Wales stand-in captain Ryan Jones praised his side after their 'special' victory over France in Paris lifted the gloom over the squad.
A try from George North late in the second-half turned a dour game around, with Wales adding another famous victory in Paris to their collection.
"It's special, on the back of where we've come from these last few months," said Jones to BBC Sport.
"It was by no means a flawless display, there were a lot of errors there, but the character and die-hard spirit was something special.
"We knew our errors last week were our undoing, so we tightened a few things up and we've taken the spoils."
"The players who've been here before have come here, stood up and been counted and that's what it takes.
"Hopefully we'll kick on from here; winning's a habit and we've got the monkey off our back now."
Man of the match Leigh Halfpenny expressed the joy of his side speaking after the final whistle, praising his side's exceptional defence.
"I can't describe how much that means," said Halfpenny to BBC Sport.
"The boys played incredibly well, we stuck together and what a fantastic win - it's been a long time coming.
"The boys were outstanding in defence, working for each other, just wouldn't give in. When we had a chance we took it, and that's what international rugby's about, taking your chances.
"We came out on the right side of it today. We've come out on the wrong side in a few games, with narrow defeats, and this win is amazing.
"It means everything - playing for that jersey, we're doing it for all the fans here and everyone back home and the boys were oustanding today."
Comments
ArmchairGeneral says...
Bad news for Wales. They've been rewarded for sticking to the same old game plan and now they'll stick with it for at least this 6 nations. France are lucky as its clear to them, surely, they need to change game plan and just play!
Posted 21:23 09th February 2013