18 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Townsend’s troops smash hoodoo on Welsh soil
Gregor Townsend savoured Scotland’s first win in Wales for 18 years but vowed there is more to come.
On a landmark day in Cardiff the Scots celebrated three Six Nations victories in a row for the first time since way back in 1996.
And Scotland have won four successive Tests for the first time since a five-game streak in 2011.
Stuart McInally touched down for a second- hal f winner as f lanker Jamie Ritchie boosted his Lions chances with a brilliant manof-the-match display.
And the win was achieved despite losing both fly-halves Finn Russell ( groin) andnd Adam Hastings (shoulder) to injury.
Toony said: “To get an away win is something we’ve been waiting for a while in Wales.
“For this group it’s great to have some confirmation of the hard work and progress they are making.
“We know there’s a lott more to come. If it wasn’tt such a special victory and the character was on show I’d be thinking there’s so much more we’ve got to improve.
“But you need those wins to build the confidence in the group, for the players to see there’s progress.
“Come the next Six Nations we’ll have to be better because the teams we’re playing against are very good.”
Scotland started on top and Russell missed a penalty from 35 metres before making amends eight minutes later. It took Wales 30 minutes before they entered the Scottish 22 but their reward was immediate.
Hooker Fraser Brown messed up a lineout throw and the Welsh forwards set up Rhys Carre to touch down with Dan Biggar converting.
Russell limped off before Hastings kicked a penalty on the stroke of half- time to reduce the deficit to 7- 6.
Wa l es cont inued to struggle after the break and Scotland went ahead in 61 minutes when an attacking lineout was driven at pace with McInally the one to claim the try.
A Leigh Halfpenny penalty ensured a tense finish but Scotland sealed the points thanks to Stuart Hogg’s late penalty.
Toony added: “To come back in the second half when we went behind and earn that win was good to see. It was a difficult situation with no crowd, the wind and injuries, so it was good see character, togetherness and power in the second hal f . It was encouraging.”
Scotland captain Hogg praised the squad for overcoming injuries and the lockdown nightmare.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We knew we could come down here and get a performance and hopefully get a win. I’m absolutely chuffed to bits with that.
“Just look at this year, we’ve had to adapt and overcome a lot of things. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been in a No.10 jersey but I’ve loved it.
“We’re absolutely delighted with that and we’ll enjoy this.”
Wales have suffered five straight defeats under Wayne Pivac since he replaced Warren Gatland.
The coach said: “It’s not going to be lost on us, it was the worst defeat in terms of performance.
“We didn’t fire too many shots. We have to go away and put a line in the sand before the Autumn games.”