by Twenty-five years ago, with the Millennium Stadium still under development, Wales played their home games at Wembley. In the final of the Five Nations, they were ‘hosting’ a Grand Slam-hunting England team, although a win for Great Britain would give Scotland the title. Even with a stunning 34-33 win over France in their previous game, Graham Henry’s side were the dominant home team in English football.
Here, some of the key players from that day relive their memories.
Matt Perry, England goalkeeper: The old Wembley was an interesting stadium. The dressing rooms were almost below ground level and you had to walk up this huge hill to get to the pitch and it was all Wales. Max Boyce was there singing and there were goats on the field. You just thought ‘oof, hang about, we’re in England but this is a home game in Wales’. I’ve been lucky enough to play in some great stadiums around the world but that was the most intense atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.
Dafydd James, Wales wing: It seemed like celebrities were everywhere. Tom Jones was in the players’ box talking to all our wives and girlfriends. My parents were sitting next to Prince William and Harry. It was an extraordinary explosion of color and noise, I only wish I had soaked it up more.
Colin Charvis, leader of Great Britain: As a delegate coming up against the England pack you didn’t partake in that carnival atmosphere. I know it happened, there was Tom Jones, Max Boyce and Catatonia, but I blocked out a lot of it.
James: Craig Quinnell had this streak where he would hit the goal post before every game. If I remember, I think he broke his thumb when he did it because there was a different set of jobs at Wembley but there was no way anyone was pulling out of that game.
The first half
Perry set up Dan Luger for the opening try after two minutes and teenage wing Steve Hanley scored his first midway through the first half, but Neil Jenkins’ start pulled Wales level at 15-15. Just before half-time, Richard Hill pounces on a collision between Gareth Thomas and Shane Howarth to score a try that makes it 25-15 but another Jenkins penalty, his sixth, ensures it’s a one-score game going into the second half .
Charvis: The metaphor I’ve always had in mind is a sickle with a frog halfway down its throat and the frogs hands squeezing the preys neck as it hangs on for dear life. It’s just don’t give in, don’t let go. Neil Jenkins’ start and a bit of resilience from the rest of the team, with England not taking a few shots on goal, meant we hung in there. We hung on the crown’s neck until it finally coughed us up.
Neil Back, England leader: Hats off to them for staying in the game, we couldn’t pull away. We felt very confident in that game. We felt in control scoring three goals and Jonny was kicking points from everywhere but Jenks was so good for Wales.
James: Neil was slotting goals from everywhere, which was important because I think it’s fair to say that England played the better rugby and he should have been out of sight. Against the old enemy you have to believe in yourself. It’s pride, it’s just a game. It’s arguably our World Cup final every year. You have that never-say-die attitude. There were moments in that game when you thought ‘crikey this is not the next day’ but Neil Jenkins kept us there.
The second half
Howarth’s converted try brings Wales level but a pair of Wilkinson penalties give England a 31-25 lead into the closing stages when they are awarded another penalty inside the kicking range. However, Lawrence Dallaglio chooses to kick to the corner and Wales defend the drive.
Back: We learned a very important lesson with two minutes to go and being six points ahead, Jonny could put the ball between the posts with either foot. That would mean Wales would have to score twice. We didn’t take that option and went to the corner and the line went out wrong.
Charvis: I remember thinking well of them for taking the death or glory approach.
Perry: It’s too easy to say we should do this or do that, but there were a lot of errors in that last quarter. You know when you’re on the back foot as a team when you start making really uncharacteristic mistakes.
That Scott Gibbs tries
The game goes into injury time when England full-back Tim Rodber is penalized for a hands-off tackle on Charvis, allowing Jenkins to kick the penalty to the edge of England’s 22.
Charvis: It wasn’t long before I was knocked out for the penalty given by the kick. I’m fairly certain I was still seeing stars at the exit line.
James: It would probably be a red card these days. We discussed the move before walking over to the line-out, throw Garin Jenkins quickly to Chris Wyatt, straight down to Rob Howley and then use Scott Quinnell’s foil. Nobody thought he was going to pass the ball, but he gave this beautiful pass and Gibbsy ran the perfect line and it goes straight past Neil Back. Then he started side stepping and he rarely ever did.
Perry: I always supported myself one on one. I did a lot of work on my site to get the right angle and technique. But that day there was no way I was stopping him. I tackled Jonah Lomu with one cuff but Gibbsy’s energy and momentum meant that even if I grabbed his calf or even his boot, there was no way I was going to stop him. I tried but it hit me the next week. As many people remind me, I missed the tackle that cost England the Grand Slam.
Charvis: You don’t often score tries in the game of rugby. He just needs that little bit of magic. I just remember chasing his scurrying legs, thinking that someone is going to tackle him and that I could end my career here if he unloads. But he scores and I’m the first to have his arms wrapped around him screaming with joy.
Neil Jenkins’ conversion gives Wales a famous 32-31 win, denying England the Grand Slam and handing Scotland the final Five Nations title.
The consequence
Charvis: I don’t know if it’s true but there is a story about Clive Woodward going up the stairs to collect the trophy and Graham Henry telling him to sit back. Why would the truth get in the way of a good story?
Perry: One of my great memories was that no one in the England team was talking after the game. We walked down to our dressing room, no one speaking. We got a change, still no one talking. We walked out towards the coach and these white van men were pushing all these boxes of England Grand Slam T-shirts into the back of their van. We were like sad boys, you did not sell anything today.
James: We stayed in London and were followed by a few famous people from Wales such as Cerys Matthews from Catatonia and Tom Jones. There were no cell phones or cameras in those days and it’s probably because we were singing a lot at night. The following week Scotland sent us all a bottle of Celtic Celtic, a nice little touch from the Jocks.
Charvis: The next day we left around 11 o’clock so we could grab the off license to stock up for the bus trip. When we came back there were flags on all the bridges and there were thousands of people to greet us. It was such a glimmer of hope about how good we can be. We had a pretty mediocre tournament, but that was the start of a 10 game winning streak for us. The supporters always believed in us, but that gave us something tangible to believe in ourselves.
Back: Although it was very painful, we thank Wales for teaching us that lesson because in future games we took the three points and the opposition chased us. The following year against Italy, I took that message of taking the score and conceded a goal for England when we were only six points ahead. It was painful but we learned an important lesson that helped us four years later at the 2003 World Cup.
Perry: It was disastrous but then the same thing happened in 2000 and 2001 (losing the Grand Slam) before they went on to win in 2003. I just think it’s a great sight for rugby as a sport. I’ve spoken to a lot of Welsh people over the years and I have Welsh ancestry myself and they call it a defining moment but in a way it was a defining moment for both teams.
