Wales hooker Ryan Elias hailed his side's "never-say-die attitude" in their tense 20-17 victory over Scotland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
After suffering a heavy loss to Ireland last weekend, Wales gave their Six Nations title defence lift-off thanks to the kicking expertise of Dan Biggar.
The fly-half kicked 15 points on what was his 100th Test outing, including a drop-goal 11 minutes from time to seal the victory for Wales in Cardiff.
Scotland were a man down at that point after Finn Russell, who himself kicked 12 points, was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on.
Wales trailed by five points in the first half and were again behind approaching the hour mark, but they rallied to avoid successive losses to begin a campaign for the first time since 2007.
"It's huge," Elias told BBC Sport. "We needed a big reaction from last week, especially for the crowd here today.
"We didn't turn up last week physically or in a lot of aspects of the game. I don't think we fired any shots last week.
"We had a long hard look at ourselves in the week. We were physical, we had that never-say-die attitude. Hopefully we can just keep building on that now."
Russell's yellow card was his fourth in Test rugby, each of those coming in the Six Nations – including one in a defeat to Wales seven years ago.
Biggar took full advantage by kicking for the three points soon after, rather than playing the ball out wide as Wales closed in on the try-line.
After expertly seeing out the win, however, centurion Biggar was left to reflect on a memorable day.
"This is one of my best victories in a Welsh shirt," he said. "It's been a really difficult week. We've had to put up with a lot of flak – and rightly so.
"To come back here and put on a show like that, to grind a result out like that, is one of the best victories in my 100 games.
"We put in a huge shift defensively, our forwards fronted up, and it laid a really strong foundation.
"Off the back of the week we've had, this team has shown if anything it's resilient and can hit back after a poor performance."
Scotland beat England 20-17 in last week's Calcutta Cup clash and started strongly through a Darcy Graham try in Cardiff.
But after failing to push on, they have now lost 10 of their 12 away matches against Wales in the Six Nations, including the last nine in a row at the Principality Stadium.
And Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg was left to reflect on an ill-disciplined display from his side in the Welsh capital.
"We're bitterly disappointed," he told BBC Sport. "The stuff that we're in control of, when we're on the front foot, we're really dangerous. At times, we weren't allowed to do that.
"We're a lot better than what we showed. That’s international rugby – you have to take your chances or you end up on the wrong side of the scoreline.
"[Poor discipline] was absolutely a factor. One penalty or knock-on is fine, but when we compound error upon error that's frustrating, because we know we're better than that.
"Credit to Wales, they were fairly good at times. It's a horrible feeling right now but that is Test match rugby."
Rhys Carre released from Wales training squad for missing performance targets
Cardiff prop Rhys Carre has been released from Wales’ preliminary Rugby World Cup training squad after failing to meet individual performance targets.
The Welsh Rugby Union said in a statement: “Rhys Carre has been released from the Wales senior men’s preliminary training squad for Rugby World Cup 2023.
“Following ongoing discussions between the player and the Wales coaching team, Carre has failed to meet individual performance targets set at the end of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.”
Carre was one of 10 props selected in the training squad alongside Nicky Smith, Corey Domachowski, Gareth Thomas, Kemsley Mathias, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis, Keiron Assiratti, Henry Thomas and Will Davies-King.
Domachowski, Mathias, Assiratti, Thomas and Davies-King are all uncapped, while Carre has made 20 Test match appearances.
His Wales debut came in 2019, and he was also part of the World Cup squad in Japan later that year.
Carre, 25, has become the fourth player to depart head coach Warren Gatland’s 54-man group that he announced last month.
Ospreys trio Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb all announced their international retirements ahead of the World Cup in France later this year after being named in the squad.
Wales play three World Cup warm-up games in August, with their tournament opener being against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10.
London Irish given one-week extension to try and secure their financial future
London Irish have been given a one-week extension in their battle for survival with the Rugby Football Union setting a final deadline of June 6 to prove they have a future.
Irish will be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership unless a takeover has been completed or they can demonstrate they have the funding needed to operate for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.
The May payroll for all staff and players must also be paid in full after it was confirmed that only 50 per cent has been received so far.
The RFU said it had granted the extension until 4pm next Tuesday at the request of Irish employees.
“It’s deeply frustrating for all the staff, players and fans that there have been months of multiple missed deadlines,” RFU Club Financial Viability Working Group chair Paula Carter said.
“We are extremely disappointed that the club has so far only funded 50 per cent of the staff and player wages. However, we have to respect the wishes of those most affected.
“The 4pm deadline on June 6 is final and we have added the stipulation that the club must also fulfil its contractual obligations to its employees by paying the May salaries in full.”
Taking a look at the financial crisis gripping the Gallagher Premiership
London Irish could be the latest victims of the financial crisis gripping the Gallagher Premiership.
Here the PA news agency looks at the clubs most affected by the grim outlook.
GONE:
Worcester
The first club placed into administration back in September, Worcester’s future is still uncertain despite being taken over by Jim O’Toole’s Atlas Group.
Entrance into the second tier Championship has been blocked by the Rugby Football Union for their failure to meet certain conditions and their plan of joining with Stourbridge and relaunching in the fifth tier appears dead in the water.
Wasps
The month after Worcester folded, Wasps followed them into administration as the league suffered the crushing blow of losing one of English rugby’s most famous brands. Further misery was to come as having targeted rebirth in the Championship, the failure to meet certain conditions forced the RFU to revoke their license and demote them to the foot of the rugby pyramid.
TEETERING:
London Irish
Burdened by debts of around £30million and with an owner desperate to sell in Mick Crossan, London Irish are shaping up to become the next club to be removed from the Premiership. All staff must be paid today for the month of May for Irish to be granted a deadline extension for their proposed takeover by an American consortium. The clock is ticking.
SHAKY FOUNDATIONS:
Leicester
Leicester needed an emergency cash injection of £13million from directors Peter Tom and Tom Scott in to address what chief executive Andrea Pinchen described as “very challenging conditions”. A letter from the club to shareholders sent in March stated that if the funding was not approved, there would be no option but to appoint administrators.
Exeter
Even Exeter, one of the few clubs in the pre-pandemic era to operate at a profit, were forced to take special measures in December. Chiefs owner Tony Rowe bought a stake in a hotel owned by the club in order for it to service its debts, including Covid loans issued by the Government. Rowe’s intervention has sured up the finances for the time being.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
