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Scotland got their Guinness Men’s Six Nations back on the tracks with a dominant 31-20 win over England at Murrayfield last Saturday.
It breathed confidence into the side who has lost to New Zealand, Argentina, and Italy in three of their four last internationals. They overran Steve Borthwick’s side with a performance full of pace and precision to reclaim the Calcutta Cup and end England’s run of 12 consecutive wins.
Now, they travel away to Cardiff to face Wales at the Principality Stadium on Sunday. Scotland are overwhelming favourites, but that title hasn’t always sat easily on Gregor Townsend’s team.
Here’s what ATR thinks they need to do to make it two wins from three this Championship…
Speed, Speed, Speed
Last weekend, Scotland started quickly, were 17-0 ahead by 20 minutes and didn’t take their foot off the throttle for the entire match. It played spectacular dividends, and they should be confident of matching that level of performance against a Wales team with confidence at an all-time low.
Such was Scotland’s dynamism that England missed 25 tackles. Wales missed 33 against, France, a team with a similar style to Scotland at their best.
It is a sign of how Scotland should approach the match at the Principality Stadium. They have the chance to fill their boots, earn a four-try bonus point, and boost their points difference.
Try Something New
That said, there might be the temptation to just try something new. Scotland’s scrum has wobbled against Italy and England, and while their lineout improved at Murrayfield, in Rome it was a disaster.
If they do want to try a more pragmatic, powerful style, then they will need to go all in. Wales’s scrum and lineout was 100 percent in both facets, so there won’t be easy gains there.
For now, it will be sensible to stick to the style that beat England, and then if they want to layer on a more pragmatic approach work on it at training, rather than take a chance away from home.
Nail Down The Issues
Still, the chance is there to work out the kinks in their approach. Whatever a team’s approach, there will be scrums and lineouts.
Matters improved against England, but they lost three of their 10 scrums, and 11 of their 12 lineouts, though they were helped by England not challenging early on.
Wales’s pack are no mugs. Dewi Lake, Rhys Carre, and Tom Francis will be no pushovers in the scrum, and Daffyd Jenkins runs an effective lineout. Scotland will have a good barometer of their pack’s ability; can they show some progress?
Boys Are Back
Whether through design, or accident, Townsend has been able to bring back two of Scotland’s biggest names, in test Lion Blair Kinghorn and Scotland’s all-time try scorer Duhan van der Merwe.
They are among five changes that Townsend has made, and he is doing so from a point of strength. While many would have brought them back after the Round 1 defeat to Italy, Townsend showed faith in Tom Jordan and Jamie Dobie, and it paid dividends in the win over England. It means Kinghorn and van der Merwe have to play their best if they want to hold onto the jersey after the rest week.
In the pack, Zander Fagerson receives the same treatment as Jordan and Dobie and has another start after a chastening time against England. Wales’s pack are no pushovers, but they aren’t at England’s level and facing them should boost Fagerson’s confidence.
