That’s yer lot from a great afternoon in Cardiff. Thanks for your company.
Updated
A tearful Rachel Malcolm is talking to the BBC
“Really disappointed, we had the pressure, we had the opportunities but like last week we didn’t take the ones we had. We don’t ever want to feel like this again. I don’t think Wales being professional makes a huge difference, we’ve just had a disrupted week and our front-row had to play 80 mins because of that.”
Updated
Ioan Cunningham, Wales coach is smiling”
“They really tested us early, we were under real pressure. The girls came on off the bench and made a real impact and next week we need to get some possession and territory much earlier.”
Sioned Harries, Player of the Match is chatting to the BBC
“We wanted to show what we can do in front of the record crowd. We showed our tenacity, but we were a bit slow out of the starting blocks. We didn’t write Scotland off at all, we knew they’d be tough, but we need to start a bit earlier and be less reactive and more proactive. We have England next week, we need to focus on workrate and getting in the game earlier”
FULL TIME! Wales 24 - 19 Scotland
80+2. Scotland are inches out, but it’s fumbled at the back of the ruck! Butchers dives on it and it’s off the field for an amazing Wales win!
80+1. Scotland are up to 10 phases, still in the right quadrant of the Wales half. There’s no way through, so they go left...
Updated
80 mins. Scotland are hammering the defence on the right of the 5m line
79 mins. Siwan Lillicrap sticks out a hand to go for the ball from a Nelson pass and it goes foward. Joy Neville immediately says it wasn’t deliberate, but a quick glance at the replay says it most definitely was and Neville changes her decision in consultation with the TMO.
Scotland will have penalty platform in the Wales 22. They tap and go...
78 mins. Scotland aren’t done yet as Evie Gallagher hits a bit carry up in midfield from some clean lineout possession. Wales are staying well out of the ruck now and simply fanning out to defend the width of the field, daring Scotland to create enough to get through them.
TRY! Wales 24 - 19 Scotland (Ffion Lewis)
75 mins. Wales come short-side from a ruck on the right and Alisha Butchers puts in a wonderful step and go before feeding to Lewis on lovely support line to score. Wales have left it late but they’re in front for the first time in the match!
Conversion is missed and Leah Bartlett returns from the sinbin.
73 mins. Scotland are in the Wales 22, repeat phases hitting the Wales defence. Finally, they run into Lillicrap who holds the tackle up, ref calls maul and Wales will have a scrum.
The Wales captain has been a powerhouse in this half, and she plays her part in winning another penalty for Wales at the scrum.
70 mins. How much will Scotland be ruing all those rejected chances to go for three points in the first half. Those decisions and Bonar’s butchering of a comically easy overlap have presented them a very difficult situation here.
Anne Young has replaced Rachel Malcolm
Updated
69 mins. Scotland have a bit of ball for the first time in a little while a Nelson chips a kick forward that Orr is this close to gathering on the hoof but fumbles it forward. On the next attack Gaffney tries for a break up the left, but Neumann bundles her into touch.
Cara Hope is on for Gwenllian Pyrs
Try machine Donna Rose replaces Cerys Hale
Updated
67 mins. A delicious cross-kick from Snowsill finds Neumann out wide and she’s in behind on bears down on Campbell who does a good job of stopping her. Wonderful kick, but it was so out of the blue that no Wales players could get near Neumann to capitalise on the break!
Louise McMillan replaces Sarah Bonar for Scotland.
TRY! Wales 19 - 19 Scotland (Kelsey Jones)
65 mins. Wales opt for the lineout against the depleted Scottish forwards and it’s a textbook catch and drive for replacement hooker Jones to ground at the back of the maul.
Conversion missed and an intriguing last 15 mins awaits
YELLOW CARD! Leah Bartlett (Scotland)
63 mins. The Wales scrum is completely dominant now and another penalty against Scotland has Joy Neville having a word about cards next.
At the next scrum, it’s another Scottish fold and Leah Bartlett is given ten minutes.
62 mins. Wales subs:
Ffion Lewis is on for Keira Bevan
Beth Lewis replaces Alex Callender
61 mins. It’s a catch and drive from the Welsh pack but the ball doesn’t emerge, giving Scotland a scrum and bringing the Wales attack to disappointing halt. However, as Scotland feed the scrum Wales call an 8-woman shove, driving the Blue pack backwards and upwards. Penalty Wales!
It shocks no-one when they take the option of another scrum.
58 mins. Wales have a penalty on the 22 and just right of the posts as Scotland’s scramble is offside. Once again an easy three points is spurned as the ball is sent to the corner.
56 mins. Scotland win a clean lineout, but the pass to Nelson is just in front and pings off her fingertips. Wales go from their scrum and Bevan is through a gap in midfield and into the Scottish 22.
51 mins. Wales growing into the game now, Kelsey Jones fresh on the field is part of a huge Welsh shove to win a penalty at the scrum. Her darts in the lineout are not as proficient though as Scotland snaffle it - but it’s another Welsh penalty at the breakdown.
Scotland are being tested physically and mentally here as they must’ve felt the game was comfortably in their hands. How they deal with this mini-rally by Wales will be interesting.
48 mins. Kerin Lake is back on for Wales and it’s all looking a lot better for the home side all of a sudden.
Caity Mattinson replaces Jenny Maxwell for Scotland
Kelsey Jones on for Carys Phillips for Wales
Updated
TRY! Wales 14 - 19 Scotland (Sioned Harries)
47 mins. A fabulous angle from Hannah Jones puts Wales deep into the Scottish 22 before a brilliant last ditch tackle hauls her down inches short. But Harries, who has had an incredible impact off the bench is on hand to force over from short.
Bevan converts.
45 mins. Sub Sioned Harries wastes no time in getting amongst it and wins a penalty by clamping on the ball at the breakdown. Wales have a lineout in the Scotland 22.
Updated
TRY! Wales 7 - 19 Scotland (Rhona Lloyd)
43 mins. Scotland receive a box kick and head to the right touchline via Orr and Lloyd. It is once again a channel of joy out wide as the winger is around Joyce before being hauled down by Powell. But fast ruck speed gets the ball away and a few phases later a short pop to Lloyd again allows her to score in the corner.
Nelson can’t convert from out wide.
Sioned Harries is on for Natalia John.
SECOND HALF!
40 mins. Lisa Thomson punts us back into action
Some hope for Wales lies in them only being seven points behind despite being paddled absolutely everywhere; and the one and only time they attacked, they scored a try.
Scotland are sailing a little close to illegality at ruck time as well, with a few that could have been called for sealing off in my opinion but crucially not in Ref Neville’s opinion. This could be because the visitors are so dominant - if Wales can get some go-forward, the Ref may start to view things a little differently.
Maybe...
Half-time Musings
Some stats for you: Wales had 28% possession in that first period, and 71% of it was in their own half. If you want to paint a picture with numbers of how this game has gone, then look no further than this.
Scotland have been rapid and busy in attack and at the breakdown. Jade Konkel has punched holes with hard carries; Orr, Campbell and Lloyd are lively in the wider channels and the backrow has dominated the breakdown. This has led to Wales conceding ten penalties to Scotland’s three, leading to the aforementioned territorial nightmare for the home side.
Wales have to find a way for putting some phases together and kicking with more nous in the second half, because at present they are achieving nothing but inviting more Scottish attacks.
HALF TIME! Wales 7 - 14 Scotland
PEEEEEP! Eventually, Nelson sensibly decides this half should end and chips the ball out.
40+3 mins. From the resulting lineout Scotland go for another attack, and Snowsill is penalised for a high tackle.
YELLOW CARD! Kerin Lake (Wales)
40+1 mins. Wales have a scrum on their own 22, which they are looking to secure and clear away. It’s a little messy, but they eventually achieve this before Campbell decides it’s not time to end the half and runs it back, leading to yet another Scotland penalty (the ninth!).
It was also a pretty cynical lying on infringement from Kerin Lake and she’s been sent to have a think about it for 10 minutes.
37 mins. From yet another Scotland lineout after yet another penalty given away by Wales, Konkel has a big carry to put the visitors back on the attack. Orr busts the line and feeds Skeldon who is stopped short by a scrambling Wales defence.
On the next phase there is a roughly a 4-woman overlap but Sarah Bonar makes an horrendous decision to cut back inside, stopping the attack and losing the ball.
That was a terrible, terrible, option taken by the Scotland lock
TRY! Wales 7 - 14 Scotland (Rhona Lloyd)
33 mins. Scotland have another 12 phases in the attack to go roughly 4 metres forward near the Wales line. On a penalty advantage Nelson boots a chip up with very little hope of it coming to anything at all before Joyce and Powell lets it bounce in-goal and it rips backwards in the arms of Lloyd who gratefully falls over and scores.
Nelson converts.
31 mins. It’s off the top of the lineout this time for Scotland, with a pop pass in midfield to Thomson coming on the charge from deep, but the run is stopped by Kerin Lake’s tackle. The ball is worked around the ruck repeatedly with the blue attack up into double figures and in the Wales 22.
29 mins. It’s not quite coming off for the Scottish backs at the minute, but he patterns and timing are causing trouble to the Wales defence even if the last pass is sometimes a little awry. However, the width of the attack is stretching Wales and contributing to the high penalty count, and Scotland have another one in the Welsh half that Thomson sends to touch for a lineout.
27 mins. A catch and drive from the Scotland lineout is worked to Skeldon at the back, but Wales hit her hard as she tries to peel off the back. The ball is flung wide by Nelson but it drops a little short of Orr who can’t grip it. Knock-on, and Wales clear from the scrum.
25 mins. Wales will be heartened by the fact that their first real possession of note in Scottish territory has a seven-point return. However Scotland are back in possession and looking lively as Campbell, Orr and Rhona Lloyd link up to trouble Wales down the right touchline.
Wales infringe again and Lisa Thomson puts it in the corner, continuing the Scottish approach of rejecting three-point opportunities.
TRY! Wales 7 - 7 Scotland (Carys Phillips)
23 mins. Callender climbs high in the lineout to win the ball and set up a drive from the Wales forwards. The ball comes out and a couple of carries later the ball is grounded from inches by hooker Phillips.
Keira Bevan converts.
19 mins. Cerys Hale has sorted whatever early scrum issues she had and is powering through on the scrum, helping her team win a penalty as Scotland crumple.
Snowsill finds touch and Wales are in the Scottish half with the ball and a platform for the first time in the game. They string some phases together and the blue tackle line is offside, allowing Snowsill again to find a deep touch.
17 mins. The Welsh pack get a good shove on at at Scotland scrum around halfway, forcing Konkel to play it and Nelson to rush a kick. Wales run it back again but this time it’s Evie Gallagher’s turn to clamp on the ball at the breakdown and win yet another Scotland penalty.
That’s five penalties for the visitors by my count.
14 mins. Wales cannot get any kind of grip on this game at all, each possession they have is scrappy and ends with a poor kick that reeks a little of panic. The latest iteration of this has Shona Campbell dancing through a couple of tackles on a kick return, but Wales win a penalty at the breakdown!
Joy is unconfined amongst the red shirts as they finally have a penalty of their own, but not much comes of the resulting lineout as their possession is imprecise and loses the ball.
12 mins. The Scotland pack get their numbers wrong and Wales this time hold up the resulting scrum, allowing Lillicrap to bulldoze a carry away from the base. The ball is cleared with the boot at the next ruck, but it doesn’t find touch and Scotland are back on the ball and back up to the Wales 22.
9 mins. Cerys Hale is penalised for collapsing the scrum and it will be another penalty for Scotland, presenting another lineout attacking platform. On an advantage for Welsh side entry Nelson booms a cross-kick towards Gaffney on the left wing... and it comes to nothing.
It goes back in the corner for another Scottish lineout.
6 mins. Wales have a bit of grass to work in on a kick return and feed it to Jaz Joyce, but she’s met early by Emma Orr who stops her before her magic feet can get going. Joyce is then penalised for holding on as her team-mates couldn’t resource the ruck properly.
Scotland take the lineout, but it’s a bit scrappy as Natalia John gets amongst the Scottish jumpers.
Updated
TRY! Wales 0 - 7 Scotland (Lana Skeldon)
4 mins. Scotland have a solid set of phases in the Wales half with Lisa Thomson stepping to just about break the tackle line. The ball goes wide left and Alex Callender is offside when attempting to jackal over the Scottish ruck.
The visitors reject the kick and posts, send it to the corner and a neat and dynamic catch and drive allows 50-cap Skeldon to score from in close.
Helen Nelson adds the extras to a perfect start for Scotland
KICK OFF!
1 min. Referee Joy Neville blasts her whistle and Elinor Snowsill boots us into action. Scotland gather and boot it back to Wales, who do the same. Some settling touches for both teams in the opening seconds.
Some players are singing the anthem with their gumshield in. An interesting development.
Where do you stand on this? Gumshield in or out?
The teams are on the their way out.
Lana Skeldon is first out for Scotland, marking the occasion of her 50th cap, before Wales run through a pop of pyrotechnics and join their opponents.
Anthems next and then we’ll be off and running.
Late team changes for Scotland
Thanks to Eleanor Stanley on Twitter for drawing my attention to some last minute swaps on the Scotland bench. Details here.
A reminder of your Scotland team taking on Wales today.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) April 2, 2022
Changes on the bench where Katie Dougan and Coreen Grant have been ruled out, replaced by Anne Young and Hannah Smith.
KO: 4.45pm. Watch on BBC Two or BBC iPlayer#AsOne | #TikTokW6N pic.twitter.com/1B46vERuK1
Pre Match Reading
“The Women’s Six Nations finally has a permanent window in the calendar, and with it comes a chance to forge its own identity”
It feels like a moment in Women’s Rugby, read more from Ali Donnelly here:
Tell me everything, either on the email or by tweeting @bloodandmud with any thoughts, reflections or streams of consciousness.
Teams
Unsurprisingly, Wales coach Ioan Cunningham has made zero changes from his victorious team of last week, resisting any urge to promote two-try Dublin star Donna Rose from the bench.
Scotland coach Bryan Easson has rewarded Shona Campbell with a start after a very lively sub appearance vs England, while Emma Orr makes her international debut in the centre. In the pack, Sarah Bonar starts at lock and Evie Gallagher comes in at openside
Wales: Kayleigh Powell; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones, Kerin Lake, Jasmine Joyce; Elinor Snowsill, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, Cerys Hale, Natalia John, Gwen Crabb, Alisha Butchers, Alex Callender, Siwan Lillicrap (captain).
Replacements: Kelsey Jones, Cara Hope, Donna Rose, Sioned Harries, Bethan Lewis, Ffion Lewis, Robyn Wilkins, Sisilia Tuipulotu.
Scotland: Shona Campbell; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Megan Gaffney; Helen Nelson, Jenny Maxwell, Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Christine Belisle, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (captain), Evie Gallagher, Jade Konkel.
Replacements: Jodie Rettie, Panashe Muzambe, Katie Dougan, Lyndsay O’Donnell, Louise McMillan, Caity Mattinson, Meryl Smith, Coreen Grant.
Preamble
Welcome to Cardiff for big Six Nations afternoon.
With France cruising to a comfortable win against Ireland and England due to dish out a hiding to Italy tomorrow, this match looms out of the weekend’s fixture as the pick of the games.
Wales return home after a stunning and stirring victory in Dublin looking to develop the improvement that their new professional status indicated vs Ireland. A second win of the Championship here, against a Scotland team that were better than the points spread versus the Red Roses suggested, would cement both form and confidence in Wales camp.
Scotland lost last week, but given the current England squad is the best sports team in the world there’s little to be inferred from the scoreline itself. Criticism for a loss against the this Red Roses squad is a bit like admonishing your ribcage for not holding it’s shape while being rolled over by a traction engine. There was much to recommend the Scots from their performance, particularly with the ball in hand late in the first half and their tenacity both sides of the ball in the second. They will bring that here, knowing a victory could be theirs.
A record crowd is in to see this and they should be in for a treat.
