Wales produced a storming comeback to beat shell-shocked England 28-25 at Twickenham this morning and leave the Rugby World Cup hosts facing an almighty battle to reach the knockout stages from Pool A.
Battered, bruised and second best for an hour, the never-say-die Welsh came to life to secure a famous victory in the 127th meeting between the two nations.
Welsh trailed 25-18, with their injury woes worsened by knocks to Hallam Amos, Scott Williams and Liam Williams, but found their spark when it mattered most.
Halfback Gareth Davies' converted try from a lightning attack levelled the scores with 10 minutes left and then a seventh penalty from outstanding first five Dan Biggar settled the gripping contest.
With only two teams progessing to the knockout stages from the toughest of the four pools, defeat left the 2003 winners needing to beat Australia next Saturday at Twickenham to stay in with any real chance of avoiding a humiliating exit.
"We just stayed in the match," said Wales coach Warren Gatland.
"That game could have gone any way. In the second half we got a bit more hands on the ball, played in the wider channels and got outside them a bit.
'SO PROUD'
"These players have worked so hard, and we've got such a limited pool of players to choose from, I am just so proud of them."
His captain Sam Warburton also hailed Welsh strength in the face of their injury problems.
"It just shows the spirit and the strength of the squad, that even though we have lost those top-quality players we can still come to a place like Twickenham, one of the hardest places to come in the world, and get an away victory," he said.
Winger Jonny May had rewarded England's first half dominance with a well-taken try and coach Stuart Lancaster's decision to bring in flyhalf Owen Farrell, in place of George Ford, and centre Sam Burgess appeared to be vindicated.
Farrell was clinical in front of goal, kicking five penalties and landing a long-range drop goal. But so was Biggar, whose ability to dissect the posts ensured Wales never lost touch.
Gatland had urged his side to "smash" into England and there was no shortage of thunderous collisions in the opening quarter.
England absorbed the early charge and had the edge in the scrum and at the hotly-contested breakdown, with Billy Vunipola an ever-present menace to the Welsh.
SUPERCHARGED
In a supercharged atmosphere, England were ahead 9-6 when tensions boiled over, a melee involving all 30 players ensuing after the hosts were angered by what they perceived to be an illegal chop-tackle from Dan Lydiate on Tom Wood.
No penalty was forthcoming but England were on the front foot and their pressure was rewarded when May finished off a sweeping move across the width of the pitch.
Farrell converted to extend the lead to 16-6 before Biggar's third penalty gave the Welsh hope for the second half.
The first fives exchanged further penalties before the momentum changed. Wales, growing in stature, attacked England down the flanks and, from a lineout on halfway, replacement Lloyd Williams burst down the line to kick on for Davies to gather the ball inches from the line and dive under the posts.
Biggar converted and then added his final penalty, making it 23 points on the night, to leave England staring into the abyss.
Lancaster, who said England's decision to spurn a difficult late shot at goal to go for the win was the wrong choice in hindsight, insisted there is still all to play for.
"We're devastated to lose the game from a position where we were dominant, but we gave away penalties and Dan Biggar is a world class goalkicker and made us pay.
"It's knockout rugby now ... everything has to go into beating Australia now."
