DAVID SOLE
It may not have been the prettiest of victories in an empty stadium in West Wales, but that will not matter one iota to Gregor Townsend and his Scottish team.
The 14-10 win over a lacklustre home team will taste every bit as sweet as if it had been a whitewash by 40 points.
Scotland have proved they can beat teams other than Italy away from home and that they could, and should become a force to be reckoned with.
If truth be told, the margin of victory should have been far greater, given the dominance of the Scottish side. Wales had a resolute and stubborn defence – something that they have always had – and it’s a defence that Scotland have always had problems breaking through.
Yesterday in Llanelli was no different. The Scottish victory was based on forward dominance and a strong defensive effort of their own, coupled with some wonderful work at the breakdown by Jamie Ritchie and Co.
The Scottish scrum is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson are maturing well and to supplement their strong scrummaging, they are both good ball carriers. While the lineout was a challenge in the blustery conditions, the scrum was powerful
The Scottish scrum is becoming a force to be reckoned with
– they won a number of penalties as Wales wilted and the second Scottish try was due to a great driving maul – with the assistance of most of the backline.
Conditions didn’t enable scintillating rugby, nor did injuries to both of Scotland’s fly-halves.
Scotland ended up with Stuart Hogg in the pivotal role when Adam Hastings had to retire due to a shoulder injury.
Scott Steele, the Harlequins scrumhalf, could hardly have imagined that he would have ended up winning his first cap on the wing.
In times gone by, such a re-shuffle could have led to a narrow defeat and a bucketful of excuses, but this Scottish side appear to be made of sterner stuff than that.
You could see by the commitment of everyone, just how much they wanted the victory and nobody could fault the team for that.
In the end, they thoroughly deserved their win and it has left the Welsh on a run of five defeats in a row – unheard of when Warren Gatland was at the helm as coach.
Scotland now go into a new competition for the rest of the autumn and they will be hoping that at least one of their injured fly-halves recovers and stays fit.
It would be a cruel blow to lose them both. It will also be a real test of whether they can build on their most recent victories to really be feared by opposing teams.
On the basis of yesterday in Wales, there is no reason why not.