NO HALTING THE GRAND PLAN
Scotland restore some honour in defeat as the Welsh dig in to remain on course for Slam
LONG after the final whistle had blown, the red jerseys gathered in the centre of the Murrayfield pitch to a soundtrack of Welsh rock ’n roll.
Have A Nice Day by the Stereophonics echoed out over the stadium tannoy as captain Alun Wyn Jones delivered his victory speech, with his team-mates huddled around him.
This was not a lap of honour, but an affirmation of everything this team have come to stand for. This band of brothers had survived an onslaught during a remarkable second half.
Scotland were much improved from their defeat to France, although, admittedly, that is hardly any great barometer of success.
Still, they threw everything at their opponents. By the end of a breathless encounter, Wales had made an astonishing 204 tackles.
God knows, they earned this victory. It will come as no consolation to Gregor Townsend that his pre-match declaration of Wales having the best defence in the world rang true.
In the end, it felt like a haunting prophecy. Darcy Graham’s try, brilliant though it undoubtedly was, ended up being the only time Townsend’s team could pierce a defensive unit which is organised with military precision.
The credit for that must go to Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards. Gatland’s team remain on course to win the Grand Slam, which would be the third they have won under their Kiwi head coach.
In his time in charge of Wales, Gatland has now won all 11 Test matches against Scotland. Architect of a clean sweep, he has become the bete noire of Scottish rugby.
Their current run of form now moves them on to 13 consecutive victories. It is a run which has been built on a miserly defence.
Indeed, it was tempting to check whether the Welsh had anyone by the name of Scrooge operating in their back row. No matter, they had 29-year-old Justin Tipuric instead.
In the previous 12 games, Wales had conceded an average of just 14 points and 1.5 tries per game. Only Tonga had scored more than twice against Gatland’s men.
That was the task that was facing Scotland. Townsend’s men dominated in both possession and territory, but, truthfully, they did not deserve to win.
What they do deserve is credit for at least making a decent fist of it. Their squad continues to be ravaged by injuries and there were times yesterday when it really was the walking wounded.
They finished the match, quite incredibly, with four half-backs on the pitch; Ali Price, Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw and Adam Hastings.
Their resources are now at breaking point. But Townsend must rouse his troops for one final push at Twickenham next weekend, where they will look to defy the odds and claim a first victory since 1983.
Tommy Seymour and Jonny Gray had the honour of leading the teams out prior to kick-off, the Scotland duo earning their 50th caps for their country.
There was aggression and purpose in everything the Scots did during the opening stages, two qualities which were conspicuous by their absence in the defeat to France.
A Russell penalty put them ahead in the 11th minute. Their solid early work would, however, be undone by some inexplicably weak defence just a couple of minutes later.
The main culprit was Blair Kinghorn. He afforded Josh Adams far too much space on the outside, hanging off the tackle as the Welsh winger ran in to notch a fourth try in 10 caps.
As Gareth Anscombe converted to make it a seven-pointer, it was hard not to feel that Stuart Hogg would have made the tackle.
For all Kinghorn’s attacking prowess, his defensive work can often leave a lot to be desired. He was exposed in Paris and fared no better yesterday.
A great burst from Graham led to another penalty for Scotland. Russell sent it over the posts, but it was soon cancelled out by Anscombe to make it 10-6 to the Welsh.
Scotland’s bright start to the match was
becoming a distant memory. Wales had their foot pressed firmly on the throat of their opponents and had no intention of letting go.
A masterclass in how to manoeuvre a team into position and strike the killer blow, their second try on the half-hour mark saw them go through 23 phases deep inside Scottish territory.
Hadleigh Parkes was instrumental, the centre punching holes in the Scottish defence. The final pass came from Anscombe before Jonathan Davies, so often a thorn in Scotland’s side, powered over.
Kinghorn’s afternoon didn’t improve a great deal. The full-back picked up an injury and was replaced by Hastings in the immediate aftermath of the Welsh score.
That was one of several enforced changes as Townsend was forced to rejig things. Seymour was another high-profile casualty.
What came in the second half, then, was most unexpected. It felt like Wales would simply run away with the game.
But a rampaging run from prop Allan Dell served notice of Scotland’s intent. They weren’t going to go down without a fight.
Having thundered across the line, Grant Gilchrist was held up as he attempted to dot the ball down. Reward for their growing pressure came through Graham’s try on 58 minutes.
It owed, as Scotland’s attacking play invariably does, to Russell’s genius. The fly-half popped a glorious inside pass to Byron McGuigan to spark the move which had started at a scrum on the opposite side of the pitch.
The ball went through the hands of McGuigan and Hastings, before Graham dived over in the corner to notch his first try for his country.
What a sight it was; the pint-sized winger from Hawick who idolised Welsh little ’un Shane Williams in his youth touching down with big George North hanging from his ankles.
Scotland were now laying siege to the Welsh line. A key part of that was Hamish Watson, who made his return from the bench and battered his way over the gain line to excellent effect.
Scotland’s back row has infinitely more thrust and destructive force when Watson is a part of it. His efforts, though, would be to no avail.
The sight of Price operating as a winger in the closing stages illustrated the desperation and problems facing the Scots. There was simply no way through.
A match that had hung improbably in the balance at one point was over when Anscombe kicked an 80th-minute penalty to bring things to a conclusion.
Scotland can reflect on restoring a certain degree of pride, while Welsh eyes will now turn to Cardiff and a Grand Slam decider against Ireland next weekend.