“If we’d lost, it would have been a big blow. There’s no denying that.” Gregor Townsend is not one for extravagant displays of emotion, but the Scotland head coach spoke with a level-eyed intensity that made clear he had rarely spoken truer words.
The story of Scotland and rugby is a rollercoaster of highs and lows at the best of times, but for Townsend’s charges to fail to overturn 22 years of hurt in Cardiff with this one-point win after establishing a 27-0 lead a couple of minutes into the second half would have meant outlandish pain even by their standards.
