YESTERDAY'S match only goes to prove that the scoreboard really does lie. It is one of life's mysteries that Wales won this match by just 15 points despite dominating proceedings from the first whistle to the last. It says something of the cussed n
ature of the Scots that they hung on to the Welsh coattails, closing the gap to just two points midway through the second half, before the home team made things safe in the final quarter. Chris Paterson kicked five penalties to overtake Gavin Hastings' Scottish points record in this championship, but there was little else for the travelling fans to celebrate.
After their troubles last Sunday, the scrum enjoyed the upper hand, John Barclay fronted up again in a losing cause and Mike Blair enjoyed a storming match, tackling like a dervish and mopping up any number of other people's mistakes. He also seemed to be the designated catcher of every high ball Wales sent into the sky, though goodness knows why since he must be the second smallest player on the field.
But it was the smallest one who had the biggest impact. Diminutive Welsh winger Shane Williams scored two tries, the first and the last of the match, both were beauties, despite the controversy surrounding the second. What Scotland would do for someone with half his pace and invention. The same applies to James Hook, who gave another lesson in flyhalf play before giving way to Stephen Jones late in the game.
Against the run of play, Scotland took the lead after an opening ten minutes of mayhem which saw them scrambling to keep their own line intact. Paterson slotted a simple penalty after Andy Henderson's interception led to a five-metre lineout at which the Welsh infringed.
Scotland could hardly have been worse in the opening minutes of the match if they had turned up in clowns' uniforms because they played like refugees from the big top. They lost the first lineout and Dan Parks looked on as Welsh flanker Martyn Williams hacked downfield. Nick De Luca fumbled and Gavin Henson hoofed it again. Full-back Hugo Southwell eventually put his body on the ball approximately two inches from his own try line. So far, so stupid and it didn't get much better in the first half.
Parks saw one clearance kick charged down by Welsh skipper Ryan Jones. The same thing happened against Argentina in the World Cup; headless farmyard animals learn faster than Scotland's playmaker, who was lucky the ball bounced into touch. Blair then broke from his own 22 but his sluggish forwards failed to go with him, the ball squirted out of the under-manned ruck and the men in blue were grateful to see Martyn Williams' toe-poke roll harmlessly into touch.
Just when the Scots needed to keep their collective cool, Nathan Hines lost his and the big Aussie was shown a yellow card for throwing a harmless looking arm at Lee Byrne which still caught the Welsh full-back in full view of the linesman.
Even when desperately defending their lines, the Scots attempted to run the ball out of defence, and eat into Hines' ten-minute sin bin into the bargain, but they lost the ball to a turnover and only Blair's sharpness at the base of the Welsh scrum won it back.
How Wales failed to add to their scores is anyone's guess. Tom Shanklin's first-half pass to Shane Williams drifted forward and Blair intercepted a scoring pass from Martyn Williams after the break, but these are just two examples of a great many chances that went west. When it arrived on 12 minutes, Wales' opening touchdown still owed something to Scotland's stupidity.
With the Welsh 22 wide open, Southwell attempted to dink the ball over the Welsh defence but the industrious Mike Philips was one step ahead. The scrum-half made ground and when he was eventually felled, Wales moved the ball quickly left where they had numbers. Byrne made the initial break and Shane Williams stepped inside the covering Blair for a cracking good score.
Hines returned to the action in time to see both kickers slot a penalty apiece to leave Scotland trailing by 10-6 at half time and to leave 74,000 Welsh fans rubbing their eyes with disbelief.
The Scots were modestly better after the break despite the loss of captain Jason White to a head injury, but the script stayed the same. The visitors scored penalties, three more from the boot of Paterson, and Wales scored tries, though not as many as they should have. As the match wore on, they dominated territory and possession to such an extent that it was all the Scots could do to get out of their own half.
Hook rounded off another magnificent game with a well-taken touchdown, handing off Ross Ford's unconvincing challenge before diving over the line. Victory was then assured when Hook's replacement, Stephen Jones, kicked a 64th-minute penalty and Shane Williams scampered off his right wing to dive over in the left-hand corner after running it past any number of Scottish defenders and the TMO. The video official may have called it wrong but the try was poetic justice after Wales' earlier profligacy.
In the dying minutes the Scots forwards hammered away at the Welsh line with a series of fruitless pick and drives that have become something of an unwanted Scottish trademark.
That is now five consecutive matches – 400 minutes of rugby in total – that Frank Hadden's team have gone while managing exactly one try. The sad truth is that Wales blew more chances that Scotland created yesterday... or possibly even in the last five matches.
Wales: L Byrne; J Roberts, T Shanklin (S Parker 72), G Henson, S Williams; J Hook (S Jones 57), M Philips (D Peel 57); D Jones (G Jenkins 53), H Bennet (M Rees 57) A Jones, I Gough, I Evans, J Thomas, M Williams, R Jones.
Scotland: H Southwell; N Walker, N De Luca (G Morrison 70), A Henderson, C Paterson; D Parks (S Danielli 67), M Blair (C Cusiter 72); A Jacobsen, R Ford (F Thomson 72), E Murray (G Kerr 67), J Hamilton, N Hines (S MacLeod 61), J White (A Hogg 32), K Brown, J Barclay.
Scorers: Wales: Tries: S Williams (2) Hook. Cons: Hook (2), S Jones. Pens: Hook, S Jones (2). Scotland: Pens: Paterson (5)
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (NZ).
Attendance: 74,576.
The full article contains 1091 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
