WALES 11 ENGLAND 9 Millennium Stadium

GAVIN HENSON kicked Wales to a famous victory over world champions England at the Millennium Stadium when his 76th minute penalty stunned Jason's Robinson's men. The world champions boasted a 12-year unbeaten record in Cardiff, and with France and Ireland looming as their next two RBS 6 Nations Championship games, Andy Robinson's men needed a winning start.

Heavy rain lashed Cardiff for much of the day, and the pitch showed early signs of tearing up, with huge divots being left each time the forwards engaged in close-quarter combat.

The visitors found themselves out-gunned early on, and when Wales switched attacking direction, there was just enough room for wing Shane Williams to squeeze over and claim his 22nd try in 25 Tests.

Jones could not add the conversion, but Wales had still made a dream start, asking early questions of an England side trying to make their new combinations knit.

Hodgson reduced the deficit with a 15th-minute penalty from in front of the posts, but Henson then knocked Matthew Tait backwards through a crunching tackle, reminding England yet again that Wales genuinely fancied their scalp.

England, despite conceding an early try, were showing signs of settling down, and a smart Hodgson break had Wales back-pedalling before the fly-half drifted a drop-goal attempt wide.

Wales gained further encouragement when Jamie Noon dropped a testing Henson kick, suggesting a fragility about England's midfield, and the home side quickly restored their five-point advantage.

Touch judge Alain Rolland spotted some foul play by England flanker Chris Jones . . . the Sale Sharks flanker had been drafted in as replacement for an injured Moody . . . and Jones kicked the resulting angled penalty, hoisting Wales 8-3 ahead.

England could not establish a territorial foothold, and with Walsh needing no second invitation to penalise them around the forward fringes, signs pointed to a long evening for the visitors.

Scrum-half Matt Dawson, making his 66th Test appearance, mixed up his array of kicking neatly, but Wales kept pressing before lamentable English discipline surfaced.

Predictably, it was Bath's Danny Grewcock who sparked mayhem, launching his boot into Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel's face, which prompted a retaliatory punch by Wales skipper Gareth Thomas.

Touch judge Rolland intervened, and both Grewcock and Thomas were sin-binned.

It was yet another moment of madness by Grewcock, as he once again let England down when they needed his physical prowess at the forward coalface.

Tait's international debut lasted 60 minutes before he was replaced by Bath centre Olly Barkley as England adopted a change of tactics.

Barkley's prodigious left boot was immediately involved in the action as he pinned Wales back with a raking touchfinder inside the home 22.

With 10 minutes remaining, England went ahead for the first time when Hodgson completed his penalty hat-trick and put the visitors 9-8 in front.

Hodgson's strike was a hammer blow for Wales, and their response was to launch another raid into English territory that took a considerable amount of defending.

But with the clock ticking down, Wales suddenly had it all to do if they were not to suffer more heartbreak against England in Cardiff.

The closing stages were predictably dramatic, and Wales regained the lead with just four minutes remaining when they changed their goal kicker.

England failed to release possession in a tackle, skipper Robinson looked to be the culprit, but from 44 metres out, Jones handed kicking duties to Henson.

Displaying nerves of steel, Henson rifled the resulting penalty between the posts, and Wales were within sight of a famous victory, leading 11-9.

England just could not get out of their own 22, and as the game entered injury time Wales kept up the pressure before hanging on to secure a famous victory.

SCORING SEQUENCE 10 minsWilliams try, 5-0 15 mins Hodgson pen, 5-3 24 mins S Jones pen, 8-3 47 mins Hodgson pen, 8-6 70 mins Hodgson pen, 8-9 77 mins Henson pen, 11-9

WALES 15Gareth Thomas (c) 14Hal Luscombe 13Tom Shanklin 12Gavin Henson 11Shane Williams 10Stephen Jones 9Dwayne Peel 1Gethin Jenkins 2Mefin Davies 3Adam Jones 4Brent Cockbain 5Robert Sidoli 6Dafydd Jones 7Martyn Williams 8Michael Owen
Subs G Cooper for Peel, 61 mins Sin bin Thomas 34-44 mins Scorers Williams try, S Jones pen, Henson pen

ENGLAND Jason Robinson (c) Mark Ceuto Matthew Tait Jamie Noon Josh Lewsey Charlie Hodgson Matt Dawson Graham Rowntree Steve Thompson Julian White Danny Grewcock Ben Kay Chris Jones Andy Hazell Joe Worsley
Subs J Forrester for Worsley, 40 mins; O Barkley for Tait, 57 mins; P Vickery for Rowntree, 57 mins; H Ellis for Dawson, 64 mins; S Borthwick for Grewcock, 66 mins Sin bin Grewcock 34-44 mins Scorers Hodgson 3 pens Referee Steve Walsh (New Zealand)