Wales 21-10 Scotland: 'No hiding place for Huw Jones', but Doddie Weir 'is a colossus'

Some amount of Joneses have played pivotal parts in Wales' dominance over Scotland in Cardiff over the last 16 years, a run of home victories that now stretches to 10 following Saturday's latest instalment, a 21-10 victory for Warren Gatland's side.

There's Alun Wyn Jones, the great leader of the current team, and Ryan Jones, a leader of one that went before. There was Stephen Jones and his unerring boot and Duncan and Adam Jones and their magnificent mops. To the list of Joneses who have helped Wales establish all this success over the Scots, we can add another.

For Huw Jones, the Scotland centre, there is no hiding place. As much as his attacking brilliance has helped win games at international level, his defensive frailties contributed massively to the losing of one on Saturday.

In failing dismally to deal with George North in the first half and Jonathan Davies in the second, Jones' missed tackles cost Scotland 12 points in a game they would go on to lose by 11.

'Wales would have stopped a combine harvester'

Saturday was another tortuous day for Scotland in Cardiff. It was angst-ridden, but in a different way to the Six Nations slaughter in February.

It was a game they owned in the second half, a game where they passed up numerous kickable penalties in order to go for touch in the hope of getting five or seven points instead of three.

Understandable, but ill-fated. Wales' defence was animalistic. Had Jonny Gray climbed aboard a combine harvester and driven it straight at the home forwards, they'd have found some way of stopping him.

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They made double the number of tackles the Scots made and most of them came in the second 40 when the visitors virtually set up camp in their 22. Ross Moriarty made 18 tackles. Dan Lydiate made 21.

Of the eight-man Welsh pack, six of them ended up in double figures for tackles made. In Scotland's pack, that number was just two.

Amid this possession mountain, Scotland went close numerous times. Gray was an inch away but was done for a double movement as he tried to work the ball to the try-line. Pete Horne, after terrific ingenuity from his brother George, looked to have cracked the Welsh defence, but the TMO ruled otherwise.

Those were the stand-out chances, but not the only chances. Scotland were repelled by superb defence, yes, but they didn't do themselves many favours either.

'Hastings needs time to develop'

This was the biggest game of Adam Hastings' young life and he experienced how quick and how brutal life is at the top level, especially in the intensity of a Saturday in Cardiff.

The fly-half kicked too much ball away and missed the occasional overlap, but he has to learn somewhere, somehow. He has talent, but that talent needs time to develop. If Cardiff doesn't crush him, it'll make him stronger.

That second half saw huge performances from Hamish Watson and Ryan Wilson in the Scotland back row, but the damage had been done by then. Two missed tackles, two tries. There was no coming back from it.

The midfield was, until recently, deemed a land of plenty for Gregor Townsend, a position where his only concern was who to pick among his myriad options. That's not so much the case now.

There has always been issues surrounding Jones' defence, but they were camouflaged by the strength of his attack. And now? Getting exposed so badly, and less than a year out from a World Cup, will have come as a shock to the system for the Scotland management. For all his attacking nous, can Jones, a shoo-in for selection until now, be trusted in defence as Scotland head into a momentous season?

The runners and riders in midfield aren't looking so hot all of a sudden.

Duncan Taylor, a certainty if he could ever catch a break from the rugby gods, is not expected back until June after rupturing his anterior and posterior crucial ligaments. Mark Bennett is also injured.

Alex Dunbar is struggling to find his best stuff. Chris Harris had his own Cardiff horror-show earlier this year. Matt Scott is going well and Horne is still bang there, but with Jones revealing another side to his game and Taylor struggling to make Japan, this is not the area of strength it once was.

The remaining games of the autumn will be instructive. Finn Russell will return either next week against Fiji or the following weekend against South Africa and everything should look better. It'll look better still whenever Stuart Hogg returns.

Townsend has cause for optimism going forward, but you could tell that Saturday hurt him. This was a chance to answer Gatland and his barbs after the February collapse, but it was a chance wasted.

'Weir was a colossus'

The day threw up images of Jones missing those tackles, but the abiding memory for many will be the scenes before a ball was kicked. This was a game to honour Doddie Weir and the big man was a colossus.

He was on the pitch beforehand and back on the pitch afterwards. He spoke with class and humour. Surrounded by his family and cheered to the rafters by more than 60,000 supporters from both countries, he once again reminded us what real bravery is all about.

It's not about about tackle counts or ruck clearances, or having the nerve to land a late penalty to win a game. The way the big fella has faced up to his disease with an unbreakable smile on his face has awed the masses. Wales won the match, but Doddie Weir won every heart and soul in the place.