There was pandemonium in the stands as the drama unfolded in Cardiff
Scotland will return to the Principality Stadium this weekend as they face Wales in the latest instalment of a Six Nations fixture that has thrown up plenty of memorable moments over the years.
This year, Steve Tandy’s side head into the match as clear underdogs, with their losing run in the championship running all the way back to March 2023, having been extended by heavy defeats to both England and France in the opening two rounds of this year’s tournament.
The visitors to Cardiff, meanwhile, are riding high after reclaiming the Calcutta Cup with a stunning win against England last weekend, with Gregor Townsend’s side widely tipped to add to Wales’ misery on Saturday.
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Of course, it wasn’t always like this. In fact, the fixture was responsible for one of the most remarkable Welsh victories in history, with the two sides’ Six Nations showdown in 2010 seeing chaos break out on the Principality Stadium field.
In one of the most memorable championship matches of all time, Wales clinched a stunning 31-24 comeback win over the Scots, having trailed by 10 points with just five minutes left on the clock.
It looked as though Warren Gatland’s side were heading for a humiliating defeat in Cardiff, having been red-hot favourites ahead of the match. Nothing was going right for the hosts, with Scotland seemingly minutes from victory despite having a man in the sin bin.
But when Leigh Halfpenny raced over on 76 minutes, the deficit was cut to just three points and, cheered on by a packed stadium, Wales went in search of more.
With the game entering its final minute, Lee Byrne charged through the Scottish defence, only to be tripped by Phil Godman, who had come on just two minutes earlier. The replacement back was sent to the bin, with Scotland down to 13 men and Wales opting to kick for goal, with Stephen Jones drawing his side level from the tee.
While the clock was in the red, there was somehow still time for one more play. With the stadium roaring, Wales threw caution to the wind and went in search of a win, with Jones boldly opting to fire a cross-field kick in the direction of Byrne and Halfpenny on the right wing.
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The bounce favoured Byrne as he collected and looked outside him to feed Halfpenny, who soon got reinforcements as Wales piled forwards in attack. Edging closer to the Scottish line, Richie Rees looked up and fired the ball out to his left to Shane Williams, with the wing diving under the posts to seal the most remarkable of comebacks and send the stadium into pandemonium.
It was one of the most memorable and chaotic finishes to a match in rugby history, but not everyone who started the contest was there to witness the end, with two Scottish players taken to hospital before full-time.
Captain Chris Paterson, who won his 100th Scotland cap that day, split his kidney in a collision with Wales’ Andy Powell and spent almost a week in hospital in severe pain. But while he was able to return to play at the Rugby World Cup the following year, for one of his team-mates, that match in Cardiff was to be their last in professional rugby.
Shortly before half-time, wing Thom Evans had been stretchered off the pitch following a sickening collision with Byrne, after receiving several minutes of treatment on the field. There was immediate concern for the Glasgow Warriors back and the brutal extent of his injuries became clear shortly after he was rushed to hospital.
It was revealed that the collision with Byrne had knocked Evans’ cervical vertebrae so badly out of alignment that he had been left just a millimetre from paralysis, or even death.
The 24-year-old underwent emergency surgery on his neck just hours after the match ended, before having a second operation to further stabilise his spine later that week.
He then spent a week in hospital in Cardiff before undergoing four months of rehabilitation. However, Evans – who later described the impact of his collision with Byrne as “like being hit with a sniper’s bullet” – was sadly forced to retire later that year upon medical advice.
Announcing his decision, the Scotland international said at the time: “I can still do pretty much anything. I just can’t play a physical game such as rugby. When you’re told you can’t play the sport you love dearly, it comes as quite a shock.
“I’ve been fortunate to have played six seasons at the top against some of the best players in the world. I’ll have those memories for the rest of my life,” Evans added.
“You can ask any rugby player who has had a freak accident and they will still tell you that rugby is the best game in the world.”
While his rugby career ended in devastating circumstances, Evans has gone on to have a successful life outside of the sport. As well as modelling for magazines including Men’s Health and Attitude, he also trained to become a sprinter and competed at the Scottish Senior Championships just two years on from his career-ending injury.
Now 40 years old, the 10-cap international has also tried his hand at reality TV, appearing on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls before meeting his now-fiancee Nicole Scherzinger on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019.
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