Wales fell to an agonising 26-19 loss at the hands of England in the opening game of the RBS 6Nations Championship.
Morgan Stoddart’s 61st minute try sparked a thrilling second-half comeback for Wales after two tries by England wing Chris Ashton.
James Hook then struck a penalty to set-up a nail-biting climax at the Millennium Stadium but Jonny Wilkinson steered the World Cup finalists home with a decisive late penalty.
It was a heart-breaking end to an enthralling clash that had started so brightly for Warren Gatland’s men.
Wales had the opportunity to take the lead on the three-minute mark after Wales won the initial scrum battle but Hook’s long-range penalty fell agonisingly short. Wales failed to capitalise on another penalty chance two minutes later when Stephen Jones pushed his kick wide.
England enjoyed their first spell of pressure and they crossed for the game’s first try after 13minutes. Toby Flood stepped in between Paul James and Craig Mitchell and passed inside to Ashton who touched down. Flood added the extras and moments later kicked a penalty to give the visitors a 10-0 lead.
Jones hit back with a penalty for Wales and the Dragons almost followed that up with a try of their own. England were turned over deep in Wales territory, Phillips tore down the left and fed Stoddart. The Scarlets flyer, making his first appearance in two years beat Mark Cueto but was dragged into touch by Ben Foden.
But the break ignited the Welsh attack and they were soon rewarded with a penalty after Louis Deacon infringed at the breakdown to stop an almost certain try-scoring opportunity. Deacon was sent to the sin-bin with Jones slotting the simple penalty but Flood hit-back with a penalty of his own just after the half-hour mark.
Wales made a good start to the second period and closed the gap on England to four points thanks to a Jones penalty on 43 minutes. But Gatland’s men were dealt a blow when Mitchell was sent to the sin-bin, Flood punishing his indiscretion with his third penalty.
Things got worse when Ashton crossed for his second try in the 56th minute with Flood nailing the touchline conversion to take the hosts into 23-9 lead.
But Wales struck-back just after the hour when Jonathan Davies linked-up with his regional teammate Stoddart to score. Jones dissected the posts to bring Wales back to 23-16.
Hook, now at fly-half, chipped away at England’s lead further with a simple penalty to set-up a nail-biting finale.
But Wilkinson, on for man-of-the-match Flood, landed a killer blow with a penalty on 74 minutes to restore the seven-point lead. Wales kept fighting but were unable to break England’s defence, and the visitors held on for their first win on Welsh soil since 2003.
