Scottish Rugby

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Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie admitted the win over Wales was a "funny one" after they threatened to blow a 27-point lead.

The visitors to Murrayfield scored with the final play of the game to secure two bonus points and make it a one-score game with the clock dead.

"It's a funny one, especially when the opposition finish with a try - you feel a bit disappointed," Ritchie admitted.

"Six Nations wins are hard to come by so we're pleased with that but there's lots of improvements for us in our game."

Scotland were 35-8 up on the scoreboard after a dominating performance but, similar to last season, allowed Wales hope with a few late scores.

"For 50 minutes, we were very much in control. The last 30 was a bit loose and they had everything to play for. They put us under a bit of pressure.

"There's moments in there where our ill discipline is letting them into the game. Wales are looking to play a lot more rugby and they're able to cut teams apart. That's where they put us under pressure today."

Scotland fans, we asked for your views on Scotland's narrow Six Nations victory over Wales.

Here's what some of you said:

Malcolm: How long do Scotland supporters have to put up with Gregor Townsend getting Scotland "nearly there"? we need a coach who can instil a ruthless streak like Glasgow had in the URC.

Euan: A win is a win but the game management was atrocious in the second half. A lack of respect was shown with the timing of the changes, and taking Finn Russell off when he was bossing the game was ludicrous. There was little to no attacking shape and a serious lack of imagination trying to pick and go endlessly towards the end. Standards need to be higher.

Anon: Having a front five who walk around the pitch in internationals is not acceptable. With competition high in the back row, we should dump the second row strollers and bring in the more dynamic scavenging back row players.

Ali: It's the bench. Won't come as a surprise really. Even taking into account the players missing, none of them are front row. And that is where the problem is. Needs to be 6/2 split next week. What France did to Ireland yesterday is exactly what Ireland do to Scotland so I am really concerned about the last 30 minutes next week. Could be a long old day.

David: We have found new ways to keep the opposition in the game, butchering clear changes, poor discipline or just "switching off". Against the better teams we lose. This has to come down to the coaching. We have gone from being a team that was hard to beat under Vern Cotter to one that beats itself under Townsend. He needs to go.

Richard: Scotland were superb for the first 50 minutes. A different league to Wales and at 35-8 up, cruising to victory. Unfortunately, with the game already won, they went to sleep somewhat in the last 30 minutes and allowed Wales some consolation tries. The result was never in doubt. Overall well done Scotland.

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Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe believes Scotland "weren't good enough" in their ultimately narrow win over Wales at Murrayfield.

Scotland were 27 points ahead at the hour mark before the visitors brought it back to a one-score game in the dying seconds.

"We played very well in the first half and we spoke about coming out and playing even better," Van der Merwe told the BBC.

"We made a lot of mistakes in that second half, Wales punished in the set piece. We couldn't win our line-outs, lost a few scrums.

"Wales played very well that last 40 minutes, but a lot of that stuff is on us and unfortunately we weren't good enough in the second half."

Scotland now head to Paris for the final weekend, with France looking to seal the Six Nations title with a win.

"It'll be a tough week for us," Van der Merwe added. "It's easy to go over there [to Paris] and say we have nothing to play for, but we're going to have to be better than we were today.

"They have a lot to play for and we're going to go over there to try and beat them on their home pitch."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Darcy Graham says Scotland's victory over Wales felt like a defeat after the home side almost squandered a 27-point lead.

The Scots raced into a 35-8 lead early in the second half after a scintillating attacking display that saw them run in five tries.

However, Wales came back strongly to give Scotland a scare before ultimately going down 35-29.

"It feels like we've lost that game," said Graham, who scored Scotland's third try on his return to the team after missing the defeat to England with concussion.

"The boys are a bit flat in the changing room and I think that's just where we are as a team. We should have put them away but we could have scored another four or five tries out there. So that's the frustrating part.

"It's not one big problem. It's just loads of little individual things. It's just about being squeaky clean in all aspects of the game.

"But we've got a lot more in us and just fire into next week - a big one over in France."

Scotland round off their campaign in Paris next weekend against a France side now in pole position to win the championship after a dominant victory over Ireland in Dublin.

Graham says the Scots will have to maintain the level of performance shown in the first 50 minutes against Wales for the entire match if they are to stand a chance against Les Bleus.

"There's no point in just doing it for the 40 minutes, 50 minutes like we've done today," said the Edinburgh winger. "It's a full 80 minutes performance.

"I think the most disappointing thing is that we've not had that yet in the full championship - the ruthlessness. We need to go over there and be ruthless.

"We need to play 80 minutes and back ourselves. It's a hard place to go. The French are unbelievable. But we need to be more ruthless for 80 minutes."

Five-try Scotland overcame a hugely spirited Wales in a frenetic Six Nations contest at Murrayfield, condemning the visitors to a 16th defeat in a row.

The Scots looked at ease for large parts of the game, only for Wales to threaten a jaw-dropping comeback late on and ensure they at least left with some reward.

In the last 18 minutes, the visitors scored three unanswered tries - all converted - to turn a cakewalk into a struggle for the Scots, whose edge blunted incredibly in the second half.

The big comeback never materialised, though, and Scotland won a third Six Nations game in a row against Wales for the first time since 1991.

What did you make of that, Scotland fans? Where was the game won by the hosts?

Who impressed you? And were you worried in the second-half?

Let us know your thoughts, external.

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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.