Wales were second-best in their win over France in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, according to head coach Warren Gatland.
France were the better team for vast swathes of the game, but a red card for lock Sebastian Vahaamahina after 47 minutes allowed the Welsh to get back into the game.
Gatland admitted that the sending-off was a huge help in getting his team through to the World Cup semi-final.
“I think the better team lost today. That red card was obviously significant. The great thing about our boys is that they don’t give up. They just kept trying until the end and kept working away.
“It was a tough, physical game. France came out of the blocks and played well. At half-time I said, ‘We’ve just got to score next.’
“We did that and then we stuck in the game and obviously the red card was a significant moment,” Gatland said.
Replacement scrum-half was vital in his side's win over the French, injecting plenty of pace into the game as soon as he came on.
It was also the scrum-half who created the winning try after stripping the ball off the back of a French scrum and allowing Roos Moriarty to go over for the try.
The Welsh coach was clearly appreciative of the replacement scrum-half’s efforts and singled him out for praise.
“There was a couple of key moments. Tomos Williams came on and made that little break and yeah, it was pretty special.
“Tactically I thought they played really well today. But we had a couple of chances and we just hung in really well today.
“I’m really proud of the boys for doing that because I think lesser teams would have capitulated. And they didn’t do that. We’re here for another couple of weeks,” Gatland commented.
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