Wales were the victims of a first-half French blitz and trailed by nine points at the interval, but they began the second period in equally spectacular fashion before holding on for a famous win that keeps their Grand Slam dream alive.

Reflecting on the win, Ruddock said he was very impressed with the calmness of his players in turning around the 15-6 deficit into a 24-18 victory, despite the loss of skipper Gareth Thomas to a thumb injury.

''At half-time the players seemed very calm and very mature about the whole challenge and they backed themselves to get the result,'' revealed Ruddock.

''No-one was panicking at all, even though we had lost Gareth with his injury, because Stephen Jones' kick just before half-time had made the boys realise we were one score from being right back in it.

''I was well impressed with the way they went about it in the second half,'' added Ruddock.

''Before the game we talked about taking our chances. Great teams win in France, but great teams have got to take their chances.

''This team can become a great team if it keeps on improving in the way it has done.

''The players were just magnificent. They really fronted up. Not just the way they weathered the storm or the way they got in front but in the dying moments when the character of the team came out. It underlined the team spirit.

''And there is a huge amount of skill and character in this Wales team. We'll enjoy this win over France but then we will focus on Scotland.''