Bring on the Auld Enemy
ripping the bal l off the red shirts with relish. But there was a sense the Dragons were about to ignite and they did in 23 minutes with the opening try. It was an explosive example of power and pace as Webb’s quick tap and go caught the home side napping and the ball found its way to Liam Williams. He managed to evade Stuart Hogg and go over in the corner. Hal fpenny made no mistake with the extras to edge his side into a seven-point lead. T h a t ma r g i n w a s immediately reduced to four as Russell’s penalty after a dangerous Welsh challenge sailed between the posts just after John Hardie limped off to be replaced by Hamish Watson. Penalties continued to be traded and Hal fpenny banged over another just after the half hour to keep the Welsh score ticking upwards.
He should have added another before the break as more Scottish indiscipline went unpunished, his effort going wide of the posts.
Then came some trademark Hogg brilliance as he ran for deep before a clever kick found Jones.
He charged for the line only to be hauled down by a try- saving tackle from Justin Tipuric.
But Rus s e l l brou g ht a n exhi larating 40 minutes to a close by firing another penalty over from right in front of the posts to leave Scotland trailing 13-9.
Cotter’s troops set about reducing that deficit from the restart and quickly raised the roof with a try.
Hogg and Tim Visser carved open the Welsh defence before finding Tommy Seymour to scramble home at the corner. The score was awarded after a review from the TMO and Russell converted with the help of a kind kick off the upright.
Suddenly Scotland had a three- point lead and Wales were being knocked back on to their heels.
But brilliant defensive cover from Price halted Jonathan Davies after he threatened to burst clear.
Momentum was still firmly with Cotter’s men and Russell stretched the lead to six points with another penalty as Wales infringed yet again.
Webb looked to have gone over in 56 minutes but there was a major let- off for Scotland as the TMO showed Visser had pul led the scrum- half into touch before he managed to get the ball grounded.
Murrayf ield rose to acclaim another home try in 67 minutes as Hogg shovelled the ball to Visser who accelerated clear for a score.
And Scotland strengthened their grip as Russell made it six successful kicks in a row.
Six became seven soon after as Russell ’s accuracy with his boot from the tightest of angles edged the home side out of sight.
All eyes now turn to Twickenham for the next twist in a story of a Scotland side who continue to ditch unwanted records in their wake. since 2007. A thrilling secondhalf fightback saw Kiwi Cotter’s team deliver a famous win that keeps alive our hopes of a championship success.
The coach said: “It’s been a while since we could talk about a win over Wales so it’s hats off to the players as I thought they put in a great performance.
“We scored a couple of nice tries and transferred pressure on to a good Welsh side.
“In the first half we were watching Wales play rather than doing our thing and we decided we could influence the outcome if we changed things.
“I ’ m ver y proud of the response and the boys went out and took the games to Wales.
“We did make it difficult for ourselves at times but the players showed big hearts.
“It means we are still in the competition and now prepare for England.”
Eddie Jones’ side are unbeaten in 16 Tests and Scotland last triumphed at Twickenham in 1983. Cotter said: “If we are on a roll then we’ll take it but we know how hard it will be at Twickenham.
“This could be the record game for them so there’s a number of reasons why we must prepare well.”
Ice- cool Russell knows he will need to repeat his flawless kicking display in London in two weeks – but he insists we can pull off a shock victory.
He said: “I will try to make sure I have my kicking boots on. I don’t think I was born when we last beat them down there but we have belief.
“We aren’t going to be arrogant and say we are going to win but if you don’t believe in yourself then you won’t win.
“We’re determined to go and have a real crack at it. It’s all to play for.”