Seine again!

WHAT a match, the best by far of this season's Six Nations and one of the best ever in the tournament, that was Wales' encounter with France which at last promised a first home triple crown in 17 years and first Grand Slam in 27.

Paris in the springtime is a glorious place, but Paris on a bitterly cold February afternoon proved just as marvellous for a Welsh team at last not only showing their customary flair but also a resolve and strength of purpose not seen in decades. France, like Wales, had won their opening two games, but had been fortunate. Scotland had been denied what had seemed a perfectly good try and had then conceded one via a chargedown to be robbed of a famous victory at the Stade de France.

France had then robbed England at Twickenham thanks to six penalties by Dimitri Yachvili, but would have lost had England's kickers been on song and looked a pale shadow of the free-running French teams of the past.

Coach Bernard Laporte made changes for Wales' visit, but the general consensus was that France would again play it tight and try to win through their forwards. How wrong we were.

The unpredictable Les Bleus turned the clock back to their glorious past and in the first half produced a brand of running rugby that threatened to demolish Mike Ruddock's men and indeed might have destroyed almost any team in the world.

They scored two stunning tries through Yachvili and Rougerie and led 12-0 in as many minutes and threatened to overwhelm the Welsh midfield defence with their free-running game.

But though they went close on several occasions, they failed to add further tries and despite Yachvili adding a penalty, Stephen Jones kicked two for Wales, one crucially just before half time, so that instead of leading by 20+ points at the interval the French were still well within sight at 15-6.

Nevertheless, the whole of Wales feared the worst, expecting more of the same in the second half, and were both stunned and delighted by the fighting response of their side.

The men in red returned to the pitch transformed, so much so that Welsh TV pundit Jonathan Davies said that whatever coach MIke Ruddock had said at half-time ought to be written down and repeated before every match.

Now led by Newport Gwent Dragon Michael Owen after Gareth Thomas had fractured a thumb, Wales produced a breathtaking revival and within a few minutes were ahead.

The twinkling feet of Shane Williams (how do you keep him out of the action) put Martyn Williams over for a try in the left corner, Stephen Jones converting, and soon after Williams took a quick tap penalty and was over again on the stretch and amazingly Wales were ahead 18-15.

A Yachvili penalty put France level, but Stephen Jones added another for Wales and then dropped a goal as he responded with his finest display for the national side against the country in which he now plies his trade.

But just as the whole of Wales started to celebrate, so France hit back in this stunning, topsy-turvy game and hammered away at the Wales line.

Could the defence hold? As the scrum kept going down, would New Zealand referee Paul Honiss award a penalty try? How many people in Wales would suffer a heart attack?

Those at home watching in front of their TVs suddenly departed to the toilet or the kitchen, the tension so strong that they couldn't bear it.

But Wales' new-found heroes held on and when, after almost two minutes of unexpected extra time (the clock had stopped and the final whistle ought to have been blown) Stephen Jones booted the ball high into the crowd, so the whole of Wales rose in unison to salute and celebrate.

It had been rugby at its best, played with flair and passion, and Wales had won, their third win in a row on French soil, and a new era, surely not another false dawn, had finally arrived.