Wales v Scotland: Five takeaways from the Six Nations clash as Finn Russell goes from Messi to messy

Following a dramatic 27-26 victory for Scotland over Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, here’s our five takeaways from the Six Nations clash.

Capitulation

Wales have had some tough Six Nations campaigns since the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but the first 40 minutes that they served up on Saturday is the worst they’ve produced since the dark days of the early 2000s. They were utterly woeful as the Scots, who weren’t even at their best, eased into a 20-0 advantage at the interval.

Nothing went right for the Welsh, with their lineout absolutely shambolic and the kicking game consistently inviting pressure. There were also an inordinate amount of mistakes in open play, allowing Scotland to build pressure throughout the half.

The visitors duly took advantage, going comfortably ahead with some pretty simple play by taking advantage of a disorganised home side. That theme continued at the start of the second period as Duhan van der Merwe touched down for a second time, which seemed to seal Wales’ fate until…

Capitulation part two

Credit must go to a young Wales side, who showed tremendous spirit and skill to come back into the contest, but we weren’t quite sure what the Scots were trying to do in the final half-hour. Their discipline went to pot, conceding a series of penalties which led to a pair of yellow cards and a number of try-scoring opportunities for the hosts.

When Alex Mann touched down with 12 minutes still remaining, we thought that there was only going to be one outcome. Warren Gatland’s men had all the momentum and were continually cutting their opponents’ defence apart, raising the question as to whether Scotland would ever win in Cardiff again.

However, their rearguard managed to reorganise, despite appearing to be out on their feet, and Gregor Townsend’s side denied the Welsh a match-winning opportunity. In the end, the away team finished the stronger and launched one final attack in search of the try bonus-point, but ultimately it was not to be.

You have to praise Scotland for closing the game out in the final 10 minutes when many sides would have wilted under that pressure, but there will be several concerns for Townsend heading into next weekend’s encounter.

From Messi to messy

Finn Russell’s tongue-in-cheek comment during Netflix’s Full Contact docuseries caused a bit of a buzz, but in the first half, the fly-half lived up to the comparison he made of himself to the Argentine maestro.

Like Lionel Messi, Russell looked a bit lethargic at times as he assessed what was in front of him, but make no mistake, he was not being lazy, he was mapping out the best route to get in behind the Welsh defence and was incredibly successful in doing so.

Scotland were ruthless once they got into the Welsh 22, and a lot of that has to do with the playmaker’s decision-making and overall game management. It wasn’t just his attacking brilliance, and there was a lot of that, but also his world-class kicking as he and Ben White tactically got the better of the Welsh backfield.

However, that all changed in the second period. Some of it wasn’t his fault as his team-mates proceeded to concede penalty after penalty, but his words evidently did not have the desired effect as they continued to infringe.

Russell was on the wrong side of referee Ben O’Keeffe, who did not like what Scotland were doing at the maul or breakdown, and he also failed to control the game with his boot. It was certainly a steep learning curve for the new co-captain.

That sums it up nicely, Finn ?#WALvSCO #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/Gb26oFhZZ3

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 3, 2024

Men possessed

Scotland could have easily racked up a half-century in Cardiff, but you must tip your hat to that Wales team, who almost pulled off a remarkable comeback. Two players in particular led the resurgence and that was back-row duo Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright.

Reffell can probably be excused of any criticism in the first half as he was the only one to make an impact, but he was even more influential in the second period. That was also helped by the efforts of team-mates such as Wainwright, who was stunningly good at number eight.

The athletic Dragons back-row was absolutely superb with ball in hand, constantly making ground and giving his backline a platform from which to attack from.

Now for France

We have commented that this is Scotland’s best chance to win their first Six Nations title and we stand by that, but they need a vast improvement next weekend. France’s performance on Friday no doubt gave them hope of causing an upset and, combined with the Scots’ display in the first 42 minutes in Cardiff, we were already pencilling in a home triumph at Murrayfield next week.

But that final half-hour has certainly made us reassess where Townsend’s side are at, however, particularly when they are put under sustained pressure.

Still, it must be remembered that the Scotsmen managed to win in Cardiff for the first time since 2002, which in itself is a small slice of history. And should they emerge triumphant against France, the fans will quite rightly start to dream about ending their 25-year Championship drought.

READ MORE: Scotland survive almighty Six Nations scare against Wales to end Cardiff hoodoo