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One of the most remarkable finishes to a rugby match - Wales grabbed a 31-24 victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to a fantastic Shane Williams try in the last minute of their Six Nations clash with Scotland.

What a finish! After 76 minutes of tedium, the match burst into action and drama and more and more of both. Wales scored 17 points in the last four minutes to score an improbable win, but much of it was Scots-assisted.

First, after a warning, Scott Lawson was sin-binned for playing the scrumhalf without the ball at a tackle. Then Phil Godmin was sin-binned for a late lunge at Lee Byrne who had kicked over his head. Then, with time up and the scores, tied the exhausted, dilapidated Scots kicked off to Wales and waited for their wave of attack, when all they needed to do was kick the ball as far out as possible.

Wal v Sco: Scottish player ratings
Wal v Sco: Wales player ratings
Wales gave it 'absolutely everything'

Mind you, cool heads in the Millennium cauldron at that stage were a rare commodity.

That final burst and the unlikely victory will make the match memorable and one could not but help feel for the Scots who lost Chris Paterson early on and then Max Evans off on a stretcher, then Dan Parks who limped off and two men in a sin bin to reduce them to 13 men. They had played the match with great heart and did not deserve the ending.

The Welsh on the other hand started off in dithery fashion as if the ghost of Twickenham was still with them and it was not till they were swept along by the tide of emotion - and two more players - that they showed real confidence and purpose. For much of the game they were put off by the Scottish defensive pattern, for they sent one man racing way ahead to cut off wide passing. It worked.

After the champagne of excitement and action in the Super 14, this was flat beer indeed. The scrums were ridiculous. This is supposed to be a time when referees sort out the scrums. In this match 13 scrums produced 8 resets, 13 collapses, 6 penalties and 2 free kicks. There were five scrums in the first half, which yielded two free kicks and three penalties. That makes a mockery of rugby football.

Much of the champagne of Super 14 comes from the quick ball from the tackle. This was simply not the case at the Millennium Stadium where players simply lay where they chose. The first penalty against Scotland was against Jim Hamilton for stamping. Perhaps there were others, especially Martyn Williams, who could have done with a stamping to get them to do what the referee should have had them do.

Dithery playing is no good and neither is dithery refereeing.

The penalty count in the match was 13-6 to Wales.

Forget the hectic surprise of the end, the surprise of the first 76 minutes was how well the Scots played. They do not score tries, but did; Wales score tries but didn't in a role reversal. The first Scottish try was started by a counterattack launched by Chris Paterson., The wonderful player was playing his 100th match for his country. He caught the first kick-off and was thumped to the ground by Andy Powell, injuring his shoulder. He went on bravely taking tackles. Injured, he started the first try with a counterattack and the Scots got onto the front foot and suddenly John Barclay burst, Superman like, through James Hook and Gareth Cooper to run 20 metres to score. 7-0 after 8 minutes.

The Scots were penalised at five scrums. Most often Euan Murray was the man penalised. The first time it happened Stephen Jones goaled. 7-3 after 15 minutes. This followed a period of earnest Welsh attack and resolute Scottish defence.

But the Scots got back and, after slow phases, Dan Parks kicked a dropped goal. 10-3 after 17 minutes.

The Scots battered at the Welsh defence and then Parks slipped through a grubber into the vacant Welsh in-goal. The ball was approaching touch-in-goal and the dead-ball line when Max Evans, on for his bleeding younger brother, dived on the ball to score. Paterson missed his kick - apparently his first miss in three years of Six Nations rugby. Soon afterwards he went off.

Stephen Jones and Parks, who took over the kicking duties just before Paterson left the field, traded penalty goals to make it 18-6.

There was a long, long hold-up as Tom Evans was taken off the field on a stretcher. His place was taken by Mike Blair who went to left wing.

Stephen Jones kicked a penalty on half-time to make the score 18-9.

Dan Parks kicked a penalty goal and then the Scots were close to scoring and indeed should have scored when Chris Cusiter broke and gave to Sean Lamont who seemed to lose confidence in a two-on-one situation. When he passed to Kelly Brown the pass was forward and a certain try was lost.

Eventually Wales scored a try, just when it seemed it would not happen at all. It was Shane Williams who made it. Two on two, he ran to take both defenders out and leave Lee Byrne free to race for a try in the corner. 21-14 after 55 minutes.

Scotland attacked with Brown twice prominent and then they hoisted a diagonal towards the right where short Shane Williams rose above tall Kelly Brown to claim the mark. The subsequent kick was not out and Parks kicked a 43-metre drop. 24-14 with 15 minutes to play.

More and more the Welsh were getting on top as they used ball with greater purpose.  Then the defences started to scramble. Lawson was sent to the sin bin and Wales were close to scoring and would have if obstruction by Ryan Jones had not prevented a try by Jamie Roberts. The Scots failed to kick the penalty out and the Welsh came racing back at them till Shane Williams was again clever and Byrne sent Leigh Halfpenny scurrying down the right touch line and round towards the posts. 24-21 with four minutes to play.

Roberts forced his way into a half gap and sent Byrne racing away. faced by Godmin he chipped but he was sent sprawling. All of Wales wanted a penalty try but all they got was a penalty. 24-24 with only seconds to play.

Time was up when the Scots kicked off into the midfield and back came Wales. They attacked on the left and then Stephen Jones, bravely, kicked a high diagonal to the tight. The bounce beat Halfpenny and Sean Lamont but Byrne got the ball and the Welsh were at the line. They went left and the threadbare Scottish defence was in fact bare and unable to resist.

Man of the Match: Shane Williams. He breathed life. He made one try, started another and scored the winner.

Moment of the Match: The winning try by Shane Williams.

Villain of the Match: The two sin-binned players - Scott Lawson and Phil Godmin, but especially Lawson who was gratuitously silly.

For Wales

Tries: Byrne, Halfpenny, Williams
Cons: S. Jones 3
Pens: S. Jones 3

For Scotland

Tries: Barclay, Evans
Cons: Parks
Pen: Parks 2
DG: Parks 2

Yellow Cards: Scott Lawson (Scotland - 74 min), Phil Godman (Scotland - 78 min)

Wales: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Ryan Jones (Captain), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Andy Powell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Jonathan Thomas, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin.

Scotland: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Thom Evans, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Richie Gray, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Max Evans

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)