Video: Halfpenny hails 'hardest kick of my life'
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Leigh Halfpenny was delighted to score the decisive penalty as Wales claimed a dramatic victory over Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations today.
Halfpenny's successful kick in the closing seconds gave Wales a 23-21 win in Dublin and banished memories of his narrow miss in the World Cup semi-final against France last year.
"It was the hardest kick I've had to take in all my life," Halfpenny said.
"As soon as it went over the emotion came - having to deal with the miss against France in the World Cup, putting that over makes it all worthwhile."
As for the game itself, Halfpenny added on BBC1: "It was end to end stuff, an exciting game. It was a tough test and all credit to Ireland, they really gave us a tough game.
"The score was back and forth and I'm just really pleased to get the result for the rest of the campaign."
Ireland captain Paul O'Connell was left to bemoan two mistakes which he felt were vital to the outcome.
"We'd put ourselves in a great position but there was a bit of work left to do and we didn't do it," O'Connell said on BBC1.
"There were two mistakes by us towards the end, a missed tackle and a penalty, and that's what it came down to."
- Press Association
