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Scotland made it two wins from three in the Guinness Six Nations after they secured a narrow 26-25 win away to Wales in Round 3.
Carre (9'), Adams (18')
Tries
Steyn (13'), Russell (53'), Graham (57'), Turner (74')
Costelow (9', 19')
Conversions
Russell (54', 58', 74')
Costelow (30', 47'), Evans (57')
Penalties
Scotland made it two wins from three in the Guinness Six Nations after they secured a narrow 26-25 win away to Wales in Round 3.
Gregor Townsend’s side claimed their second bonus point of the Championship thanks to tries from Kyle Steyn, Finn Russell, Darcy Graham and George Turner. Russell also knocked over three conversions.
The result put them top of the table overnight before France and Italy met on Sunday and put talk of Townsend’s departure further down the agenda.
Here’s how ATR saw it…
Mature Win
In Round 2, Scotland were magnificent from start to finish. Passes stuck, players ran hard and speedily, chances were taken and when the white shirts stirred, Scotland’s defence repelled them again and again.
Against, Wales, it was certainly not the same. For most of the match, they were on the backfoot, passes didn’t stuck, their attack was repelled and it was only after Townsend sent for reinforcements off the bench that they found some rhythm to ground down a side low in confidence.
Not all victories can be free-flowing, dancing and singing type wins. In fact, most and quite possibly the most important, are ones where you have to stay in the fight, ground down the opposition, and dog it out to the end. They led for six minutes, but as they were the last six minutes that is all they need. Now they have to remember this lesson the next time their have a performance for the ages.
“They fought to the end, and they were desperate to get the win, but it was more than that,” Townsend said. “It was control, it was intelligence, obviously a very close victory. But one that will do us a lot of good.”
Super Sione
Anyone who watched for the last 15 minutes would well be forgiven for pondering if Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was paid by the amount of times he touched the ball or appeared on the screen.
That was a mark of his determination not to lose and to avoid the same old questions of Scotland’s mental strength. He spoke before the England match about the players doing their bit and not letting Townsend take all the flak.
He ended with seven carries and 12 tackles, and his leadership and chivvying of his players in the last exchange went far in securing victory. It was a memorable captain’s knock.
M+M Magic
Last week, Scotland’s scrum struggled until they brought on Pierre Schoeman and Elliot Millar-Mills off the bench. Things weren’t as bad against Wales, with Zander Fagerson enjoying a far better performance, but the aforementioned duo’s introduction helped turn the tide.
Schoeman was on after 34 minutes to replace Nathan Dobie, who was struggling. Millar-Mills and George Turner then arrived on 55 minutes. Both gave the pack a boost, while Turner improved the lineout, and scored the winning try.
They weren’t the only ones to make an impact. Scrumhalf George Horne again lifted the team from scrumhalf and raised the energy levels, while Darcy Graham linked up well with Russell for his try.
More Mountains To Come
The break week can let Scotland catch their breath and refocus on the next two challenges, France at home, and Ireland away.
Scotland have enjoyed some success under Townsend, though you have to go back to 2020 for their most recent victory at Murrayfield. Last year they matched them in the first half, but Fabien Galthie’s side ran away in the second half and denied them a single point.
Ireland are another matter, and a side that have held the whip hand between the sides. Scotland last won in the 2017 Championships, and since then they’ve also tasted defeat twice to Ireland in the World Cup.
Scotland have talked about the potential for a long time, these last two weeks given them the chance to fulfil it.
Player Ratings
15. Blair Kinghorn 7, 14. Kyle Steyn 9, 13. Huw Jones 6, 12. Sione Tuipulotu 8, 11. Duhan van der Merwe 6, 10. Finn Russell 8, 9. Ben White 7, 8. Matt Fagerson , 7. Rory Darge 8, 6. Gregor Brown 6, 5. Scott Cummings 6, 4. Max Williamson 4, 3. Zander Fagerson 7, 2. Dave Cherry 4, 1. Nathan McBeth 4
Replacements
16. George Turner7, 17. Pierre Schoeman 8, 18. Elliot Millar Mills 8, 19. Grant Gilchrist 7, 20. Josh Bayliss 8, 21. George Horne 7, 22. Tom Jordan 7, 23. Darcy Graham 7
