Wing wizard Shane Williams scored in injury-time to pull off an amazing fight-back by Warren Gatland’s men. Trailing 24-14 with just three minutes of normal time remaining, Wales roared back for a morale-boosting win in Cardiff.
Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny and Williams crossed as Wales sealed their first championship win of the season. Wales head coach Gatland had been unhappy with Scotland’s request to keep the Millennium Stadium roof open for the clash in the Welsh capital.
But his comments appeared to come back and haunt him as Scotland galloped into a 15-3 lead inside 20 minutes. John Barclay strolled over for the opener after bumping off the weak tackles of Gareth Cooper and James Hook.
Chris Paterson, on his 100th cap, converted for his 35th successive kick in the Six Nations and then the Scots added a second try. Fly-half Dan Parks spotted Byrne out of position and his excellent grubber kick through allowed replacement Max Evans to touch down in the left corner.
Paterson left the field with a shoulder injury but Scotland held 18-9 advantage at the break. Parks added a further penalty three minutes after the re-start before Wales hit back.
Williams’ mazy run against the field created space and Byrne had the simple task of crossing in the right corner. Stephen Jones, who booted three penalties in a below-par performance from the hosts, missed the touchline conversion and Parks nudged Scotland further clear with a second drop goal.
But Wales refused to gave up and when the visitors saw Scott Lawson sin-binned for killing the ball, the home side took advantage in a grandstand finish.
Halfpenny strolled over for a converted try with three minutes of normal time remaining. Scotland pressed the self-destruct button when Phil Godman committed a professional foul on Byrne.
Jones’ penalty from in front of the posts levelled the scores and with the final play of the match, Williams dived under the posts to spark wild celebrations for Wales.
