Wales ..................... 11 England ................... 9

THE words Grand Slam weren't even in the players' or fans' minds, let alone on their lips, when Wales began their 2005 Six Nations campaign against world champions England.

It had been 12 years since Wales had defeated the Old Enemy in Cardiff, not since France in 2001 had they defeated a leading rugby country, and the nation had become used to disappointment.

But there was undoubtedly an air of expectation born out of Wales' exciting Autumn international displays, despite narrow defeats by the All Blacks and South Africa. And England arrived with a side decimated by retirements and injuries since their World Cup triumph Down Under (only five survivors from their final victory over Australia). In the event, the game itself never reached the heights everyone had hoped for, but it did produce that all-important, morale-boosting win against top opposition that Wales had been waiting for and it also produced a new hero in one Gavin Henson.

The Neath/Swansea Ospreys player had long been regarded as a supremely talented individual but with a major question-mark surrounding both his attitude and temperament.

As a youngster with ability to spare he had shone in the various national schools and youth sides and been tipped by many to be Wales' outside half for the 2004 World Cup.

He never even made the trip, some blaming his former club Swansea for failing to determine his best position and some previous Wales coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen for failing to give him a real chance at international level.

But if truth be told, it had largely been down to his own mixed displays, sometimes brilliant, sometimes lackadaisical.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Saturday, January 5 was the day Henson with his trademark silver boots, later sold at auction for a cancer charity for £8,500, finally fulfiled his destiny.

Playing at centre, he produced a couple of stunning breaks and produced a couple of bone-crunching tackles on new England centre Matthew Tait and prop Julian White. But it was his long range penalty four minutes from time, straight as a die having taken over for his first kick of the game from Stephen Jones, that will linger in the memory, rather like that of Paul Thorburn against Scotland some years previous.

That kick took Wales from a 9-8 deficit to an 11-8 victory and set up wild celebrations among a record 74,197 crowd starved of success for so long and who at least now faced the prospect of better days to come.

But what of the the rest of the game? In the first half Stephen Jones had missed a few kicks at goal, but Wales led 8-3 at half time having scored the only try of the game, and a glorious one at that.

England hooker Steve Thomson's throw went astray at the back of a lineout and Martyn Williams,pounced on it.

After that Stephen Jones, Dafydd Jones, Dwayne Peel, Tom Shanklin, Gareth Thomas, Peel again, Stephen Jones again, Henson and Michael Owen handled before the latter's long miss-pass sent Wales wing Shane Williams, the man who more than anyone with his World Cup displays had fired the current Welsh revival, over in the corner.

Stephen Jones and England outside half Charlie Hodgson kicked penalties to produce the 8-3 scoreline before Hodgson completed a penalty hat-trick to set up Henson's tilt at immortality.

He grabbed the chance with both hands and set the current Welsh side on the road to what on Saturday could culminate in that first Six Nations Grand Slam and enduring fame.