Sunday 10 March 2019 07:31, UK
Wales took a step closer to the Grand Slam with a narrow 18-11 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wales looked well in control as they went into the break 15-6 up after a dominant first-half performance resulting in Josh Adams and Jonathan Davies scoring tries.
However, Scotland responded well in the second half and starved Wales of any ball as they applied tremendous attacking pressure onto their visitors.
Darcy Graham's try in the 51st minute made it 15-11 but despite Scotland throwing everything at Wales - including wrecking ball Hamish Watson - Wales had their tremendous defence to thank for the win.
Scotland started well as they took an 11th-minute lead after Wales flanker Josh Navidi infringed and Russell kicked the resulting penalty. However, Wales kicked into gear and delivered a superb score as slick passing freed Adams near the touchline and he showed outstanding footwork to round Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn and touch down unopposed.
Anscombe kicked the conversion for a 7-3 advantage after 13 minutes, and although Russell then booted a second penalty.
A long-range Anscombe penalty restored Wales' four-point advantage, and they began to dominate with the likes of Navidi, Ross Moriarty and Alun Wyn Jones denting the Scotland defence with big carries.
The pressure told as Wales went through the phases with Davies rounded it off to take Wales into the break 15-6 up.
The Scotland forwards showed up in the second half and laid siege to Wales' line. The pressure finally told as Darcy Graham went over to make it 15-11.
Wales, starved of quality possession and territory, could not get their game going as Scotland continued to dominate during a tense final 10 minutes.
But Scotland could not keep their composure as time ticked down, and a relieved Wales held out as Anscombe kicked a late penalty to set up a huge Principality Stadium encounter against Ireland in seven days' time.
The Good
Wales will be happy with their first-half performance and defensive coach Shaun Edwards will be pleased with the defensive display Wales showed in that second 40 minutes. They may not have fired an attacking shot in that second stanza, but they made an incredible 160 tackles!
Scotland responded well to fight their corner in the second half and really upped the passion and aggression. The return of Hamish Watson was also a plus for Scotland who have really missed his ball carrying abilities.
The Bad
Once again Scotland were let down by too many errors and were guilty of making the wrong decisions in the first half - they were hit by some early injuries but they plethora of mistakes meant they were unable to build any meaningful pressure and lost their composure.
For Wales, well their lineout still needs working on and there will be questions about how they could not get their hands on the ball in the second half. The loss of full-back Liam Williams to a nasty looking arm injury will be worrying ahead of the Ireland clash.
Stat of the game
