Welsh euphoric after victory over England

CARDIFF - Wales captain Gareth Thomas was euphoric after today's 11-9 defeat of world champions England in the Six Nations.

"I feel like I could fly right now," said Thomas. "We've been on the other side, the ones losing by narrow margins so it's a relief.

"Everyone will now go crazy, there'll be mass hysteria, and the team can take the victory and enjoy it. But we realise it is a tournament and we have another game next week."

Wales travel to Rome to play Italy next Saturday after their first Cardiff victory over England since 1993.

Coach Mike Ruddock was delighted that Wales had hung on to overturn a 9-8 deficit in the final minutes thanks to Gavin Henson's decisive penalty.

"I didn't think we played particularly well, there wasn't the continuity, tempo or pace we were hoping for. But in the end we just had to slug it out.

"That's a big achievement for us as usually we come off second best in the forward battle.

"Hopefully now we've got that result we can relax and play a bit of rugby."

The Welsh crowd had seen their team lose by one point to New Zealand and by two points to South Africa last November, and a record 74,197 fans in the Millennium Stadium produced a deafening noise on Saturday to drive their team on.

"It was brilliant, everything you want to be a part of," said Ruddock. "It's been amazing today -- the crowd and the whole nation have been patient in helping us make the step.

"We are in amongst the big guns at last and our target now is to get some consistency and a few wins."

Henson said he had no doubts he would be successful with his late penalty attempt.

"I was really positive, I knew I was going to kick it," he said. "I have been kicking them really well lately.

"We deserved it, it's been a long time coming. Hopefully we can go on a run now."

- REUTERS