Scotland vs Wales
Six Nations 2019
Venue: Murrayfield Stadium
Kick-off: 2:15pm GMT, Saturday March 9
Now standing alone as the 2019 Six Nations' last unbeaten side, Wales will look to keep their hopes of a first Grand Slam since 2012 alive with a round-four trip to Murrayfield.
Cory Hill, Josh Adams and Dan Biggar were the heroes of a massively satisfying 21-13 defeat of fellow contenders England in Cardiff - a result which saw the hosts set a new national record of 12 successive Test wins.
They now face a fifth-place Scotland team beset by injury woe whose 20-year wait for a win in Paris continues after a 27-10 loss to France that could have been heavier and was once again littered with frustrating errors.
Things have badly deteriorated for Gregor Townsend and co ever since the final quarter of their opening win over Italy, with that no-show across the Channel preceded by a failure to take advantage of a below-par Ireland outfit in Edinburgh.
Team news and line-ups
Townsend makes four changes to the team beaten in Paris, with key playmaking 10 Finn Russell returning from concussion and Ali Price preferred to skipper Greig Laidlaw at scrum-half.
Russell's return sees Peter Horne shift to inside centre as Sam Johnson makes way.
WP Nel is back at tight-head prop at the expense of Simon Berghan and Darcy Graham starts on the wing due to a foot issue sustained by Sean Maitland on club duty with Saracens.
Both Jonny Gray and Tommy Seymour will earn their 50th caps, while hooker Stuart McInally takes over captain's duties.
Scotland XV: Kinghorn; Seymour, Grigg, Horne, Graham; Russell, Price; Dell, McInally (c), Nel; Gilchrist, Gray; Bradbury, Strauss, Ritchie
Replacements: Brown, Reid, Berghan, Toolis, Watson, Laidlaw, Hastings, McGuigan
Hill's joy at his try against England has been short-lived as it later transpired that he will miss the rest of the Six Nations with an ankle injury sustained at the Principality.
Adam Beard takes his place alongside Alun Wyn Jones in the second row in Warren Gatland's only change from the team that beat England, with Jake Ball drafted onto the bench.
There is no room for Leigh Halfpenny in a team that was named two days early on Tuesday, despite the reliable goal-kicker having made two appearances for Scarlets since returning from three months out with concussion.
Wales XV: L Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Evans, Owens, Francis; Beard, Jones (c); Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty
Replacements: Dee, Smith, Lewis, Ball, Wainwright, A Davies, Biggar, Watkin
Score prediction: Scotland 17-24 Wales
Scotland, while players are slowly coming back, are at a low ebb and you have to think they will require the returning Russell be fully on song if they are to have a realistic chance of becoming the first team to beat Wales since Ireland in February 2018.
They may push them close in a scrappy affair, but Wales, who may well be distracted by the current furore surrounding a possible massive shake-up of regional rugby, will potentially view that final weekend clash with the defending champions as a more significant threat to their Grand Slam push.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Scotland to win: 21/20
- Draw: 14/1
- Wales to win: 21/10
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
ITV and the BBC are sharing broadcasting rights for the Six Nations for the third successive year, with the BBC hosting Scotland vs Wales live on BBC One and via their online iPlayer.
You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to Head record and history (h2h)
These two teams have met no fewer than 124 times throughout history, with Wales boasting 72 wins to Scotland's 49. There have been three draws.
Wales have dominated this fixture over the last 16 years, winning 15 of 17 contests since August 2003. In fact, Scotland's only win against Wales in the last 12 years came with a 29-13 triumph at Murrayfield in 2017.
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