- Visitors spent much of the match trailing at the Principality Stadium before late scores got them over the line
- Head coach delighted to see the fight in his team after admitting Welsh were better side for much of the contest
- Townsend singled out Rory Darge for praise, having played three games in a row for the national team
Gregor Townsend felt Scotland had overcome a major hurdle after battling to a vital Six Nations victory away to Wales.
The visitors struggled to impose themselves for the opening hour and trailed by 15 points early in the second half. A second defeat following the opening day loss in Rome would have ended any prospect of Scotland mounting a serious tilt at this year’s title.
Instead, they showed they had learned from that Italy defeat by gradually wearing down weary Wales before finally moving in front with a George Turner try five minutes from time.
The bonus-point victory takes Scotland temporarily top of the Six Nations table – ahead of France’s match against Italy on Sunday – and sees them head into the fallow week in a strong position to contend with matches to follow against the French and Ireland.
Townsend conceded his team had been second best for long spells but praised his players for showing the requisite spirit to claw out a result to back up last weekend’s win over England.
The head coach said: ‘I think we came over a hurdle today with having to come back against a quality team and how we played in that second half.
Sione Tuipoluto celebrates with the My Name’5 Doddie Cup after Scotland’s win in Cardiff
Darcy Graham celebrates his try, Scotland’s third of the match
‘Wales had all the momentum in that first half. I was just so proud to see the team staying together, finding solutions and not taking the easy way out. They fought to the end and were desperate to get the win. But it was more than that.
‘It was control, it was intelligence. It was obviously a very close victory but one that will do us a lot of good. I think mentally we had to make sure we stuck with what we knew would get us into the game. If players had gone out of the system defensively on attack then we wouldn’t have got our rewards. I felt it was a real squad effort.
‘It was very similar to our win here in 2024. I was actually thinking about 2010 when Wales came back to win. When Scotland play Wales it’s very noisy and obviously, when the home team starts well, that just gives so much energy to the players and to the crowd. It’s a cracking game and it’s why Six Nations is such a special tournament.
‘The games last week were at such a high level and you’ve got upsets. Again today it went right down to the wire. So, if you remove yourself from the team it was a great game. From our perspective we’re obviously delighted to have got the win.’
Sione Tuipulotu also praised his team-mates’ endeavour as they helped Scotland record a fourth successive win over Wales for the first time in a century.
Finn Russell was once again crucial as Scotland battled to victory
‘I’m really proud,’ said the captain. ‘I said to the boys at half-time that we’re going to have to look and find more of ourselves. And I thought the boys that came off the bench and the problem-solving that we did at half-time but also on the pitch in the second half, and we found a way to win. In this competition, I feel like you’re not going to get your best performance week after week. We dug deep and found a way to win.
‘My message to the boys was just to keep going and that we were going to have to find something in ourselves all as individuals. I’m proud of my teammates because I felt like they stepped up and walked towards it when we were up against it and we can take a lot out of that.’
Finn Russell was heavily influential by scoring a second-half try and setting up another for Darcy Graham straight from kick-off. But it was Rory Darge who took the player of the match accolade, drawing praise from Townsend.
‘I did think after last week it was going to be really hard for someone like Rory to play a third Test match in a row given the amount of hits he took last week,’ he added. ‘But he’s an ultimate pro. He’s growing as a leader.
‘When I left the changing room at half-time after I’d spoken to the players, it was Rory that got stuck into them as well. Obviously, Sione would have the last word. But it’s great when you’re seeing those leaders, the vice-captains, finding a different way today of finding solutions on the field.
‘And Rory really motivated the pack to be better in that second half. So it’s not just actions, it’s words that he delivered today.’
