Wales celebrate their famous Five Nations victory over England in 1999 at Wembley. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
Twenty-five years ago With the Millennium Stadium still under construction, Wales played their home matches at Wembley. In the Five Nations final they «hosted» England, who were in the hunt for the Grand Slam, although a Welsh victory would have given the title to Scotland. Even with an impressive 34-33 win over France in the previous match, Graham Henry's side remained serious underdogs in the home of English football.
Here, some of the key players from that day revisit their memories.< /p>
Matt Perry, England defender:The old Wembley was an interesting stadium. The changing rooms were almost below ground level and to get to the pitch you had to climb a huge hill, and that was Wales. Max Boyce was singing there, and there were goats in the field. You just thought, «Oh wait, we're in England but it's a Wales home game.» I've been lucky enough to play in great stadiums all over the world, but this was the most intense atmosphere I've ever experienced.
Dafydd James, Wales striker:It seemed like there were celebrities everywhere. Tom Jones was in the playroom talking to all our wives and girlfriends. My parents were sitting next to Princes William and Harry. It was an incredible explosion of color and noise, I just wanted to take more of it in.
Colin Charvis, Welsh flanker:As a striker, when you faced England, you just didn't fit into that carnival atmosphere. I know it happened that Tom Jones, Max Boyce and Catatonia were there, but I just blocked out a lot of it.
James:Craig Quinnell had this ritual where the time he could hit the goal post before every game. As I remember, I think he broke his thumb because there was a different set of posts at Wembley, but no one could get out of that game.
Max Boyes sings with the choir before the match at Wembley. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers 
Wales fans have made the stadium their home for their team Photo: Getty Images/Jamie MacDonald First half
Perry sets up Dan Luger for his first try after just two minutes and Steve Hanley, the teenage striker, scores on his debut midway through the first half, but Neil Jenkins' boot puts Wales level at 15-15. Just before half-time, Richard Hill took advantage of a collision between Gareth Thomas and Shane Howarth to score the goal that made it 25-15, but another penalty from Jenkins, his sixth, ensured it would be a one-goal game in the second half.
Charvis: The metaphor that has always been in my head is of a heron with a frog halfway down its throat, and the frog's hands squeezing the heron's neck as it hangs on for dear life. Just don't give up, don't let go. Neil Jenkins' boot and a bit of resilience from the rest of the team, plus England not having a couple of shots on target meant we hung in there. We held on to the heron's neck until it finally coughed us up.
Neil Back, England flanker:Hats off to them for staying in the game, we were never able to break away. We felt very confident in that game. We felt we were in control with three tries and Jonny was scoring all round but Jenks was too good for Wales.
James:Neil scored goals from all over and that was important because I think it's fair to say England played better rugby and really should have been under the radar. Against an old enemy, you must believe in yourself. This is pride, this is more than just a game. You could say it's the World Cup final every year. You have such a never-say-die attitude. There were moments in this game where you just thought, «Damn, this isn't our day,» but Neil Jenkins kept us in it.
Lawrence Dallaglio pushes Ben Evans away as Martin Johnson watches Photo: Getty Images/Gary M. Pryor Second half
Howarth's converted try brings Wales level, but a pair of Wilkinson penalties give England a 31-25 lead going into the closing stages when they are awarded another penalty within striking distance. However, Lawrence Dallaglio decides to take the ball for a corner, with Wales defending the leading maul.
Back:We learned a very important lesson: with two minutes left and a six-point lead, Johnny could have kicked the ball between the posts with either foot. This would mean Wales would have to score twice. We didn't take that option and sent the ball into the corner and the lineout went wrong.
Charvis: I remember being nice to them for taking the death approach or glory.»
Perry: It's too easy to say we should have done this or that, but there were a lot of mistakes made in the last quarter. You know when you, as a team, are losing ground when you start making really unusual mistakes.
This is Scott Gibbs' attempt
The game approaches injury time when England defender Tim Rodber is penalized for no-ball. a weapons tackle on Charvis that allowed Jenkins to kick the penalty to within the England 22.
Charvis:I wasn't put out for long on a penalty that resulted in a touch. I'm pretty sure I still saw stars in the hallway.
James:These days it would probably be a red card. We discussed this move before going to the lineout, a quick throw from Garin Jenkins to Chris Wyatt, straight to Rob Hawley, and then use Scott Quinnell's foil. Nobody thought he was going to pass, but he played this perfectly timed pass and Gibbsey had the perfect line so it went straight past Neil Back. Then he began to move away, which he rarely did.
Perry:I have always supported myself one on one. I worked a lot on my positioning to get the right angle and technique. But that day I had no way to stop him. I grabbed Jonah Loma by one of his cuffs, but Gibbsy's energy and forward momentum meant that even if I caught his calf or even his bootlace, I couldn't stop him. I tried, but he came across me the next week. As many remind me, I missed the tackle that cost England a Grand Slam.
Charvis:It's not often that Test rugby matches score goals early on. It just takes a little magic. All I remember is chasing his scurrying legs, thinking that someone was going to grab him, and that I could make my career here if he unloaded. But he scores, and the first person to hug him and scream with joy is me.
Scott Gibbs dives in search of winning try. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
📍 Wembley Stadium
📅 November 4, 1999
🏉 Scott Gibbs, take a bow
On this day in 1999! 😍 pic.twitter.com/hMQVVvbH9q
— Men. Guinness Six Nations Cup (@SixNationsRugby) April 11, 2019
Neil Jenkins' conversion gives Wales a famous 32-31 victory, denying England a Grand Slam and handing the final Five Nations title to Scotland.
Aftermath
Charvis: I don't know if it's true, but there's an anecdote about Clive Woodward going up the stairs to get a trophy and Graham Henry telling him to sit back down. Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
Perry:One of my most vivid memories was that no one in the England team would talk after the game. We went down to the locker room, no one was talking. We changed clothes, but no one is still talking. We walked up to the bus and saw the white men in the van pushing all these boxes of England Grand Slam shirts into the back of their vans. We were like pathetic boys, you didn’t sell anything today.
James:We stayed in London and our party was attended by several Welsh celebrities such as Cerys Matthews from Catatonia and Tom Jones. There were no cell phones or cameras in those days, which was probably for the best, and we sang until late at night. The following week Scotland sent us all a bottle of Famous Grouse, which was a nice touch from Jocks.
Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson celebrate their victory Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
Charvis:The next day we left around 11 o'clock in order to have time to go to the office and stock up for the bus ride. When we returned, there were flags on all the bridges and thousands of people greeted us. It was such a glimmer of hope for how good we could be. Our tournament was quite mediocre, but for us it was the beginning of a 10-match winning streak. The fans have always believed in us, but this gave us something tangible that allowed us to believe in ourselves.
Back: Although it was very painful, we thank Wales for what he taught us. This is a lesson because in future games we took three points and forced our opponents to chase us. The following year, against Italy, I took that message of the need to build up the score and scored for England when we were only six points ahead. It hurt, but we learned an important lesson that helped us four years later at the 2003 World Championships.
Perry:It was devastating, but the same thing happened in 2000 and 2001 (losing a Grand Slam) before they won in 2003. I just think it was a great spectacle for rugby as a sport. I've spoken to a lot of Welsh people over the years, and I'm of Welsh heritage myself, and they call it a defining moment, but in some ways it was a defining moment for both teams.
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