Scotland 29-13 Wales: Hosts end Six Nations losing streak against Welsh
By Tony Tighe
Last Updated: 26/02/17 11:48am
Scotland snapped a nine-game losing streak against Wales as two second-half tries clinched a 29-13 victory at Murrayfield.
Wings Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser both crossed for the hosts as they overturned a 13-9 half-time deficit, with Finn Russell kicking 19 points.
The majority of the first half was a stop-start affair, dogged by scrum resets before the first moment of real quality resulted in a try for Liam Williams.
Rhys Webb caught Scotland napping on 24 minutes with a quick tap after Wales were awarded a free-kick at the scrum, and with the home defence too narrow, some precise passing across the pitch saw Williams dive over in the corner.
Scotland only found their groove with five first-half minutes remaining and a late Russell penalty saw them trail by four at the break, but they picked up where they left off after the restart. A great dummy line from Huw Jones fixed Williams and allowed Seymour to cross in the corner.
After a Welsh purple patch yielded no points, Scotland punished them on 67 minutes when Russell and Stuart Hogg combined to put Visser over, and Russell's fifth penalty secured a second successive home win.
Turning point
Half-time came at the wrong time for Scotland as they had finally found their groove late in the half, but they managed to carry it into the second period and outscored their opponents 20-0.
Some great backline play saw Seymour score and Scotland then withstood a sustained spell of Welsh pressure before Visser bagged their second try.
The good
Webb was outstanding during the opening period, constantly sniping around rucks, and his quick thinking created Wales' try. Justin Tipuric also excelled at the breakdown as the visitors bossed the contact area for the first 40.
However, the second half was all about Scotland. Hogg showed flashes of his brilliance before half-time when his run and grubber almost resulted in a try for Jones, and the full-back had a hand in both tries.
Russell also answered his critics with an accomplished kicking display and Scotland showed great patience in the lead-up to their second try, going through 14 phases before moving the ball wide.
The bad
The scrums were a mess and the game struggled to flow as a result, while Wales failed to trouble the scoreboard during the final 46 minutes.
The visitors declined a shot at goal on 50 minutes and kicked to touch, where they attempted an 11-man driving lineout but were pinged for crossing.
Reaction
Scotland coach Vern Cotter: "I'm really happy for a number of reasons. We set out to win the game but at half-time we weren't particularly well placed to do that.
"The players adjusted well after the break and I thought we scored a couple of nice tries and transferred pressure back onto Wales. We decided we could influence the outcome if we did a few things. I'm very proud of that response.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones: "We failed to take a couple of clear-cut chances, and they proved far more clinical near our line, although we conceded soft tries by letting them get outside us.
"We got turned over too easily and lost the aerial battle as well, so there is a lot for us to dissect."
Jones, asked whether he might have gone for the points with hindsight, replied: "I would have liked to. The kickers didn't want to, so we went for the corner. Then I got done for blocking at the back of the lift, but I would have liked to have gone for the three."
Man of the match
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Stat of the match
100 per cent: The success rate of Scotland's scrum and lineout.