Wales tend to win matches in the Six Nations in the final 20 minutes, the point at which they are most vulnerable against the might of the southern hemisphere when strength and fitness are not enough. They wore down Scotland sure enough after trailing on the hour mark to raise the prospect of a title decider against England at Twickenham next month – but there were continued signs of a metamorphosis into a side capable of living off their wits as well as hits.
Two tries in seven minutes turned a game that Scotland contributed significantly to, bold and smart, before the relative strength of the benches told. Sean Maitland’s late withdrawal with a hamstring strain meant they had no outside-back replacements and they lost Stuart Hogg after 28 minutes when the full-back suffered a back injury. Decisions, both their own when in possession and those of the officials, went against them but, ultimately, they were not sufficiently equipped to beat a side who have lost only to Ireland and England in the last five championships.
Wales were bold when they needed to be, scoring a try after Sam Warburton opted for a scrum under Scotland’s posts rather than a banker three points that would have tied the scores, and then pulling out of sight when George North roamed into the midfield and beat five defenders on a 45-metre run that confirmed the return to confidence of the wing who last season sustained a series of concussions. He has always been a player who relishes contact but here he was looking for space and using his pace to devastating effect.
If Wales are to do more than challenge for the Six Nations every year, they need to develop an all-round game, optimising the attacking menace they have behind. They are creating the foundation with a significant improvement in the set pieces: they achieved supremacy upfront, where the emergence of Rob Evans has taken them forward, and they enjoyed a 100% return on their own lineout while disrupting Scotland’s throw throughout.
Set pieces provide prime attacking ball, and while Wales’s default position remains Jamie Roberts charging over the gain line, they are getting the ball wide. They are still averse to offloading and the high kick remains a key plank in their attacking strategy but they have more variety than last year, and in Gareth Davies they have a scrum-half alert to opportunity. His early try may have owed a debt to fortune but he seized the chance with alacrity and uses his spatial awareness profitably. His exuberance occasionally leads to mistakes but a side who in the past have not been rated for their strength in depth have in the last year been able to replace players such as Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb, Richard Hibbard and Gethin Jenkins seamlessly.
The second-row Luke Charteris, who rejoins his team-mates at Racing 92 on Monday, said: “What was important was that we showed composure. Our aim at the start of the campaign was to win the title and that is still alive, even if the grand slam has gone. We have France next up and they will be confident after the start they have made. They can flip between two styles of play and we have shown that we are also able to do that.”
It was Wales’s ninth successive victory over Scotland, who slumped to their ninth straight defeat in the Six Nations; albeit one loss, unlike the previous week at home to England, they could take something from. They unnerved Wales defensively, won the aerial battle, in which Tommy Seymour was supreme, and were leading with 17 minutes to go – but they lack the assurance of winners and are unable to seize the moment, Finn Russell, John Barclay and John Hardie all making the wrong decisions when opportunity beckoned.
“Nine straight defeats do not make great viewing,” Ruaridh Jackson, the Wasps’ outside-half who replaced Hogg a day after being called up as cover for Maitland, said. “We were close to a World Cup semi-final but we cannot keep looking back to that. We have to live in the present and deal with what is happening now. We did not play as we wanted to against England but fronted up against Wales. It came down to one or two decisions and we cannot get too disheartened. It is hard to take but we have to push on.”
While Wales plot a third title in five years, Scotland will be in Rome in the next round for what already looks a wooden-spoon decider. It may have been different had Hardie, after being caught in Wales’s 22, been able to recycle the ball but he presented it to Tom James, and while the Wales wing was hauled down short of the line by the impressive Duncan Taylor after an 80-metre run, it gave the home side the position from which they took control of the game, burgling a lineout and scoring a try after declining three points.
Victory over France would set Wales up for Twickenham, the scene of their World Cup triumph last September, and they will not be overly worried by what they have seen from England under Eddie Jones so far. Wales have long known what they are about but the flat-track bullies are now taking spin.
Wales Liam Williams; North, J Davies, Roberts, James (Anscombe, 65); Biggar (Priestland, 75), G Davies; Evans (Jenkins, 47), Baldwin (Owens, 47), Lee (Francis, 68), Charteris (B Davies, 47), AW Jones, Warburton (capt), Tipuric (Lydiate, 61), Faletau.
Tries G Davies, Roberts, North. Cons Biggar 3. Pens Biggar 2.
Scotland Hogg (Jackson, 28); Seymour, Bennett, Taylor, Lamont; Russell (Weir, 68), Laidlaw (Hidalgo-Clyne, 77); Dickinson (Reid, 65), Ford (McInally, 65), Nel, R Gray, J Gray (Swinson, 68), Barclay (Cowan, 65), Hardie, Denton.
Tries Seymour, Taylor. Con Laidlaw, Weir. Pens Laidlaw 3.
Referee G Clancy (Ireland). Attendance 74,160.
