How they rated
LEIGH HALFPENNY 5
Couldn’t prevent first Scottish try and failed to deal with Hogg kick ahead as Scottish full-back claimed his first touchdown. No-one could ever doubt Halfpenny’s bravery and he did well to stop Jonny Gray at one point, but he also conceded a penalty by taking out Graham in air. A challenging 33 minutes before injury cut short his involvement.
LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT 9
Giving Rees-Zammit try-scoring opportunities is like offering Billy the Kid a gun, D’Artagnan a sword or Robin Hood a bow and arrow. The outcome’s entirely predictable. Two tries came the youngster’s way, the second one involving a brilliant finish. He also put over Liam Williams and sent Wales upfield with a wonderful relieving kick late on. He’s a player who can make something out of nothing.
OWEN WATKIN 6
Great rip early on and put in a few good hits, but he and Tompkins were defending too narrowly for Hogg’s first try and Watkin also missed the Scotland full-back as he crossed for his second. Atonement was around the corner, though, with the Ospreys centre snuffing out a potential Scotland try with a brilliant fingertip tackle on Duhan van der Merwe in the final seconds.
NICK TOMPKINS 6
An inauspicious start, with Tompkins turned over at a maul, missing a tackle and later smithereened by Scottish centre Chris Harris. On the credit side, it was from his basketball-style pass that Wales scored their opening try. The Dragon also kept going to the end.
LIAM WILLIAMS 7
Good to see him back. Just one pass before half-time didn’t exactly help him showcase his wares. But he crossed for a try and came up with some outstanding defensive work towards the end.
DAN BIGGAR 5
Didn’t look pleased when hooked on 49 minutes. But minutes earlier he’d missed touch with a banana-kick from a penalty.
Wales found it hard to get their attacking game going during his time on the pitch.
GARETH DAVIES 5
He’d sent his coach’s blood pressure through the roof with his decision to kick the ball away to Ireland in the dying seconds in round one. Covered well early on and put in a fine hit on Chris Harris. Passing wasn’t always accurate, though, and he couldn’t spark much before being subbed on 49 minutes.
WYN JONES 8
Quietly heroic. Won his battle with Zander Fagerson by forcing two penalties out of the highly-rated Scot and also to the fore in forward resurgence after the break. Later hit illegally by Fagerson, who was sent off. Lasted 77 minutes. What a tournament he’s having.
KEN OWENS 8
The challenge for The Sheriff was to get his darts right after four throws went astray six days earlier. It didn’t start well, with the Scots picking off a Welsh line-out after just three minutes.
But Owens battled strongly in defence and was at immense in the second half, at the heart of several driving mauls, one of which led up to Liam Williams’s try.
TOMAS FRANCIS 7
Unheralded after a strong display against Ireland, which saw him anchor the scrum and make 16 tackles, the Ospreys-bound tight-head did well again, defending stoutly and locking out the Welsh set-piece.
ADAM BEARD 7
A good effort which saw Beard work hard in defence, win his own line-out ball and put his hand up for carrying. In the thick of his side’s second-half comeback.
ALUN WYN JONES (CAPT) 7
Another immense defensive shift from the captain, who also pinched a Scottish line-out. Great leadership to go for touch rather than kick a penalty as Wales clawed back a try before half-time. On the minus side, Jones conceded four penalties. Subbed with 10 minutes to play.
AARON WAINWRIGHT 6
The man Wales turned to after injuries to three flankers. Put in a dozen hits but missed a few as well, while he also spilled a ball in open play.
But he had few carrying opportunites.
JUSTIN TIPURIC 8
Has the heart and power to keep going when others tire. Saved try with a tackle on Rory Sutherland a metre from posts and also pilfered a home line-out. Made 16 hits without missing any.
TAULUPE FALETAU 8
You name it, and he did it. Gave Wales go-forward in the second half with some serious carrying and also weighed in with 19 tackles. When he gets the job done, Wales tend to do so as well.
REPLACEMENTS
Willis Halaholo: Super turnover on Stuart Hogg and lovely pass in build-up to Williams’ touchdown. 8
Callum Sheedy: Sweet pass to Rees-Zammit for Liam Williams’s try and Wales looked lively with him at controls, goal-kicking not great. 7
Leon Brown: Good first scrum and one immense carry. 7
James Botham: Brilliant turnover late on. 7
Kieran Hardy: Wales came to life after he came on . 7
Elliot Dee: Did his bit in defence. 6
Will Rowlands: Fronted up with some solid tackling. 7
Rhodri Jones : Not on long enough to mark.
WALES have moved up one place to seventh in the World Rugby rankings following Saturday’s win over Scotland.
A brace of tries from Louis Rees-Zammit helped Wayne Pivac’s side triumph 25-24 at Murrayfield and leapfrog their opponents in the process.
Scotland, who had Zander Fagerson sent off at a key moment in the second half, have dropped to eighth.
Wales started the Six Nations ranked ninth in the world after a woeful 2020, but back-to-back wins over Ireland and Scotland have raised their title hopes and they could climb as high as fifth if they beat England in their next game at the Principality Stadium.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s disappointing start of two successive defeats has seen them fall to sixth with Australia moving above them, while Italy stay 14th after their defeat at Twickenham.
South Africa top the standings ahead of New Zealand.