November 21 down the years
Henry tastes first Welsh victory
Mark Taylor scores the winning try as Wales beat Argentina 43-30 on this day in 1998
© Getty Images
1998
Wales coach Graham Henry notched the first victory of his tenure with a 43-30 victory over Argentina at Stradey Park. A week after pushing the Springboks in Henry's first game in charge, Wales notched a record win thanks largely to fly-half Neil Jenkins who kicked 23 points. Argentina, coached by Henry's compatriot Alex Wylie, put Wales under enormous pressure at scrum time and battled back from a 26-6 deficit to trail by just a point at half-time. But Wales clung on for victory with Swansea flanker Colin Charvis claiming two tries and Mark Taylor and Dafydd James also touching down. Henry praised his side's resilience for holding out against the physical Pumas. "The players were superb and I was proud of their courage and character in what was a difficult match," he said. "The Argentines are a very good side and they are the best scrummaging team in the world"
1953
Welsh centres Bleddyn Williams and Jack Matthews masterminded Cardiff's 8-3 giant killing of the All Blacks at the Arms Park in front of a crowd of 56,000. Before the game Williams was frank about what his side had to do, telling them, "We have got to try things; if we fail, we fail, but we have got to be different". Following Williams' death in 2009, Scrum.com's Huw Richards wrote, "Cardiff's win supplied one of the great images of his or any career, face glowing with triumph as he was chaired from the field." Williams cemented his place in Welsh rugby history by leading Wales to a 13-8 victory over the tourists just a few weeks later.
1999
Saracens were beaten by a last-minute drop goal in their first ever Heineken Cup match, losing 19-16 to Colomiers. South Africa's World Cup winning captain François Pienaar scored the team's first ever try in the competition, but David Skrela's late drop goal sealed the points for the French side who were the beaten finalists the previous season. Saracens beat their opponents 52-15 in the reverse fixture two months later but failed to progress to the knock-out stages. English rivals Northampton eventually lifted the title following a narrow victory over Munster in the tournament finale.
1936
Oxford and Cambridge Universities warmed up for their annual showdown with impressive wins in London. Cambridge defeat Blackheath 15-8 at Rectory Field and Oxford beat Harlequins 11-7 at Twickenham.
1957
Major R V "Uncle" Stanley, former England selector and founder of the Major Stanley XV, whose team played an annual fixture against Oxford University, died aged 82. Known as 'Uncle', he died after seeing his side beat the Dark Blues 19-9 earlier that day.
1970
On the final match of their tour of England and Wales, Fiji lost 8-6 to Wales Under-25s in Cardiff, wasting three try-scoring opportunities.
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