Scottish Rugby

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After Scotland's win over Wales became a slightly nervier affair than anticipated, the BBC pundits had their say on the second win of the Six Nations campaign.

John Barclay: "Wales were exceptional last week, they were a little bit passive and deep in the first half. In the second half they had nothing to lose and they just attacked, attacked, attacked.

"Scotland left a few tries out there, but Wales were always going to have a spell. Scotland didn't expect it to be so tight at the end."

"Finn Russell got the team moving superbly well and the key to it was that he got lots of ball. In the second half, the scrum and the line-out didn't function and they were living off scraps.

"His kicking game, after missing those kicks last week, was superb. His time on the ball, his distribution made space everywhere. He was superb today.

"There's been a few questions about his form, and he needed a big performance with a view to the Lions tour coming up in the summer."

Jonathan Davies: "Scotland lost their shape when Finn Russell went off and Wales hung on in there and showed great character.

"Russell played exceptionally well today, he had a hand in most of the good things and the tries. His kicking was accurate.

"Wales couldn't put any pressure on him. Scotland were so dominant in the first half, he was in an armchair ride. It just shows what he can do.

"The Lions will have a big pack in front of him, so he's put himself in [the box seat]."

Johnnie Beattie: "Wales did extremely well to come back into the game but there has always been questions over the depth of the pool talent we [Scotland] have.

"When Zander Fagerson and Finn Russell come off, there are changes and we're not as strong. We lacked a little in that last 20 minutes, but you have to compliment Wales on that final third.

"They were much better in their approach, carried the ball and themselves, and carried the game back to Scotland. There was jeopardy towards the end of the game, so it was a much better watch than the first hour."

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend told the BBC: "Very pleased with the start of the game and how we continued throughout the first half. We did talk at half-time about building on that lead.

"Sometimes it's difficult. The opposition, who are a quality team, can get things right. They got more ball in the second half. Sometimes changes from the bench aren't smooth. We're disappointed with not scoring when we had a couple of chances in the last five minutes, and conceding those tries.

"We've got to make sure we don't give them [France] momentum, any easy opportunities to get on the ball. They're so dangerous off counter attack or if you make an error, they usually score on the back of it. They're very strong in the forwards with their pick-and-go game and set piece.

"They've been outstanding in every game so far in the Six Nations and could have scored a few more at Twickenham. It's our biggest challenge.

"With the learnings we've had this year and how we played to start that game, we can really give it a crack next week."

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Edinburgh's Celtic Challenge campaign ended with a chastening 102-0 defeat by Irish side Wolfhounds, who have defended their title following the enormous win.

Edinburgh - who came second in last season's competition - finish with two wins from their 10 matches.

Wolfhounds, meanwhile, won nine of their 10 games on their way to back-to-back tournament crowns.

Scotland captain Finn Russell on his last-gasp missed conversion against England and why he is ignoring the critics.

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

David asked: France can manage their international side during the Six Nations by only protecting 22 players, while the rest of the squad are returned to their clubs on weekends when there are no games. Why does Gregor Townsend release so few players back to the Scottish clubs, to the detriment of the clubs' performance?

Tom answered: We've had a few questions on this subject. If you look at last weekend, Edinburgh were without their international players but still managed to put in one of their best performances in years against Munster - and Glasgow had victory in their hands against Ospreys and blew it. Their loss had nothing to do with absent Test players. They had the game won and a moment of madness cost them.

I take your point about Gregor Townsend's reluctance to release players back to their clubs, but this is how Glasgow built their strength in depth that served them so well in their URC-winning season.

Lots of fringe players came through while the Test guys were away, or were being rested, and those fringe players became important to Glasgow as the season went into its pivotal weeks. I'm talking about Gregor Brown, Euan Ferrie, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Gregor Hiddleston and the like.

I know it can be frustrating when clubs don't get their Test players back, but if these lads are going to get a chance to show what they've got, then this is the right time to do it. It didn't do Glasgow any harm last season.

Gordon asked: If Wales win this weekend what's next for Townsend? Is it not time to add greater athleticism and youth to the second row. Cameron Henderson is now a regular in the Leicester team and I believe he could bring another dynamic to the Scottish pack. Do you agree?

Tom answered: More is needed from the Scotland front five, for sure. George Turner, now in Japan, is a big loss in terms of power and intensity. Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist have been terrific Test players, but they're not carriers and a new type of second-row is needed. You see what Ireland get from Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne. Those two are massively influential as ball-carriers, monsters in McCarthy's case and, in Beirne's case, a constant menace at the breakdown.

I'd imagine if Scott Cummings and Max Williamson were both fit then they might well be starting. We have to be moving fast into a world where those two, Henderson, Brown and a few others are the front-liners in the second row. It's got to happen.

Abigail asked: Is Ben Muncaster a future Scotland/Edinburgh captain? He always seems to go into games with great drive and motivation. His performances are very good and therefore he can certainly lead by example...

Tom answered: I don't know enough about him as a leader, but I really like him as a player. He's tough and relentless and if it wasn't so soon into his comeback, then I'd be very tempted to have him on the bench against Wales. He's part of the future for definite. Scotland need more with his kind of aggression and belligerence.

We asked for your views after Gregor Townsend named his Scotland team to face Wales in the Six Nations.

Here is what some of you said:

Rob: Glad to see George Horne on the bench, I feel he is a more exciting player to Jamie Dobie. He's the sort of player that can make something happen to close out tight games.

Anon: Probably Scotland's strongest team bar the injured players. This is a game Scotland should win. The press are the only doubters. The Welsh calling Scotland arrogant? We may be confident but never can you call Scotland arrogant. A comfortable victory for the Scots I'm thinking.

Ronald: What a shame we have no options in the second row. Jonny Gray is very lucky that he's in Townsend's favourites clique because he is certainly not selected on his form in this Six Nations. Matt Fagerson is also lucky that Josh Bayliss and Andy Onyeama-Christie are injured, a shadow of the player from last season.

John: I would have liked Fergus Burke to get a crack on the bench with a possibility of coming on in the second half against Wales. Why wax lyrical about him when the squad was announced, yet he don't give him a sniff? Otherwise, strong team. Need to see an 80-minute performance from Scotland and to be ruthless in the Welsh 22.

Paul: No surprise that Townsend has largely stuck to the same side that came within a conversion of winning against England. Despite that decent performance and narrow defeat, I'd still liked to have seen some tweaks to the pack, notably second row.

David: Not too many options. Backs pick themselves and it's great to have Darcy Graham back. Would have liked to have had some options in the forwards but injury really has limited options. This will be a very tricky match, Scotland v Wales are always tough attack-minded games. Scotland to win, but very tight.

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Head coach Gregor Townsend says there is still "a lot to play for" in Scotland's final two Six Nations games despite their title hopes already being over.

Having opened with victory over Italy, the Scots occupy fourth place heading into Saturday's match at home to Wales after successive losses to Ireland and England.

"Well, we've got two games to go," said Townsend. "We don't know where that's going to leave us at the end of the competition if we did manage to get two wins, but there's a lot to play for.

"There's a higher-up place on the table, but also our own performances, how we worked during the week to produce a performance that we're proud of, that makes our supporters proud, but also to earn that winning feeling.

"We were close at Twickenham and that fuels the motivation to do better next game."

Townsend admits it "wouldn't be great" going to Paris to face France with just one win in four.

Wales are on a 15-match losing run but were much improved against Ireland in interim head coach Matt Sherratt's first game in charge last time out.

"We've just got to focus on how we get the victory, how we build on what we did well against England," added Townsend. "We're going to not think of anything else outside of that."

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media before the Six Nations game with Wales this weekend.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• ⁠Despite being out of title contention, Townsend still wants to make supporters proud and says the narrow Twickenham defeat "fuels the motivation to do better next game".

• Townsend says it's "for other people to decide" if Scotland have got what they deserved from the championship, and believes the performance against England was "one of our best over the last few years" despite falling to defeat.

• The head coach is glad to have Darcy Graham back, noting the Edinburgh wing "deserves to be selected on what he's done for us".

• On his decision to make just one change to the side, Townsend and his staff felt the "team has been pretty consistent over the first three games" and they reviewed every position before making their final call.

• On Wales, Townsend says they are "a quality side" that can "fill the field well and are hard to break down" and will play with freedom at Murrayfield.

• He believes Welsh expectations have gone up after the impressive performance against Ireland and "maybe they do feel it's a free hit" playing Scotland this weekend.

• Townsend admits it wouldn't be a great position to be in should his side lose to Wales having to then travel to Paris with just one win in four. He calls on his side to "build on what they did well" against England and block out any external noise.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Kyle Rowe has done a fine job in Darcy Graham's absence, but the minute that Gregor Townsend was confident of Graham's fitness then the Edinburgh winger was always going to return.

He made a blistering start to the Six Nations with a line break that was the turning point of the game against Italy. He was on fire.

Missing the vast majority of the Ireland game and the entirety of the England game has damaged his Lions hopes, but he's back now. As well as trying to rescue Scotland's season, the Lions will be on his mind for sure.

Graham has the oddest of records against Wales. He's scored against them in 2019, 2021 and 2022 - all losses.

He didn't score against them in his other appearance (2020) and Scotland won. Graham missed the victories in 2023 and 2024. He'll be motivated to the high heavens on Saturday.

Scotland fans, are you pleased with the side named by head coach Gregor Townsend to face Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday?

Are you pleased to see Darcy Graham return on the wing? Would you have liked to have seen more changes after defeat by England last time out?

Have your say., external

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

It was late spring of 1997 and Fran Cotton was talking freely on the telephone. Manager of the upcoming Lions tour to South Africa, Cotton was a reporter's dream.

Working for an Irish newspaper in those days, Cotton knew what this hack was looking for. Keith Wood was a certainty for selection, he said. Peter Clohessy's scrummaging strength had to be respected, he added. Lovely.

And there two more big Fran was keen to mention. All on the record. Jeremy Davidson, the Ulster lock, and Eric Miller, a fresh-faced back-row who had just broken into the Ireland team.

Nobody had been mentioning Miller as a possible tourist. "We like young Eric. We think he'd go well on the hard grounds of South Africa," said Cotton, and sure enough, he was selected along with the other three as the four Irish Lions in the original squad (Paul Wallace replaced the injured Clohessy soon after).

I've had a soft spot for Cotton ever since. Different times. Better days. Now? No inside tracks from chatty managers. We're left to our own guesswork about who is going to make it and who isn't, which is still a lot of fun.

Personally, I've picked about fourteen different Lions squads already and I'm still only warming up. For now, we'll look at the Scottish squad and how they might be placed in Andy Farrell's eyes.

Saturday against Wales is a massive game on many fronts, not least for the Lions dimension. Farrell is expected to name his squad in mid-to-late April. Time is ticking for the contenders.

Blair Kinghorn: Almost certainly on the plane as full-back (and utility back) along with Hugo Keenan. Has had a mixed Six Nations. Could do with a big game against Wales to eliminate any doubt.

Darcy Graham: Injury came at a horrible time for him. Only four wings were picked in 2021 and given Kinghorn's versatility it might be the same again. Tommy Freeman and Mack Hansen, who is known and trusted by Farrell, might edge the wee genius out.

Huw Jones: One of the best attacking centres in the world. In magnificent form. Australia-bound.

Sione Tuipulotu: Has to prove his fitness after his calamitous absence from the Six Nations. If he's firing, he's travelling.

Tom Jordan: A possible bolter at 10, 12 and 15. Might need an injury elsewhere to make it.

Duhan van der Merwe: It'll surely be Van der Merwe and James Lowe slugging it out for the Test left-wing spot with Lowe in pole position. Both should tour.

Finn Russell: There's a campaign building for Sam Prendergast and another for Fin Smith. Both excellent and both will probably be picked. Russell remains the senior man. Put him behind a dominant pack and watch him dominate.

Ben White: Jamison Gibson-Park is out on his own at nine. Tomos Williams will go as part of a skeletal Welsh crew. Might be between White and Alex Mitchell. The Englishman, by management decree, is kicking the leather off the ball. White offers more.

Pierre Schoeman: Should make it along with Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge, but Saturday at Murrayfield will be interesting. A very, very shrewd judge mentioned Wales' Nicky Smith as a bolter.

Jamie Ritchie: Came back into the conversation after a brilliant performance at Twickenham. Given the savage competition in the back-row, he needs two more huge games against Wales and France to stand a chance. Odds against him. Only six back-rows went in 2021.

Matt Fagerson: Would have been on many shortlists before the Six Nations, but it hasn't happened for him so far in the tournament. Chances receding all the time.

Rory Darge: The openside is an outstanding player, but as rival flankers he has Josh van der Flier, the Curry brothers, Ben Earl, Jac Morgan and others. Beirne can move back there, too. As can Ollie Chessum. He needs two monster performances against Wales and France and, most likely, two wins.

Zander Fagerson: Not a position of great strength for the Lions, but Fagerson is quality and he'll be in Australia.

A final note on Kyle Steyn and Scott Cummings, who would have mounted a challenge but injury cruelly denied them the chance.

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