Six Nations: Five takeaways from Scotland v Wales as Finn Russell turns on the style in second half

Adam Kyriacou
Finn Russell for Scotland after the six nations win over Wales

Following a 35-7 victory for Scotland over Wales in their Six Nations fixture, here’s our five takeaways from the game at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Scotland finally crack their Round Two hoodoo

At the third time of asking, Scotland finally ended a hugely frustrating Round Two losing streak that had seen them fail to back up an opening win over England.

This time Gregor Townsend’s men did not drop their performance after the Calcutta Cup triumph as they eventually outclassed the Welsh in the second period, picking up a bonus-point success that very much keeps them in the hunt for Championship glory as the tournament now takes a breather until Saturday, February 25.

Much of the pre-game talk had centred around Scotland not following up their Round One form in recent years, so this is very much a monkey off the back for the team, who can celebrate not just today’s win but also last week’s in the knowledge they have a few days off to savour their early Six Nations efforts.

Then all their focus will return to making it three straight victories, with France in Paris their next assignment as they look to build on these solid showings.

Stark difference in quality to Ireland-France

The first half especially was very much a step down from what we’d witnessed in Dublin not an hour before, where Ireland and France put on a rugby Test of the highest order that rubber-stamped their standing as the number one and two ranked nations in the game right now – some in the southern hemisphere may disagree.

Errors and ill-discipline were rife at Murrayfield in the opening half, and credit to Scotland for what was said at half-time as they came out a different side, turning the screw against a Welsh outfit that now looks like Wooden Spoon favourites, especially with two more away fixtures to come against Italy and France.

Wales will be determined to respond on home turf against England after this mini-break, but the signs aren’t great for Warren Gatland, who is against the clock as he looks to rebuild what looks to be a group low on confidence. Indeed, there’s glaring differences in quality to their Six Nations rivals which will concern Welsh fans as they struggled to fire a shot in attack and looked at sea defensively as Scotland picked the bones in the second period to seal a record home win.

Second-half masterclass from Finn Russell

Leading on from that, it was a virtuoso display from Russell in the second period as he threw in offloads, kick passes and more to guide Scotland to the victory.

Territorially the Racing 92 fly-half was on point, and while there were some errors in his game – there often is – he regularly outweighs them with many moments of brilliance that get fans and pundits off their seat. As one commentator said on the day, it is his ability to back himself after mistakes that shows belief.

The falling out with Townsend now seems to be in the past, and with Blair Kinghorn excelling at full-back when he came on for Stuart Hogg, it seems Russell has the 10 shirt for the long-term. That’s great news not just for the player but also for Scotland and the rugby world in general, as his talents deserve the big stage.

Stodgy Wales

Once again, Gatland’s men had plenty of chances inside the opposition half, but they failed to take advantage of that territory and possession. For a number of reasons, they just don’t look particularly threatening with the ball in hand. First of all, you have to give massive credit to the Scottish defence who, like they did against England, made it as difficult as possible for their opponents to get some momentum. Their defence is well-drilled and, as a result, Wales struggled.

However, the Auld Enemy still managed to score three tries last weekend, as they have far more dynamic carriers. Gatland made several changes for this clash, but the pack lacked balance and doesn’t really have much of a nasty streak to it at the moment. Christ Tshiunza was a positive but, apart from that, they struggled to get across the gain line, which made it difficult for the backline.

Fly-half Dan Biggar certainly didn’t help matters with a pretty dreadful individual display, but he wasn’t the only Welsh player to struggle. Scotland’s ill-discipline kept Gatland’s charges in the game but, once the hosts sorted that out, there was only one winner.

George North head knock

There was another concerning incident around head knocks in this game, with George Turner going to the sin bin for a high tackle on Wales centre North.

The veteran Wales back has a long history of concussions, and it really wasn’t a great look to see North carry on playing. Referee Andrew Brace quickly stopped the match when the incident occurred as North fell awkwardly and initially looked groggy.

However, despite this all, the Welshman was allowed to play on the following passage of the game before someone realised he should go for a head injury assessment (HIA).

Thankfully, the 30-year-old passed his HIA, but the fact that he was allowed to play on despite the officials and medics having plenty of time to get him off before the match resumed, particularly after all the replays of the incident, wasn’t good.

He deserves better.

READ MORE: Six Nations: Scotland claim record win against Wales to continue perfect start

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