland coach McGeechan must have given some thought to switching Chris Paterson from full-back at the interval, but instead retained faith in his starting line-up.

But of all his squad, McGeechan could not have believed influential centre John Leslie would gift Wales the opening try just two minutes after the restart.

The Northampton star's attempted long pass to Gordon Bulloch was intercepted by Taylor on halfway, giving the Welshman a clear run to the line cheered on by his country's ecstatic supporters.

Jenkins converted to stretch the lead to 19 points and leave Scotland facing another miserable defeat.

However, an immediate response raised sagging morale and brought a frenzied atmosphere to the packed stands.

Paterson, too often on the edge of play, ghosted onto Logan's shoulder, took a pass behind his head, galloped 30 metres, then skipped inside Rhys Williams' poor tackle to score under the posts.

Logan converted and added a penalty on the hour - although he had missed one moments earlier - and suddenly Scotland were back in contention. But home angst grew as their attempts to pressurise their opponents were thwarted by referee Steve Lander and a series of mystifying decisions, most of which seemed to go against the home team.

Jenkins brought stunned gasps when he missed his first kick of the afternoon with 15 minutes remaining, only to make amends seconds afterwards with his fourth penalty.

It seemed the game was dead for Scotland. But they decided it was only the beginning.