SCOTLAND V WALES BIG MATCH GUIDE
YOU could argue no other Six Nations fixture does nostalgia quite like Scotland v Wales.
Look back through red-lensed spectacles and images of John Taylor’s touchline conversion, Phil Bennett’s dazzling 1977 Murrayfield try and Shane Williams’ injury-time stealer of Cardiff 2010 fame make for exhilarating viewing.
If it’s the thistle that’s emblazoned on your heart, then Memory Lane has enough alluring stop-off points to whet the appetite come February or March each year. Though not that many from the 10 years just gone.
For the record, the overall ledger since these two nations first met in 1883 sees Wales with 70 wins to Scotland’s 48, with three draws.
Yet neither country has ever put together a consecutive winning run in this encounter the like of which Wales are on now.
Not since a muddled looking Wales, under the leadership of Gareth Jenkins, went down 21-9 in Edinburgh in 2007 have the Scots had cause to celebrate. So it’s nine on the bounce for Wales, a lost decade if ever there was for the Scots.
If you want the dominance of red over blue in even sharper focus then consider that Scotland have beaten Wales just three times since the Five Nations became Six in 2000.
It’s a record that does a grave disservice to this rivalry in its more sepia-tinted guise, but as the Welsh class of 2017 go north for round three of this year’s tournament there is very much a whiff of change in the air.
Bookmakers once again have Wales clear favourites, and the level of expectancy among the travelling hordes will be as keen as ever.
But there’s no escaping the sense that a different Scottish animal will need to be tamed this time around.
One that poses a far bigger threat than for some time.
Talk of a new mood among Vern Cotter’s squad has been around a while now.
Scotland came within a disputed penalty of ousting Australia to reach the 2015 World Cup semi-final, and wins against France and Italy in last year’s Six Nations represented a 40% improvement on the whitewash of the previous year.
Argentina and Georgia were dispatched last autumn, and while the Wallabies once again proved their nemesis, the 23-22 scoreline of November 12 was a darn sight better than Wales’ 32-8 deficit against the green and gold of a week earlier.
Then came Ireland three weeks ago and a 27-22 victory that resonated for Scotland as much as any single success they have ever chalked up in the Six Nations.
The Irish arrived at Murrayfield as recent conquerors of New Zealand and as many people’s favourites for the title.
And while on another day they might have won it, the intensity and attacking invention the hosts produced made them worthy winners.
That Scotland failed to follow it up in Paris, where they went down 22-16, was a source of bitter frustration rather than the pride in a near miss we have all been more accustomed to. So game on. Wales – while they have never had an armchair ride at Murrayfield – should face their toughest examination for many a year at this venue, for all that the hosts have had their injury problems and will miss the dynamism of crocked No.8 Josh Strauss.
Scotland have a credibility they have hitherto lacked, meaning that this campaign is not about wooden spoon avoidance and looking over their shoulders at Italy.
Instead it’s about contending for the main prize. Again, something the Scots haven’t done since they took the last ever Five Nations in 1999 by virtue of Wales’ incredible final day mugging of England at Wembley.
The win therefore – any win – will have genuine currency for coach Rob Howley and Wales, whereas defeat will only serve to underline fears that the two countries are heading in opposite directions.
This is a Scotland team that poses danger in probably every department save the scrum, where they have had their difficulties up to now this season.
They have creativity in their back line courtesy of the likes of fly-half Finn Russell and the mercurial centre Huw Jones. They have explosiveness in full-back Stuart Hogg.
They have the energy and grizzly bear tackling of the Gray brothers, Richie and Jonny, at second row and the game-intelligence of captain John Barclay and defence organiser John Hardie, who pack down on either flank of the back row.
If you factor in that No.8 Ryan Wilson is not an out-and-out specialist then he, Hardie and Barclay are all men with vast experience of playing openside.
Ditto their Welsh opposite numbers Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty, which should make for a high tempo face-off all round. Which team that will suit more is open to debate.
While Scotland are desperate to preserve their new found positive vibe, Wales are equally determined to build on the good things that came out of their 21-16 loss to England.
The physicality and the urgency that characterised their performance a fortnight ago needs to be on view in abundance, and there is the now ageold call for more ruthlessness in attack, for more chances to be taken rather than bombed.
Wales are likely to target the scrum as a means of getting their broken field runners like Liam Williams and George North on the front foot. Pace, power and skill won’t be the problem if they do, vision and decision-making potentially could be.
Against England, Wales never worked the scoreboard at the rate they should have done given the spells they had in the ascendancy.
On enemy turf against the Scots, they may find themselves having to soak up more pressure than even the reigning champions exerted on them.
With defensive operations having been tightened up to impressive effect in the opening two games, keeping their line intact is something Wales should achieve with the minimum of fuss. It’s what they do at the other end of the field that is likely to decide this.
Don’t underestimate the in-game influence of Cotter and Howley either.
Cotter fits the stereotype of the wily Kiwi, and while it’s taken him longer than he will have wanted he appears to have his team at least close to where he wants them – frustratingly just before he makes way for Gregor Townsend.
Howley, though he has a record of five wins from seven games in charge of Wales in the Six Nations, appears to be a man permanently fire fighting in terms of how the public perceive him in his homeland.
Despite his call for more impact from replacements earlier this week, he is under pressure to be more judicious in the way he uses his bench after the Ross Moriarty saga last time out.
If nothing else Howley’s unrepentant stance on that issue shows courage in his own convictions.
He will need plenty of that at Murrayfield when deciding whether to stick or twist because, as ever, it will certainly not be a place for the fainthearted.