2020 Six Nations: Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones has 'no excuse' after Scotland loss
- Published
Scotland's win at Parc y Scarlets was their first on Welsh soil since 2002
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones offered no excuses after they lost at home to Scotland for the first time since 2002.
The 14-10 Six Nations defeat at Parc y Scarlets spoilt Jones winning a world record 149th cap and extended Wales' losing run to five matches.
Wales led 7-6 at half-time, but Stuart McInally's try and a late Stuart Hogg penalty sealed Scotland's victory.
"Congratulations to Scotland and the way they ground out the win in the last 10 minutes," Jones said.
"Credit to the brand and the game they've developed.
"It was tight throughout and unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the performance today.
"You could say we've had a six-month period between our last Six Nations match and this one, but there's no excuse.
"I thought we were better in patches today, but ultimately the performance got away from us and it's not good enough."
Head coach Wayne Pivac has now suffered five straight defeats since taking over from Warren Gatland, as Wales lost four matches in the Six Nations tournament for the first time since 2007.
When asked whether the Welsh fans need to be patient, Jones added: "I think they've got high expectations of the last 12 years - three Grand Slams and five Six Nations championships - but you can't forget the eight years that were pretty dormant."
'No shots fired'
Six Nations 2020 Highlights: Wales 10-14 Scotland
Wales finish fifth after starting the 2020 tournament as defending champions, with Pivac labelling Saturday's loss as the most disappointing so far in his reign as he prepares for the Autumn Nations Cup opener on 13 November against Ireland in Dublin.
"It's the worst defeat in terms of the performance, we didn't fire any shots," said Pivac.
"We have to go away and put the line in the sand. We have a two-week window to lick our wounds before the Autumn Nations Cup and make sure we make an impression in that tournament.
"No matter where the win comes or how it comes, we need to start winning. There's no doubt about that.
"As winning develops momentum and confidence, losing can have the reverse effect and we don't want to be that way around for too much longer."
Pivac admitted Wales had been dominated at the breakdown area with Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie outstanding.
"I thought the breakdown was the big difference today," added Pivac.
"We had worked quite hard on that during the week but certainly we need to have a look at that area of the game and make sure we get it right for the next game.
"We didn't get any flow that allowed us to play. We want to play with speed, we want to play with tempo. When you don't get that you can't play much rugby."
With the pressure set to ramp up on the New Zealander, Pivac insists the job was not tougher than he imagined and his side will improve.
"There are fine margins and we realise that, we're not playing consistently well over 80 minutes," said Pivac.
"There has been some change in personnel, in how we want to do things. But today's result isn't about change, the breakdown killed us today. We would single this out as one we shouldn't have lost.
"We do what coaches do and we keep working very hard. We'll pull the games to bit, we'll look at formations and we'll look to turn it around in the next fixture."
Pivac confirmed fly-half Dan Biggar went off with a lower back injury, while prop Dillon Lewis suffered a rib problem.
Flanker Justin Tipuric pulled out before the game after suffering from tonsillitis.