Wales celebrate Rugby World Cup victory over England

Updated

Wales have scored a stunning victory over England in the Rugby World Cup.

The Welsh underdogs came back from being 10 points down to beat England 28-25 in the blockbuster battle, leaving England on shaky ground to make it through to the next stage of their own home-based World Cup.

England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning hero Jonny Wilkinson gave credit to Dan Biggar who landed a late penalty for Wales. Wilkinson tweeted: "Respect + congrats to Wales for a great win. Thought Dan Biggar was phenomenal. Having played against him, I know he deserves all of it."

Thousands of Wales fans were ecstatic about the victory in the Pool A game at Twickenham.

Wales fan Ian Leather, who lives in Twickenham, nervously watched the final minutes on a big screen at Richmond's Old Deer park. He said: "It was way too tense. I couldn't watch the last five minutes - I stood behind the pillar.

"We were losing for most of it and then we smashed it at the end. I'll sleep well tonight."

Husband and wife Joanne and Alan Robinson from Coventry were supporting different sides. They said: "It's been absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere here has been buzzing ... truly tremendous."

"We've got our friends here, who are English, so obviously he's been a bit outnumbered," Mrs Robinson said of her Welsh husband.

They joked that England's Sam Burgess and Wales's Jamie Roberts had both been man of the match.

Both countries have started their campaigns in Pool A with a victory but this match was always going to be the biggest encounter of the early stages of the tournament.

England fan Matteo Lechler, 16, of Chiswick, said: "I'm feeling quite gutted.

"I think it was a bit of a poor performance from England, the last 10 minutes especially.

"Wales, even though they had injuries, played extremely well. I'd say it's a big climb now for England to get to the knock-out stages."

After the victory World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper tweeted: "Fabulous game of rugby!! Congratulations Wales. A courageous and historic win."

There was also a strong royal rivalry for the match as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge supported Wales while Prince Harry was backing England from the stands at Twickenham.

William and Kate proudly sported the Welsh colours while Harry wore an England rugby shirt with the message "Carry Them Home" at the back.

William is the vice patron of the Welsh Rugby Union while Harry holds a similar role with the Rugby Football Union.

They could be seen singing the national anthems as the sell-out crowd created a cracking atmosphere for the game.

Welsh singing legend Sir Tom Jones, who had already personally met the Welsh team to wish them good luck, was also cheering the team on.

The Welsh players also had the support of former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and his Welsh girlfriend Hayley Roberts who were also in the crowd.

Many of the die-hard rugby fans had dressed up for the occasion.

Many people in the crowd were dressed in team shirts and wore face paints in their national colours to support their players in the nail-biting match.

Some came dressed as Welsh daffodils and dragons and as English roses as they cheered on the teams, from both inside the stadium and outside while watching on big screens.

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