Wales resurrected their Six Nations campaign and restored an unquantifiable amount of pride by skewering fancied Scotland with some thunderously defiant rugby on home turf.
Reeling after embarrassment against Ireland seven days earlier, Wales had heroes everywhere as a try from prop Tomas Francis and 15 points from the boot of outstanding captain Dan Biggar upset the pre-match odds.
It was tense and tight for most of the 80 minutes with the score tied at 14-14 at half-time, Scotland having claimed the opening score through wing Darcy Graham.
Wales began nervously after their Dublin debacle but improved in almost every department with every passing minute.
The key turning point was a yellow card for Finn Russell 13 minutes from the end for a deliberate knock-on, with Wales turning the screw and taking a decisive lead via a Biggar drop-goal.
The Scots will leave the Welsh capital broken hearted after so much optimism emanating from their victory against England on the first weekend.
Wales meanwhile have two weeks to prepare for a trip to Twickenham, but at least they will do so amid the glow of a much-needed signature success.
Pivac makes a point
As head coach, Wayne Pivac, quite rightly, didn’t escape the opprobrium following the manner of the defeat to Ireland.
Legitimate questions were asked about the direction he was taking the team in.
But whatever the result had been this time around, he made a positive point because he got a performance out of his players. He got a response.
The biggest fear after Dublin was that he may be losing the dressing room. Was such an awful display down to his inability to get his personnel to do his bidding, to put their bodies on the line for him.
Evidently not. There is still much for Pivac and his management colleagues to fix, and two mammoth assignments against England and France await.
But the very least this has done is buy the boss some breathing space.
They’ve just beaten a very good Scotland side who came to Cardiff on a roll. You can’t argue with that.
Pivac’s task now is to maintain this upward mobility. He cannot countenance another drubbing in this tournament, even if winning at Twickenham and beating title-favourites France proves beyond Wales.
Huge improvement from Wales
Compared to the dross of the Irish defeat, Wales were unrecognisable throughout the first half of this.
There was nothing sensational, but they for a start they competed on equal terms.
They were more physical – Biggar of all people contemptuously handed off scrum-half Ali Price in a seventh minute Welsh attack - and everything they did had more intent about it. Those were the basics.
On top of that, Wales improved manifestly at the breakdown, recycling the ball at a decent pace in attack and disrupting and slowing down Scottish ball at times when defending.
At long last they offered a threat on the gain-line, forwards and backs making some decent yardage in key areas.
Wales were solid in the scrum, as they were a week earlier, and the lineout ran far more smoothly.
It wasn’t title-winning stuff, but it was a significant step in the right direction.
After a shaky looking start, Wales grew into the game as time wore on, their belligerence forcing a Scottish side who began the game with a swagger, to doubt themselves.
Risk and reward for Francis try
Wales’ opening try came from a piece of textbook play that will have left Pivac purring in his coaches’ box.
The look on Liam Williams’ face when his deep kick bounced into touch handing his team an attacking lineout on the half-hour mark suggested he thought he’d got away with one.
Call it luck or brilliant execution, Wales made the most of it. When Scotland were penalised defending a series of raids on their line, Biggar took a risk and planted it to touch five metres out.
There was no nonsense in what was a huge lineout – Wales secured the ball and tighthead Francis rumbled over for a try from the rolling maul.
That’s how to play Test rugby. Organisation, strength, physicality and no little skill.
Discipline frustration
Both sides were guilty of conceding annoying penalties, but Wales played a full part in such concessions throughout the first half.
The short period between the 17th and 20th minutes exemplified it.
Wales coughed up three penalties in quick succession.
Ross Moriarty was pinged for an offence at the breakdown, debutant Jac Morgan went offside carelessly and Francis was jackaled and done for holding on in the tackle – which was punished by three points from the boot of Finn Russell.
Then, after a determined start to the second half, Wales were the ones who fell behind again in the 50th minute when referee Nic Berry spotted hands in a ruck and Russell slotted a penalty from in front of the posts.
The indiscipline meant Wales strangled their own momentum, handing it back in the process to the Scots. It was classic one step forward, two steps back.
Perhaps the desire to atone for their Irish thrashing came before better decision making and cooler heads at times.
Owen Watkins’ spooned kick straight to touch in the 47th minute, which squandered hard won ball by his forward pack, was another example of a flustered rather than calculated end-product.
It was annoying, because when Wales kept the ball and went through the phases they often caused Scotland problems and did draw penalties from `Gregor Townsend’s side, Biggar’s effort in the 56th minute which made it 17-17 a case in point.
Welcome back the Welsh defence
So passive were Wales at times against Ireland that you wondered whether we were witnessing the death of the fabled Welsh defence constructed over 12 years by the po-faced Shaun Edwards.
Reports of its demise, it appears, were exaggerated. The only blot on the copybook was Louis Rees-Zammit’s rather feeble attempt to stop Darcy Graham scoring in the 12th minute.
They say defence is 90% a state of mind. If that’s true, then any psychological damage inflicted in Dublin clearly healed quickly.
From an organisational perspective though, Wales’ line-speed was so much better. There were just far less holes for their opponents to exploit and the urgency with which the hosts scrambled at times had a ‘they shall not pass’ feel about it.
Even defence coach Gethin Jenkins might have cracked a smile at such an afternoon’s work.
