{"id":19181,"date":"2017-03-17T12:04:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T12:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=19181"},"modified":"2017-03-17T12:04:58","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T12:04:58","slug":"list-wales-three-greatest-wins-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2017\/03\/17\/list-wales-three-greatest-wins-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"We list Wales' three greatest wins in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between 1975 and 1999, Wales never won in Paris. But then they\u00a0wowed the rugby world with three thrilling wins in quick succession.\u00a0Here is the story of those wins.<\/em><\/p>\n

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1999<\/strong><\/span>
\nIT\u00a0had been 24 years since Wales had last triumphed in France\u2019s capital. Graham Henry\u2019s men travelled to the brand new Stade de France having lost their first two matches of the tournament, and they were all but written off. How wrong the pundits were.<\/span>
\nThe mercurial French fly-half Thomas Castaignede missed an easy penalty in the early moments — an omen of what was to come for the euphoric Welsh support. In contrast, the normally reliable Neil Jenkins missed four penalty attempts of his own but was successful with five others, while even he bought into Wales\u2019 sense of adventure that day. <\/span>
\nColin Charvis\u2019 try after a scything break by Rob Howley gave Wales the lead before tries from \u00c9mile Ntamack made it 18-16 to the home side after half an hour. But Wales led 28-18 at half-time after Dafydd James and Craig Quinnell (finishing off an 80-metre team effort) scored a try each in a devastating two-minute salvo. <\/span>
\nFrance pulled it back to 28-28 in the second-half, and took the lead when Ntamack\u2019s hat-trick try cancelled out another Jenkins penalty. Castaignede missed the conversion, but when Jenkins had another attempt from the tee after a Castaignede high tackle, he made no mistake and Wales led 34-33. <\/span>
\nFrance\u2019s maverick fly-half was given one final chance to kick his side to victory, but was wide of the target yet again. Wales had secured an historic victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

2001<\/strong><\/span>
\nTWO\u00a0years after Wales had stunned the world with a scintillating victory in Paris, they pulled off the same trick. <\/span>
\nAfter deservedly falling 19-9 behind in the first half an hour, Rob Howley scored a superb solo score from his own 22 to drag Wales back into the game. <\/span>
\nThe Welsh fightback continued into the second-half, with tries from Scott Quinnell and Dafydd James and the boot of Neil Jenkins (including one monster drop-goal) putting them 33-22 up after 54 minutes. <\/span>
\nAfter the Welsh ebb came the French flow. A try from <\/span>Philippe <\/span>Bernat<\/span>–<\/span>Salles and the kicking of substitute Christophe Lamaison saw France regain the lead. <\/span>
\nBut, as was so often the case for Wales at the turn of the millennium, fly-half Jenkins turned the game in their favour. First, he slotted a second drop-goal to make it 36-35 to Wales. <\/span>
\nThen, in injury time, Stephen Jones dived on loose French ball before Howley kicked in behind the French defence. Bernat-Salles’s miscued chip \u00a0was charged down by Gareth Thomas, and the ball found its way to Jenkins via James giving the Pontypridd man the simplest of run-ins. Jenkins converted his own score to make it 43-35, and soon after the game was up.<\/span>
\nJenkins had gone through the card in a 28-point haul, passing 1,000 points for Wales and the Lions in the process.<\/span>
\n

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