Wales finally broke their eight-match losing streak with a hard-fought 24-6 RBS 6 Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend.
Wales, who had not won an Test match since March 2010, ran out victors in a scrappy game that was littered with handling errors and penalties.
They got the dream start when fly-half James Hook punctured the Scottish defence and off-loaded to the supporting Shane Williams for a converted score. Perpignan-bound Hook then slotted three more penalties to give Wales a 0-16 advantage over the home side.
Dan Parks got Scotlands first points with a penalty, although several try-scoring opportunities went begging: Joe Ansbro knocked-on when Wales were reduced to 13 men following yellow cards to Bradley Davies and Lee Byrne, and then John Barclay failed to hold-on to the ball near the whitewash.
The sides remained dead-locked for large portions of the match, as the Scots couldnt find a cutting edge to penetrate an impressive Welsh defensive effort.
Sean Lamont was the standout player for the Scots, whilst Jamie Roberts looked to have regained some of the rampaging form that made him the 2010 Lions player-of-the-tour.
The game was eventually sealed when Williams touched down for his second score, chasing a Jonathan Davies kick, which put the win beyond the reach of a stuttering Scottish side.
Following the game, Welsh Captain Matthew Rees said: “We’ve been a wounded animal all week after the England game and we knew it wasn’t an easy task coming up here to get a result.
“The commitment, the endeavour, everything was there for us, especially going down to 13 men at one point. Discipline was a bit of an issue, but to come away with a 24-6 win was a great result for us.”
A fuming Scotland head coach Andy Robinson said: “We made too many errors particularly in that first 20 minutes. That is unacceptable, what happened today. We’ve gone back a couple of steps.”
If you fancy a game with a bit more excitement, have a look back at last year’s fixture between the two sides, which was packed with action from start to finish.
View that here
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Time:
03:51
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