Scots turn tables

Series of key moments fall way of Cotter’s side

SCOTLAND 29 WALES13

Tiny margins make big victories.

Scotland’s 29-13 win over Wales and the 20-0 second half domination looks like an overwhelming victory on the stat sheet.

It was not only Scotland’s first over the Welsh for 10 years, but their biggest since the 20-0 victory in 1993.

The final 14 minutes after Tim Visser’s try, which effectively ensured the win, was one of those very rare spells at BT Murrayfield in recent years where the crowd can sit back, enjoy the sweet taste of victory and go into raptures of pride at their team.

But if the impression of the scoreline and the last quarter-of-an-hour made it feel comfortable, it was an illusion. The game hinged on a series of key moments in the middle of the match that, had they gone Wales’ way, the final result might have been very different.

For many the first was Leigh Halfpenny missing what was for him an easy first-half penalty which would have put Wales 16-6 up. 10 points, more than one veteran in the stadium was saying, would have been a tough margin to claw back. Instead Scotland got width on the ball on their next attack, won a penalty and got in at half-time a manageable 13-9 behind.

Then there was the former (we can say former now with some assurance given his and Stuart Hogg’s performance) Lions full-back dropping a kick under no pressure early in the second half, giving Scotland gift territory they converted into Tommy Seymour’s try, a beautifully constructed set move with attack coach Jason O’Halloran’s name all over it. Even then, Seymour just got the ball down a millisecond before his elbow hit the touchline.

Then there was Ali Price tracking back to snare Jonathan Davies after the Lions centre made an astonishing clean break up the middle, a try-saving tackle even if Davies should have off-loaded to Rhys Webb in support.

Then there was Visser, thought to be a defensive liability, tackling the irritant Webb into touch – a mirror image of the Seymour try, the Scots wing hauling the scrum-half’s legs to the touchline just before he got the ball down one-handed.

The Scots saved themselves on those occasions but then there was the scrum in their half where referee John Lacey whistled against Wales for some malfeasance that wasn’t readily apparent to anyone else. The Welsh were livid as they thought they were turning the screw there; instead there was a lineout, some power runs, Finn Russell’s flat pass and Hogg’s exquisite give and take for Visser to finish the contest.

Plenty of tipping points then. But the fact is that in 10 years of contests between Scotland and Wales these points have previously tipped to the men in red on almost every occasion. This time it was Rob Howley’s team that left Murrayfield cursing their missed

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