Dafydd James is congratulated by Stephen Jones after scoring in Paris
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Matches: France 35 - 43 Wales

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: France | Italy

A simply incredible match. After 35 minutes they looked dead and buried - trailing by 10 and under enormous pressure as the French appeared to be able to predict everything they tried.

Rob Howley then produced a try out of nothing to bring Wales back into the game and after a second-half of wildly fluctuating fortunes they had achieved beyond their wildest dreams.

If the victory two years ago owed much to good luck in the closing minutes this one spoke volumes about the character of the side. They needed Neil Jenkins at his very best - he scored a full-house with a try, two drop goals, three penalties and four conversions - but it was the 'never say die' spirit which really saw Wales home.

This was not the biggest total they have amassed against France, they scored 49 nearly a century ago, but it was by far the biggest in recent times. Both sides have plenty of flaws but this was wonderfully exciting stuff. Wales have once again resurrected their season while France will no doubt continue to curse the jinx of the Stade de France.

At times they appeared to be back to their vibrant best but they lacked the steel shown by the Welsh. They had plenty of opportunities but failed to turn enough of them into tries so that they were outscored by four to two.

Wales began with plenty of confidence, quite happy to keep recycling the ball in their own 22, but there were soon signs that the line-out might yet again prove their undoing. Having set up a good attacking position they promptly went into one of their over elaborate line-out routines with so much toing and froing that they only confused themselves and were suddenly right back where they started.

France immediately made them pay. Scott Quinnell disappointingly allowed Gerald Mercier to run through him and Sebastien Bonetti was on his shoulder to race under the posts with no tackler in sight. They should have scored a second try two minutes later but overelaborated with ann overlap on the right and had to settle for a penalty.

Fortunately for Wales Jenkins had brought his kicking boots with him. For the next 20 minutes he matched Merceron penalty for penalty - all bar one of his from long range whilst the French fly-half had much simpler chances - to keep the deficit to 10 points but at 19-9 the French looked well in control and Wales looked so predictable that you could not see where a try was going to come from.

They badly needed some magic and it came at exactly the right moment from Howley with a truly magnificent score. Quinnell drove from a scrum in his own 22 and the scrum-half was suddenly through the first line of defence but still 70 metres from the try-line.

As he raced into opposition territory Gareth Thomas appeared on the outside in support and Howley used him brilliantly to draw Jean-Luc Sadourny before dummying and accelerating away again to score just to the right of the posts. Jenkins converted and Wales were back in the game.

They should have fallen further behind immediately after the restart - Thomas Lombard had only to pass but held on in the tackle then Olivier Magne knocked on later in the same move - but quickly showed they were intent on taking the game much more to France in the second half.

With 46 minutes gone they were rewarded handsomely. Scott Gibbs broke down the right, Colin Charvis set-up the ruck and when the ball was moved right Mark Taylor broke the first tackle before offloading to the supporting Quinnell who pinned his ears back and made the line with ease.

Improbably Wales were in the lead and there was better to follow.

Christophe Lamaison, having replaced Merceron, kicked a penalty but Jenkins replied immediately with a drop goal before Wales scored another superb try. This time Quinnell made the initial break, Taylor carried it on and then scissored with Dafydd James to send the winger on a diagonal run to the right of the posts.

At 33-22 Wales appeared to be in control but there was still nearly half an hour left. You had the feeling the purple patch was over when jenkins missed a routine penalty, 40 metres out but right in front, and, sure enough, back came France.

Philippe Bernat-Salles scored a wonderful team try at the end of a counterattack which had begun with Sadourny in his own 22. Lamaison converted and added a penalty for offside after Bonetti was brought down just a metre short and the gap wa sback to a point.

France then went ahead when david Young was controversially adjudged to have dropped the scrum and suddenly France were rampant again and Wales looked beaten. They clawed their way back to the other end and Jenkins dropped his second goal from almost 40 metres to put wales in front with just three minutes left on the clock. Suddenly the pressure was right back on France and this time they buckled.

Wales were now kicking to the corners and when Bernat-Salles tried to run from his own line he was well and truly clobbered. James picked up the pieces and Jenkins was over for the decisive score - what a match!