George North’s late try, following a moment of magic from Dan Biggar, handed Wales a nail-biting 16-6 RBS 6 Nations victory over France in Paris.
With the scores locked at 6-6 with just eight minutes to go, Biggar chipped in behind and North, who until that stage had seen very little possession, raced onto the ball and dotted down.
It was a first win in nine matches for Wales, a first for Rob Howley as interim coach, a first of the 2013 RBS 6 Nations for the defending champions and a first since completing the Grand Slam last season, against France in Cardiff.
France, on the other hand, who again failed to rediscover their autumn form that eluded them against Italy in Rome last week, have now gone five RBS 6 Nations matches without a victory.
A scrappy opening saw both sides waste the few chances they had, with defences on top and both teams tentative following defeats last weekend.
Toby Faletau knocked on with Wales well-placed in the France 22 while les Bleus captain Thierry Dusautoir followed suit for the hosts soon after.
Wales then enjoyed a brief period of sustained pressure in the France half but errors crept in at the vital moments – Biggar’s short pass to Jamie Roberts was knocked on as the score remained pointless.
Biggar then attempted a drop goal from out on the right but the effort fell well short before France opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a Frederic Michalak penalty after Wales were called up for bringing the scrum down.
Leigh Halfpenny responded in kind just three minutes later however with France penalised for being offside but France’s best chance of a first-half try came on 20 minutes.
Yoann Huget made the initial break down the left and after a few more phases and some quick hands from Michalak and Dusautoir, the full-back was back on the ball on the right.
With Wesley Fofana free outside him a try looked certain but Huget was unable to get the ball away and some fine Wales defence kept France at bay.
It was the story of the half with Wales able to nullify the French as they grew into the game, aided by some superb clearance kicking from Halfpenny, Biggar and Jonathan Davies.
And while Wales regained the upper hand in the closing stages of the first half, they were unable to break the gain line with Mathieu Bastareaud in particular putting in some bruising tackles whenever the Red Dragons stepped on the offensive.
France made a change at half-time time with Francois Trinh-Duc replacing Benjamin Fall – the replacement slotting in at full-back and Huget moving to the wing.
But it was Wales who made the first telling contribution of the second half, Mike Phillips bursting through the French line and galloping forward before France conceded a penalty in front of the posts on 43 minutes after Yoann Maestri went in off his feet.
Halfpenny duly converted to had his side a 6-3 lead before France wasted a good chance to retake the lead soon after.
Biggar kicked straight to touch having taken the ball back into his 22 and from the resulting lineout, France moved to within just a few metres from the Welsh line.
They took the conservative option however as Trinh-Duc went for the drop goal, only to see his effort drift wide.
France did level the scores on 53 minutes though, as Michalak notched his second three-pointer after a series of reset scrums resulted in a penalty for les Bleus.
The impressive Ryan Jones won Wales possession in the French half and while they temporarily relinquished it, a rare break from North put them back on the front foot, only for a poor Phillips kick to see the opportunity disappear.
France were enjoying the upper hand in the scrum and threatened to take a decisive lead with 13 minutes to go, but the Welsh pack held firm to keep the hosts at bay.
But then, on 72 minutes, came the decisive moment of the match. Replacement scrum-half Lloyd Williams fed Biggar, whose delicate touch with boot handed North the perfect chance for his 12th try for Wales.
Halfpenny booted a superb conversion and then added a long-range penalty on 75 minutes to give Wales some welcome breathing space.
France desperately went in search of the score that would get them back into the match but the Welsh defence, impressive all game, stood firm to seal a first win in Paris since the 2005 Grand Slam.
