Match report
Sarah Rendell’s report has landed so I’ll get out of here.
Credit to her for making sense of that. A quick trade secret, most match reports are written with 10 minutes left on the clock. So any change at the death can be a nightmare.
The fact that Sarah filed this on time, and with more than a degree of coherence, is a testament to her skills!
Thanks for joining me. Commiserations to Wales. Congrats to Scotland. What a day of Six Nations action!
I’m sure this isn’t entirely satisfactory, but surely Welsh fans must be delighted that a Test involving their boys was a proper contest.
It’s been too long.
More from Sam Warburton on the Beeb:
I’m proud of that. A lot of people didn’t give Wales a chance before the game. They had to believe because any comeback, any rebuild has to start with belief.
Even though on the scoreboard it says they lost, they’ll go back knowing on another day they could’ve won.
They’ll be gutted they didn’t get the win, but it was an enormous improvement. It was so pleasing to see this stadium with an atmosphere.
Heartbreaking for Wales.
Jamie Jones is looking for answers:
Why, when Wales have just scored a penalty does the ball boy/ girl / they run on and place the ball on the centres spot for Scotland to take a quick kick off?
Give your own team some time
Guarantee this doesn’t happen in New Zealand or South Africa
Notwithstanding wales should have defended the kick off better
Not sure we can point the finger at the ball boy/girl. Surely it’s Welsh sloppiness at fault?
Scotland are top of the table.
They have 11 points – thanks to this bonus point win – after three games.
But France, who play Italy tomorrow, have 10 from two.
Updated
Here’s player of the matc, Rory Darge:
What a massive win for us. Any time you go on the road in the Six Nations you have your work cut out for you. Just delighted with the character we showed. Credit to Wales. We knew they’d come out swinging. It was a tough, tough fixture.
We were coming up second best in the collisions. That is on us. We can’t stress how tough. Wales were. It was a tough game.
There was no hangover from last week. It’s hard getting on the road. It was hard to wrestle back and we’re massively proud of the boys.
Genuinely gutted for Wales. I have no skin in the game. I’m not Welsh. I’m not Scottish. I’m not even European. But I must admit I wanted Wales to win that.
“As a Welshman I’m proud of that,” says Sam Warburton.
Fair play. They gave a proper fight.
It all came down to that lapse for the Graham try when they simply switched off on the hour mark.
Full-time: Wales 23-26 Scotland
Russell misses but Scotland win!
They trailed until the 75th minute. But Scotland snatched victory at the death. Wales gave it their all but couldn’t hold on.
What a game.
80 min: Russell will take aim at the poles. Even if he misses Scotland will win the game. As long as he clears the dead ball line, Scotland will win the game.
79 min: Scotland win the line-out on half way but Wales don’t compete. Why would they not compete for the ball at this stage? Scotland get the maul on and win a penalty. That is surely the game. Oh, how heartbreaking for Wales.
77 min: Scotland win the scrum penalty against Wales’ ball! The Scottish pack celebrate like they’ve just won the Six Nations. Perhaps they’ve just won the game.
76 min: This ain’t over. Scotland spill the restart. Wales have the scrum inside Scotland’s 22. A drop goal would tie it. Wales surely want the win.
TRY! Wales 23-26 Scotland (Turner, 75)
Scotland maul over! Wales don’t compete in the air and opt to set themselves against the maul. But once the Scotts got the first shove, they were always on. Fagerson and a few backs joined the party and it was inevitable. Russell slots the conversion and for the first time in the game, Scotland are in front.
Updated
74 min: Penalty again for Scotland. In fact they had three in that sequence. Wales are holding on by the skin of their teeth. Russell nudges this to the corner. Wales keep hammering their tackles as Scotland keep hammering the line. It’s so tense. My goodness, this is in the balance.
OK, deep breath. Line-out for Scotland five out on the right as they look at it.
72 min: Scotland make a mess of their line-out and Wales come away with the ball! They then clean it up and hoof it long. They survive! Scotland will have the ball inside Welsh territory, but 40 metres back.
71 min: Steyn take a great grab under pressure. Horne lifts it high but Wales come away with it. Rees-Zammit has it until he’s eaten by Tuipulotu. Wales then give away the penalty on the floor as Rees-Zammit tried to play it. Huge impact from the Scottish skipper. Russell has the ball in his hands. No doubt, he kicks toi the corner and pretty much nails it. Five metre line-out coming up. Can Wales hold them out?
Updated
69 min: Scotland get a good rumble off the maul on halfway from the line-out. Jordan, on the park, makes ground after contact. Russell takes the hit and finds Bayliss (he’s been good). But Wales get the penalty! There’s a neck roll from Tuipulotu as he went to clean Smith. The Welshman was over the ball so I think he would have won the ball anyway, but the Scottish skipper was too keen, too aggressive and that’s a let off for t Wales who can clear from the edge of their own 22. Time running out for Scotland.
67 min: Another penalty on the floor for Wales. Scotland have coughed up 11 in the match. Oh no! They’re reversing this. Williams in trouble as he croc-rolled Darge off the ball. It’s a little meek, if you ask me. But that’s the call. So rather than Wales nailing an easy three points, Scotland have an exit from their own patch. Harsh, I reckon. But I don’t get a vote.
64 min: Penalty for Wales on the floor! Botham again. Was he off his feet. Perhaps, bit Scotland’s cleaners left their feet. No matter, we have Welsh throw on Scotland’s 22.
63 min: This game is breaking apart! It’s utter chaos. Horne launches a counter after gathering a lovely inside pass from Tuipulotu. He’s motoring upfield before he’s cut down from Evans. That is some one-on-one tackle. That madness ends with a Werlsh line-out on their 22 and they go for a methodical exit. Williams hoofs a long box that finds touch on halfway. A shout for the Welsh 9. He’s shown composure throughout this contest.
60 min: Relief for Wales as they get a penalty in their own half. Russell has the Scottish backline purring. He sparks a move down the right and Jones kicks a chi[. Possibly the wrong option as he had Steyn to his right. Williams gathered and was put under pressure, but exuberance from the Scots over the ball handed Wales the penalty.
TRY! Wales 23-19 Scotland (Graham, 58)
What has just happened! The only two people awake the danger was Russell – who kicked into space from the restart – and Graham – who ran onto the bouncing ball. Wales were napping. Where was the defence in the backfield? Oh my word, that is so poor from Wales but credit to Russell who was Johnny on the spot. The conversion slices the deficit to just four points. What a coach killer, straight from the restart, Literally seconds after Evans penalty.
Updated
Penalty! Wales 23-12 Scotland (Evans, 58)
Immediate response! Straight off the bench and Evans lands a penalty!
Time for some correspondence as Dewi Lake is carried off (what a game he had):
Gregory Philips: “This is so very Scotland. Why can they only turn it on against England? Still, if they do go on to lose this game, the Scots can at least draw comfort from the fact that England may now be favourites… for the wooden spoon.”
Andrew Benton: “Yes, Wales and hold on and yes, Scotland can mount a fightback! Whoever wins, it’ll be a zinger.”
Jamie Jones: “What a half from Wales!”
TRY! Wales 20-12 Scotland (Russell, 55)
25 phases and Scotland are there! It had to be. Scotland kept hammering the line. Schoeman must have carried about a dozen times himself. Bayliss too. Just about every Welshman was sucked into the morass so the ball found Russell who lined up the onrushing Rees-Zammit and beat him past the edge. He had the step and the gas and dotted down under the poles. The conversion closes the gap to eight.
Updated
54 min: Russell has it on Wales’ 22. He flings it right for Steyn who steps off bis wing and carries forward. Bayliss picks and goes but goes backwards. 15 phases. Wow, they keep coming. Eight metres short. Five metres out. Schoeman now. 18 phases. And again. Schoeman again. Two metres.. Zander Fagerson. Wales hold…
51 min: Wales just about keep possession after holding off a stiff Scottish counter shove from a scrum inside their own half. Thought Scotland turned them over but no, the ball comes out for the Welsh and they hoof clear.
49 min: Scotland spill over the line! Just about. From the restart, Duhan snaffles the kick and offloads for Jones. It’s not a simple pass but you expect Jones to hold on. He doesn’t. If he had it would surely have been a try. Wales with the let off.
Penalty! Wales 20-5 Scotland (Costelow, 49)
The way Wales are going, he could have back-heeled that over! Wales open their lead and the chorus rises!
Updated
48 min: Wales inside Scotland’s 22. 10 phases. How many Dewi Lakes are there? He carries again/ Penalty advantage right in front. They try to find Rees-Zammit down on the left touch. The kick is inaccurate, but no bother. This should be an easy three.
45 min: Wales turn it over! Smith with a great steal on the floor. Just as Scotland look like doing something, a poor pass forces Russell to go mop up. He’s then swamped and soon after Smith, recently off the bench, gets into a great position to make the turnover. Welsh voices rise around the ground. It’s on, folks. It’s on.
44 min: After that penalty, Scotland have a line-out beyond halfway. Not saying it’s now or never, but they’ll want to strike. Fagerson is in midfield and carries into contact. Tuipulotu stitches with Russell who finds Kinghorn. Better from Scotland.
44 min: Slow ball but Wales stack up 10 phases and reach Scotland’s 22. Now it’s flung right where Hamer-Webb runs into contact. It’s very laterl but they’re keeping the ball. Until they don’t. Great steal off the deck by Bayliss who stoops low. A bit one dimensional from Wales.
42 min: Scotland lose another line-out. A poor throw from Cherry. Wales hoof it high and then Steyn drops it. Back to back mistakes from Scotland. Jenkins carries. Wales into Scottish territory.
The players are out.
My word, we have a game on here. Can Wales on hold on? Can Scotland mount a fightback?
Let’s find out together…
Some stats that underline Wales’ dominance:
Carries: 80-59
Turnovers won: 4-2
Possession: 56-44
But, Scotland have bossed a few other metrics. So it’s not as if Wales are running away with it.
So hard to make sense of that. I feel that Wales fully deserve that lead and I feel it flatters them somewhat.
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this could be the most important 40 minutes of rugby for Wales for the past four years.
Hard to make sense of that.
Hard to make sense of rugby right now.
Here’s some correspondence:
Alistair Connor: “This is a year for upsets in the Six Nations, and I can’t get enough. I would dearly love for Wales to win today. And if Italy could get a result in París tomorrow, I’d be over the moon. And I ‘m a French national.”
Matthew Dony: “Maybe. Just maybe…”
Alistair Connor, again: “Wales are outrageously dominant on the loose ball. Ferocious in defense. Where have this team been hiding? Welcome back Wales. As for Scotland... when Finn picks up an injury, they’ll look pretty ordinary.”
Half-time: Wales 17-5 Scotland
Dewi Lake gees the crowd as Costelow hoofs the ball off the park.
Wales fully deserve this. Can they hold on. My word, how good is the Six Nations?!
40 min: Wales are holding on by the skin of their teeth. Scotland seem to be breaking the first line of Wales’ defence with every strike play, but the scramble defence is something to see. A kick ahead is covered by Adams who scampers and holds off the attention of van der Merwe. He holds firm long enough to get some help and then the call is for a Welsh scrum. It’s inside their own 22. Get this off the park, that’ll be the message.
38 min: Wales steal a penalty metres from their own line! Mann the hero following a Steyn break that threatened to go all the way. Ruseel recycled to the onrushing Matt Fagerson but Mann was quickly onto the ball after the tackle was made and came up with the steal. Brilliant.
36 min: Scotland overthrow at the line-out inside their own half and Lake snaffles it on the floor. All Wales need to do is show some composure. They don’t. They rush it and eventually concede a penalty which means Scotland now have a line-out about 30 metres from the Welsh line. Remarkable how quickly territory can chage.
35 min: A bit of kick tennis ends with Russell – the coolest man in the stadium – taking a mark inside his own 22. Schoeman is hooked from the front row. That will constitute a moral victory for Wales.
34 min: Scotland come back again Russell leads the charge. It’s all loose though and soon after Wales pinch another turnover on the floor. A box from Williams gets it to halfway.
Penalty! 17-5 Scotland (Costelow, 32)
Wales’ forwards are dominating the tight exchanges! And that is just reward for their grunt. A simple tap over from Costleow opens up a healthy lead.
Updated
31 min: No yellow card. But they have the pen bang in front of the poles. Sense prevails and they point to the poles from bang in front.
30 min: Costelow finds Rees-Zammit on the blind run and he makes ground. 12 phases. They’re a metre short. Williams sends it right to Lake. Penalty advantage. Nothing doing so they come back for the advantage but is this a yellow card?
28 min: Penalty on the floor for Wales! Botham over the ball after Wales put Scotland under pressure with a lovely raking kick that compelled them to counter from deep. All going the way. of the home side. My word, is this the day Welsh rugby turned around and held their own again? They have a line-out on Scotland’s 22 after that touch finder.
26 min: From that halfway scrum, Scotland have inched their way forward. Jones burst through a half gap and stitched an off load for Tuipulotu. Duhan comes off his wing and makes some ground himself. 15 phases and they’re up to the Welsh 22. But there’s a spill in contact and the move fizzles to nought.
22 min: Can’t express how impressive Wales have been. Another slcik line-out routine inside their own half, following the Scottish restart, provides Costelow with enough space to secure possession. A little chip and chase from James from midfield almost wins the ball back. There’s a Scottish knock-on so Wales have the scrum on halfway. Williams flings a forward pass from the scrum, though it was tight. Still, Wales have rightly earned this lead a quarter of a way through the Test.
TRY! Wales 14-5 Scotland (Adams, 20)
That is quality from Wales! Just relentless ball retention. Souble digit phases. Started with Lake busting over the gainline through the tight channel, it ends with Adams running onto a flat pass down the left wing – flung quickly by Costelow who is having a great game – as he beats the edge and rounds the corner to score. The extra two points are added and – do not adjust your TV – Wales are comfortably in the lead!
Updated
19 min: Nine phases and Wales are within seven metres of the Scottish line. That started with Lake monstering over the gainline. They’re looking good here…
17 min: Costelow lands a lovely raking kick in Scotland’s corner. It’ll be a Scottish throw, but it’s pinned them down there. The exit is good though as White hoofs a tasty box that finds touch over his 22.
TRY! Wales 7-5 Scotland (Steyn, 14)
Clinical! Off the line-out on the left, Scotland just give it hands. Russell fires the pass, it’s shovelled one, Rees-Zammit is sucked in on defence and by the time it reaches Steyn it’s game over. Credit to Tuipulotu for holding his pass before giving it to Russell on the loop, and to Kinghorn who joined the line and straightened the attack.
Excellent first phase strike play.
Not so much from Russell who can’t convert from the right tram.
Updated
13 min: Hawkins will return after his brief hiatus as his yellow card isn’t upgraded. Correct decision. He wasn’t moving towards the contact and should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, Scotland have the ball on the 22 after a line-out.
13 min: Scotland come roaring back. Steyn is hammered inside Wales’ 22 on the left wing. They keep the ball alive and have runners forming under the shade of the Welsh poles but the home side pinch a turnover on the floor. Wow, are Wales on one here?
Reader Chris Healy gets it:
The red shirts of Wales, the blue of Scotland and a beautiful green pitch. Does rugby ever look more visually stunning than at the start of this fixture?
It’s beautiful.
TRY! Wales 7-0 Scotland (Carre, 10)
Dreamland for Wales! It’s only 10 minutes in but tell you what, they deserve that! Minutes ago, nay, seconds ago, they were inside their own 22. But they stole an intercept, pinched a line-out, won a breakdown penalty and found themselves tapping and going inside Scotland’s red zone. Carre was given the ball and he burrowed over from close range. The extras are added and Wales take a surprising lead.
Updated
9 min: Penalty for Wales five metres from Scotland’s line. They tap and go….
9 min: What a turnaround this is. Wales were defending their own lione but after an intercept, a stolen line-out and a penalty on the floor they’re nattacking inside Scotland’s 22.
7 min: Wales survive! Steyn looked certain to score as Scotland teed up a lovely set piece off the line-out inside Wales’ 22 on the right. Russell stood the ball up before delaying the pass for Steyn running in off his wing. Then they recycled it and perhaps rushed it in their eagerness to fling it down the line to the left wing. Adams was quickly onto it and snaffled the intercept inside his own red zone. The clearing kick finds touch and then Wales pinched the line-out and then won a penalty…
Yellow card! Wales (Hawkins, 5)
No doubt. He was high. Head on head. I’d be surprised if its upgraded as he was standing up, rather than moving into contact. Still, he caught Brown high and Wales are down to 14.
5 min: Oh! Jones almost wriggles through down the right. Slick from Scotland off the set piece. Short passes between the backs before its fired to Jones on the gallop from midfield. He runs out of room and is bundled out of touch on the right.
But they’re having a look at a shoulder hit on Brown. Could be q yellow card…
5 min: Scotland, from the line-out, inch their way upfield. But they lose possession. That is, until they get the ball back as Wales commit another infringement on the floor, giving away a penalty. Russell kicks it downtown and hands Cherry the chance to throw to the line on Wales’ 22.
3 min: Hamer-Webb has to leave the field three minutes into his debut as he has a nose that is leaking blood. That was a strange one. He wasn;t in contact but still caught a stray arm from a Scott. That nose won’t stop bleeding so he’s off to receive some treatment. Murray on for the time being.
2 min: Wales win a line-out around halfway and get James on the ball and over the gainline from midfield. A strong carry from Adams has them over the 22. Wainwright has in the left tram. Good start from Wales. But then they cough up a penalty for holding onto the ball on the floor. Carre the guilty party and Russell hoofs it clear.
AWAY WE GO! Wales kick off and Scotland secure the ball…
Forgot to mention that 25-year-old Gabriel Hamer-Webb is making his Test debut for Wales on the wing.
Hope he goes well.
Right then. Almost ready for kick-off. Scotland in blue. Wales in red. A stunning venue. Loads of pride on the line. It doesn’t get better than this, does it?!
Yes, we know the team is struggling, but the Principality Stadium looks incredible!
If you are a rugby fan and you’ve not visited this cathedral, get your accountant on the line and book yourself a trip.
The whole thing is amazing. St Mary Street. The songs. The pubs. The daffodils. The closed rood. It’s amazing.
Speaking of, time for the anthems. Two of the best in our sport.
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We’ve got out first correspondence for the afternoon:
This is from Matthew Dony:
I am not a confident Welsh fan. There are so many issues at the moment, it’s hard to know where to start. The WRU is spectacularly badly run. We were fortunate to have a couple of generations of genuinely World Class players between the mid 00’s and 2020ish, and considering the resources available, population, player base etc, that was always likely to drop off at some point. But I don’t think anyone expected the drop-off to be quite so drastic. We kept being told that it was a young side who would gained experience and improve. But that’s been a stuck record for 4 years or so. There’s no identity to the team. When you watch them, you often cant see what they’re trying to achieve. The basics, the flipping basics(!), are repeatedly falling apart. The first quarter against England was as bad a spell of international rugby as you’re ever likely to see. I don’t know where to go from here. It’s hideous.
Forget the result. I just hope they give you a performance to feel proud of.
Luke McLaughlin heard from Wales’ skipper, Dewi Lake, who has urged the home fans to give his boys a lift:
Scotland’s skipper, Sione Tuipulotu, knows that he can’t take Wales lightly:
I put pressure on the group to be desperate out there and show desperation.
It also makes me a little bit frustrated because the week before we couldn’t against Italy for a lot of reasons. So that feeling is still there for me and I hope it stays with me for the rest of the tournament, because I think it’s needed.
I’m still very desperate. I just know you can’t lose two games in this tournament and think you’re going to be there at the back end for anything.
In order for us to stay in this tournament, we’ve got to be just as desperate, just as emotional, just as clinical as we were last week.
Keen to see how Sam Costelow gets on for Wales at fly-half.
This will be his first start under coach Steve Tandy.
Dan Edwards started the next seven Tests but does not make the matchday squad today.
The Opta Supercomputer has crunched the numbers and the results are in…
Wales have a 12.3% chance of winning. To be fair, I think most Welsh fans would take that.
According to the machine, we can expect a score of Wales 13-36 Scotland.
With England currently getting a pasting from Ireland, Scotland have a golden opportunity to finish in the top two for the first time in Six Nations history.
Of course a lot needs to go their way, let alone the fact that they’d need to beat Ireland – as well as Wales this afternoon. But who could have predicted that England would be out of the running after three rounds?
Point I’m trying to make is that Scotland’s route to a top two spot is shaping up rather nicely.
Scotland team
How do you improve on a team that just stuffed England? Bring in Blair Kinghorn at fullback!
The Tolouse man is fit and ready to let rip from the backfield. In the pack, Townsend has brought in Dave Cherry, Max Williamson and Matt Fagerson in place of George Turner, Jamie Ritchie and Jack Dempsey.
Oh, a certain Duhan van der Merwe also returns to the wing.
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn; 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Nathan McBeth, 2 Dave Cherry, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Max Williamson, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Gregor Brown, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Darcy Graham.
Wales team
Louis Rees-Zammit starts at fullback while Steve Tandy has made two changes to the pack.
Adam Beard and Olly Cracknell make way for Ben Carter and Taine Plumtree, with Aaron Wainwirght moving from blind-side flanker to his usual spot at No. 8 (where I think he is a superstar).
Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit; 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams; 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Dewi Lake, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 5 Ben Carter, 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Alex Mann, 8 Aaron Wainwright
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 James Botham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Blair Murray
Preamble
While hanging out with my five-year-old son in the park this morning, I sparked a conversation with a bloke in a Welsh jersey.
“You’re not shy wearing that,” I said, attempting light banter.
“I’m confident,” he shot back. “Playing Scotland after they beat England is the perfect game for us.”
It got me thinking. The logical part of my brain dismissed this as a mix of Welsh cockiness and Welsh hopefulness. After all, if Scotland had no problem swatting aside England, and England had no problem swatting aside Wales, then wisdom would dictate that this match between the two Celtic nations would be a forgone conclusion.
But rugby doesn’t always deal in logic. International sport often throws convention out the window. And as my day has progressed from the chaos at the park to an impromptu playdate to some much needed TV time with the wee fella, I’ve started buying into the possibility of an unlikely Welsh victory.
Look, it probably won’t happen. Wales are a basket case and Scotland are on a high. But, as we all know, stranger things have happened. Perhaps that Welsh bloke in the playground was right.
We’ll find out together once things kick off in Cardiff at 4:40pm.
If you’re a Welsh fan who shared that confidence (or not) or you’re a Scottish fan who is supremely assured (or not) or you’re just a regular ol’ rugby fan, do write in. I’d love to hear from ya.
Team news and other bits to come.
