With Wales down to 14 with Jazz Joyce in the sin-bin, the Scots mounted a do-or-die attack that ended with Megan Gaffney going over in the left corner for her second try in the 78th minute. That levelled the scores at 15-15 and gave Helen Nelson a shot at glory with a touchline conversion.
She wasn’t able to hit the target – the Scottish No 10 missed three penalties and two conversions during the match – and while she was preparing to kick, Jones was rallying her troops for one final assault.
“Behind the posts, we were like, ‘we have got to win this kick-off’, and fair play to Lowri Norkett she tapped it back and we secured it. There were some great phases from the forwards and then we managed to get that penalty,” said Jones.
“I turned to the girls and said, ‘who can kick this?’ and Keira said, ‘I can’. I had full confidence in her because she has been slotting them over in training and has been working really hard. I had pure confidence in her, I knew she was going to get it over. It was a brilliant kick from Keira and I was so pleased to see it go over.”
NERVES OF STEEL 🏴
Keira Bevan 👏#RWC2021 | @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/2f6cONa5NH
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 9, 2022
As for Bevan, who had come on as a replacement for scrum half Ffion Lewis 11 minutes into the second half, it was the first penalty she had kicked for her country as she snatched victory at the death to keep Wales on track for a knock-out place in Group A
“I was pretty nervous, but kind of confident. As soon as I knew we had penalty advantage, I asked the ref for the pen because I knew it was in a kickable spot,” explained Bevan.
“I said to Hannah, I could kick it and, yeah, the rest is history. I’ve done a lot of kicking at the Vale of Glamorgan, where we train, and at my local pitch, so I kind of forgot where I was.
“I know it sounds cliched, but I just pictured being there, when no one was around, and I just blocked everything out and stuck to my process. I didn’t even want to look at the ball when it went over, I was just head down and praying basically.
“We were outstanding in the first-half, managed possession and everything really well. Scotland came back into it in the second half and our discipline kind of let us down in areas.
"I think that's going to be a massive moment in my career." 🏴
Arwres Cymru yn Whangārei, @KeiraBevan14 🔥
Re-live Wales' fantastic victory this afternoon on @s4c 👇
🏉 Cymru v Yr Alban
🕔 5.15pm#RWC2021 | @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/B3IH79vbcz— S4C Rygbi (@S4CRygbi) October 9, 2022
“Being camped in your five-metre line is not a great place to be with a ruthless Scottish attack but, credit to the girls, Robyn Wilkins put a lovely restart up and we managed to regain possession and build through the phases, and obviously the pen came then.
“We had spoken all week, and even before we arrived in New Zealand, how important this game would be, and it is a massive win. Getting the win puts us in a really good place heading into next week against the Black Ferns.”
Host nation New Zealand are next up for Wales at the Trusts Arena, in Auckland on 16 October. The Black Fernms launched their campaign with a convincing 41-17 win at Eden Park against Australia.
“It’s going to be a huge occasion. A lot of tickets have been sold, so it’ll be a big crowd, a big occasion and I’m looking forward to seeing the Haka in front of me,” said Jones.
“We’ve got a lot of support from our families. Nearly all our families are out here, and it is brilliant to see that little corner of red, really nice.”
The moment @keirabevan14 sent the Welsh fans wild 🙌#RWC2021 | #WALvSCO | @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/STima9ZcKs
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 9, 2022
Jones is hoping to eradicate errors and lower the penalty count from the win over the Scots. Cara Hope and Joyce both picked up yellow cards in the latter stages of the game and that put pressure on the Welsh defence.
“We definitely need to look at our own discipline, especially in our own half. We gave away too many penalties, which is going to cost us in the future. We will do our analysis, regroup and I am sure we will be firing of the next game.”
Head coach Ioan Cunningham was delighted to see his players go all out to the final whistle for a victory that now gives them a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
“To win in a Rugby World Cup is brilliant. With the journey this team has been on, not only from the Six Nations but from July, I am really chuffed to get the win,” said Cunningham.
“What a challenge we face against the Black Ferns, who were excellent in their game against Australia. We’ll get down to Auckland and reset and look forward to that challenge.
“We have lots of heart, spirit and grit when we defend and we had to hold Scotland for long periods. That eventually led to yellow cards because of the pressure they put on us.
“But to stay composed and get the ball back from the restart and play, that’s great from us. The belief is there to stay in the fight, which is important.
“But when we review this critically, we’ll see we have to finish off opportunities. We created enough line breaks but didn’t capitalise on them and that will cost us if we don’t start to turn those chances into points.”
