Six Nations Review - Scotland 18 - 28 Wales

There are times when, despite being in my mid-20s, I consider myself to be a bit of an old man.  I think modern music is monotonous drivel, I make a satisfied grunt after the first sip of a Friday night pint, and I happen to think I had an excellent Saturday afternoon after I spent it having lunch with my grandparents and snoozing in front of a fire.  Of course, my afternoon nap was aided considerably by another Six Nations snooze-fest which was contested, if that is the right word, by an inaccurate Welsh side and an utterly unambitious Scottish outfit.

After an opening weekend filled with drama, intensity and, above all, tries, we seem to have taken a bit of a turn down penalty lane and Saturday afternoon at Murrayfield was no exception.  The weather may have been responsible for some turgid play we’ve witnessed recently, but it’s probably the pressure on all sides that has been the most important factor in one of the tightest tournaments in memory.  However, as entertainment value has fallen, Welsh fortune has risen, and a side that a month ago looked like it couldn’t win in an everyone’s-a-winner primary school tombola now has 3 consecutive away victories under its belt and a Championship-deciding game at home to look forward to.

In fairness to both sides, perhaps it was unfair to expect a gem of a game when the wind seemed to be changing direction every 5 minutes and went up and down like a Glaswegian lass’s undergarments.  As such, it was probably the smart decision to put boot to ball as much as possible, but it only led to a monotonous kick-fest that was characterised by handling errors from both sides, and it was from one such mistake that the visitors earned themselves a scrum deep in Scottish territory.  In what would become a common sight, prop Paul James – in for the injured Gethin Jenkins – made mincemeat of Euan Murray, and Halfpenny casually accepted the chance for an opening 3 points.  Scotland levelled quickly though through the deadly accurate Greg Laidlaw, who nudged over after Ryan Jones was penalised for being offside following the restart, before the scrum half put the hosts in front following an infringement in the midfield.

However, Scotland were performing their usual trick of committing next to nobody to the breakdown, and it was yielding its usual reward by handing prolonged periods of possession to the opposition, and as such it was the Welsh who were looking by far the most threatening.  It looked like they wouldn’t be able to make their dominance count though, as Leigh Halfpenny’s kicking radar went on a rare walkabout, leading the usually-flawless full back to miss three consecutive kicks at goal.  When the breakthrough did come, it was in the unexpected - but not unwelcome - form of a try.  George North fielded a kick and returned with interest, leaving Richie Gray for dead, before the ball was recycled and driven on in a series of short carries by the forwards.  Just when it seemed like they may have made one carry too many and missed potential opportunities out wide, hooker Richard Hibbard burrowed his way over from close range to put 5 points on the board, and give Halfpenny a chance to make amends with his conversion – a chance which he took with aplomb.

Despite the stranglehold on possession the Welsh were having, they couldn’t escape the clutches of the tenacious Scots, and a series of superb touch finders from young Duncan Weir, making his first start for Scotland, put the hosts in promising positions from which they were able to earn another penalty for Laidlaw to convert.  Weir nearly got on the scoresheet himself with an enterprising chip and chase, but Dan Biggar recovered well to claim the ball, even though he was forced over his own line in the process.  Laidlaw and Halfpenny then exchanged further penalties before the break to give the Welsh a 1 point advantage at half time.

If the crowd hoped for an improvement following the break, they would be disappointed.  If anything, it got even worse, with running rugby at an absolute premium and the Craig Joubert’s whistle going off more often than at a Brazilian carnival (it led to an eventual world-record 18 penalty attempts on goal – not really a record worth celebrating).  Laidlaw and Halfpenny traded 3 pointers before Halfpenny started to take advantage of the Welsh pack’s dominance – especially in the scrum – and nudged over a further 2 kicks to take the visitors out to a 7 point lead, from which the Scots couldn’t recover.  A genuine positive to emerge from this dire excuse of an international match was the performance of Sam Warburton, however – the ex-Wales-captain was looking like he may be back to his ball-snaffling best, winning 3 superb turnovers during the second half.  As the game stuttered to it’s conclusion, with yet another pair of penalties struck by Halfpenny and Laidlaw, the Welsh could reflect on another shut-out in defence, despite losing Paul James to the sin-bin late on, and yet another win on their road to an astounding recovery.  The crowd may have felt like they had aged a few years, but for the Welsh it turned out to be a very satisfactory Saturday afternoon indeed.

Scotland Player Ratings

Stuart Hogg – 6 – Had to be on his defensive mettle, which he was.  Solid under the high ball and positionally sound, he was well marshalled whenever he set off on a dance.
Sean Maitland – 6 – Always looked dangerous when he had the ball, which unfortunately wasn’t very often.  Dealt with his not insignificant opponent, George North, pretty well.
Sean Lamont – 5 – Utterly anonymous, which is saying something when you consider he’s not exactly inconspicuous.  Solid in defence but little in attack – he had no ball.
Matt Scott – 5 – Like his centre partner, he was sound in defence but had a quiet day at the office.  Again, not really his fault, and he did show a couple of nice touches with the boot.
Tim Visser – 5 – He is a dangerous runner but he so rarely gets the ball in space.  And when he gets the ball surrounded by players, I get the feeling he’s a bit of a headless chicken and lacks the technique to recycle the ball safely. 
Duncan Weir – 7 – I like this kid.  I’m not saying he’s the new Gregor Townsend but he has a cockiness that has been lacking from Scottish 10s lately and he held up well under pressure.
Greig Laidlaw – 6 – Some excellent goalkicking once again, but does he offer a threat elsewhere?  I’m yet to be convinced, but it would be nice to see what he could do with some decent possession.
Ryan Grant – 5 – Struggled against Adam Jones and wasn’t quite as prominent in defence as he was in the last round.  Got his hands on the ball as much as possible though.
Ross Ford – 6 – The lineout was perfect for which he must take credit, but he is too often battered about in the close exchanges.
Euan Murray – 4 – Smashed at scrum time, and offered little else around the park.  For a bloke who was included because of his scrimmaging prowess, he has to do better than this.
Richie Gray – 5 – A quiet opening 30 minutes before being forced off with a hamstring injury.  We haven’t seen the blonde giant at his barnstorming best this tournament.
Jim Hamilton – 6 – Was a thorn in the Welsh side at the lineout but I have to question his intelligence at times, such as when he conceded one of the most brainless penalties I’ve seen recently
Robert Harley – 5 – Once again, a valiant defensive effort, but what else does he offer?  I have rarely seen him make yards on the carry
Kelly Brown – 6 – A much quieter day at the breakdown for the Scottish captain, and was outshone by his opposite number for once.
Johnnie Beattie – 5 – It’s hard to keep this guy down with the ball in hand, but fortunately for the Welsh he never had the ball.  Anonymous throughout, apart from when he gave away a couple of silly penalties.

Subs used

Geoff Cross –Not enough time to make an impact.

Alastair Kellock – 6 – Mobile around the park but lacked sufficient punch in the close exchanges to take the game away from the Welsh.
Ryan Wilson - Not enough time to make an impact.
Ruaridh Jackson - Not enough time to make an impact.

 

Welsh Player Ratings

 

Leigh Halfpenny – 7 – Solid as ever under the high ball and kicked the crucial goals, despite having a blip with his usually impeccable goal kicking.
Alex Cuthbert – 5 – Utterly invisible throughout the first half but showed some decent power late on against Visser, who he may have attacked sooner had he had any ball to do so.
Jonathan Davies – 5 – Was another to suffer from a lack of decent ball.  Did his defensive duties with minimal fuss but little chance to show anything else
Jamie Roberts – 5 – His Welsh starting spot, let alone his Lions spot, must be under review after another underwhelming performance.  To be fair he had no ball but he hasn’t looked like the player we know he can be.
George North – 6 – His good run set up the only score of the match, but was largely starved of possession afterwards and cut a frustrated figure.
Dan Biggar – 6 – Solid tactically which was what was required in these conditions.  Must be hoping for some drier conditions against England to utilise the firepower outside of him next weekend.
Mike Phillips – 5 – Was a physical presence around the breakdown but his willingness to take contact slowed the ball down too often, and his kicking was a tad inaccurate at times
Paul James – 6 – Had Euan Murray on toast throughout – at least according to Craig Joubert – but was sin-binned later on.
Richard Hibbard – 7 – Good solid performance by the Osprey.  Took his try well and was a handful on the carry, although his lineouts came under pressure.
Adam Jones – 7 – Another improved performance from the prop, who helped the scrum gain several penalties.  Also showed up a little more in the loose with a strong defensive effort.
Alun Wyn Jones – 8 – A powerful presence in the loose and got through a huge amount of work around the field – it was obvious he was hungry for work.  Impressive return from injury.  Man of the Match.
Ian Evans – 7 – Physical as always and helped the Welsh pack get on top of their counterparts in the breakdown.
Ryan Jones – 6 – A day of unspectacular grafting for the skipper, getting through a lot of work but not making too many dents in the process.
Sam Warburton – 8 – A welcome return to form for the ex-skipper, making a good amount of tackles and winning 3 impressive turnovers at the breakdown.
Toby Faletau – 6 – The Dragons backrower continued his quiet form with a pretty inconspicuous showing, always looking for work but couldn’t make the impact that he’d want.

Subs Used

Ken Owens – 6 – The impact sub has been impressive throughout this tournament.  Here he wasn’t spectacular but did bring a much welcomed energy to proceedings.

Scott Andrews - Not enough time to make an impact.
Justin Tipuric – 5 – Not really his sort of game, slow and attritional.  Lots of effort but no real reward.
Lloyd Williams – Not enough time to make an impact.
Scott Williams – Not enough time to make an impact.