WALES, inspired by the individual brilliance of Shane Williams and full back Lee Byrne, won a cliff-hanger of a test in Cardiff yesterday to sound a last-ditch note of northern defiance at the end of a year in which European rugby has been all but obliterated by the southern hemisphere Tri-Nations.

For the record, Wales posted the only win in 19 encounters by Six Nations sides against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand this year and they finished as deserved winners in this Invesco Perpetual match.

Williams showed why he was voted IRB Player of the Year earlier this week, sparking and then scoring the first of two Welsh tries before conjuring the second for the outstanding Byrne.

As for Byrne, a delighted Wales coach Warren Gatland said afterwards that he was the best full back in Europe during last season’s Wales Grand Slam and the best on show from either hemisphere during this Autumn series.

During the first half, Australia struggled to contain the Welsh cut-and-thrust as they offloaded the ball out of the tackle and shifted the point of attack, frequently targeting their slower front row forwards in open field.

On the debit side, Wales suffered from a lack of composure and discipline when they had Australia on the ropes and they allowed the Wallabies to climb off the deck and get back into the game with a soft first half try, and then another in the 79th minute, rather than delivering a decisive knock-out.

The biggest positive both for Wales, and the game as a whole, was that the referee, Alan Lewis, refused to allow Australia any leeway for their illegal tactic of deliberate scrum collapses.

The game began at breakneck speed, with Wales carrying the game to the Wallabies. Australia were unsettled by the loss of their captain Stirling Mortlock, who was forced to leave the field after being laid out following a clash of heads with Jamie Roberts. Roberts managed to soldier on bravely, playing an important part in the brilliant Welsh try that followed immediately afterwards. Shane Williams danced past Benn Robinson before palming a pass to Byrne in the middle of the field. The full back speared into the Australian half before passing to Roberts, who galloped into the Australian 22 before setting up the ruck. Cooper then threw a 20-metre pass to Byrne and, with the Australian defence short on numbers, Williams dived over in the right hand corner.

However, the Wallabies got back into the game when Mark Chisholm pounced on a loose line out tap to race home from 65 metres.

Matt Giteau converted and, with Roberts forced to retire with what was later diagnosed as a fractured skull, Australia began to mount pressure for the first time. It reaped dividends when Giteau struck a 35-metre drop goal to stretch the Australian lead to 10-5 after 24 minutes.

Australia nearly capitalised further when Ryan Cross latched on to the bounce from and up- and-under, but he was hunted down by Tom Shanklin and Shane Williams for Wales to launch a multi-phase counter attack. With Ryan Jones playing by far his best game of the autumn, Wales rampaged into the Australian 22 and they were only stopped when Stephen Moore dived.

Stephen Jones kicked the penalty to narrow the gap to 10-8, Giteau missed a penalty soon afterwards and then Wales scored with a beautifully crafted try. Powell, Ryan Jones and Gethin Jenkins punched over the gain-line to set up quick ball from a ruck and, when it was moved down the line, Shane Williams fixed two defenders with a delayed pass to put Byrne through a gaping hole, Jones converting to make it 15-10.

Wales butchered two more clear cut opportunities but it was Australia who were left hanging on at the half time whistle. The second half was more attritional, Giteau closing the gap to 15-13 with a penalty, while Stephen Jones, who had an otherwise commanding game, missed two penalties. However, the Welsh fly half kept his composure to kick a crucial drop goal 13 minutes from time, stretching the Welsh lead to 18-13.

With two minutes remaining, he stepped forward to seal the match for Wales with a penalty after Drew Mitchell had dived in at a ruck.

A frenzied Australian attack yielded a try for Digby Ioane in the penultimate minute but Giteau pushed the drop goal conversion wide and, after the restart, Wales refused to let go of their grip on this game.

Afterwards, when asked what this win meant for European rugby, Gatland responded, “We needed a win, didn’t we?” And how.

WALES: Byrne, M Jones, Shanklin, J Roberts (Bishop 18 min), S Williams, S Jones, Cooper, Jenkins, Rees, A Jones, Gough, A Jones, R Jones, M Williams, Powell (D Jones 62 min).

AUSTRALIA: Mitchell, Hynes (Tuqiri 34 min), Cross, Mortlock (Cooper 3 min), Ioane, Giteau, Burgess, Robinson, Moore (Freier 69 min), Baxter, Chisholm, Sharpe, McMeniman

Referee: Allan Lewis (Ireland)

Attendance: 74,250