Scotland 35 Wales 29: The good, the bad and the ugly

Simon Thomas

We’ve seen the good and the bad from Wales under Matt Sherratt so far.

The question now is will we see the ugly or can his brief tenure end in handsome fashion against England?

There has been much to like about this new look Welsh side over the past couple of games since Sherratt took over on an interim basis from the departing Warren Gatland.

In particular, there has been an immediate improvement in attack as demonstrated by them scoring six tries, including some really well constructed scores.

There has also been plenty of spirit and effort, with the players clearly putting in a shift for the new boss.

But, at the same time, there have been some glaring shortcomings, most notably during the first 50 minutes of yesterday’s 35-29 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield.

During that period, Wales were simply blown away, conceding five tries.

After the positivity generated by the performance against Ireland, it was a case of coming back down to Edinburgh earth with a huge bump.

Resurgence

Yet then came the resurgence as they scored three tries in the final quarter to pick up two losing bonus points, while having another chalked off, provoking much debate over the laws of the game.

So it all leaves you not quite sure how to assess this Sherratt side or how to feel looking ahead to next Saturday’s Principality Stadium showdown with England.

Clearly, it’s a work in progress, which is understandable given the very limited time the Cardiff chief has had at the helm.

It’s also apparent there is something in there and positives to build on going into the meeting with the old enemy.

But then there are the numerous negatives which have to be addressed in the space of just a few days.

So let’s start with the bad first because there was plenty of it during those first 50 minutes yesterday.

In his interview just before kick-off, Sherratt had said the key element of the game would be the contact area.

It did indeed prove pivotal. Unfortunately, Wales came second best there, with the Scots having much the upper hand at the breakdown during their purple period, winning quick ball for themselves and denying their opponents any.

The hosts also won the aerial battle, with Player of the Match Blair Kinghorn – all 6ft 4ins of him – a towering presence in the skies.

These two areas of dominance meant they monopolised territory and possession in the first half.

Given their attacking threat behind, that was always going to pose a potential problem and it meant Wales really had to be on their mettle defensively.

Sadly, they were found badly wanting on that front, missing 16 tackles in the opening 40 minutes.

They lacked physical intensity both at the contact area and in one-on-one situations. It was a recipe for disaster and disaster ensued.

For the first two tries they conceded, they paid the price for being too narrow in defence as the Scots breached down the left, with Darcy Graham doing great unpicking work in the build-up to both before being rewarded with a score of his own thanks to Finn Russell’s box of tricks.

Bonus point

Things hit a real low as the hosts wrapped up their bonus point inside 32 minutes.

Wales had just had prop Will Griff John yellow carded for blatantly lifting his leg to block a pass from scrum-half Ben White and then came some real Keystone Cops calamity inside their own 22 to open the door for Tom Jordan’s second.

If ever there was a case of compounding one error with another and then another, this was it.

When two-try Kinghorn cruised over to make it 35-8 early in the second half, it looked as though a cricket score was on the cards. This was really grim now.

But, to their credit, that was the cue for Wales to show two things – character and creativity.

There had been a glimpse of the latter midway through the first half when they carved out a fine try for Blair Murray.

It had followed two successive jackal penalties from skipper Jac Morgan, with his back row colleague Taulupe Faletau then making a couple of telling contributions ahead of Gareth Anscombe chipping over the top for full-back Murray to pounce.

It was a really well worked score, built in assured fashion off eight phases and showing the value of having two playmakers, with Anscombe and Ben Thomas switching receiving roles as the former spotted the vacant space in the Scottish back field.

But that was to prove a very rare foray into enemy territory during a hugely one-sided first half.

It did, however, indicate what Wales might be capable of if they had some ball and the final quarter confirmed as much as they made the most of finally having a steady supply of possession.

By now, Jarrod Evans was at fly-half and showing off the attacking threat which has been so woefully ignored at international level for too long.

With his penchant for taking the ball to the line and his passing ability, he can be a nightmare to defend against and he demonstrated as much in setting up Ben Thomas’ try on the hour.

First, he showed the quickest of hands to release fellow replacement Joe Roberts down the left wing and then, when the ball was recycled, he perfectly assessed his options and executed expertly – threading the ball between two forward runners in red to hit Thomas who cut back inside to reach the whitewash.

There was also a clinical edge to the visitors’ next try as they capitalised on an attacking lineout with a couple of strong forward carries off 9 culminating in replacement lock Teddy Williams bumping off Jordan and stretching out to score.

Twitchy

Home fans would have been getting a little bit twitchy at this point – especially remembering what happened in last year’s fixture when Wales came back from 27 points down to get within a point – and that would have been all the more the case when Faletau galloped over four minutes from time after Murray had evaded four defenders on a thrilling counter from deep.

But the officials ruled Murray had done so illegally with one of the four by jumping over the attempted tackle of prop Will Hurd.

It was a shame because it was a special score and it has led to a great deal of animated debate.

Some people have questioned why the law is in place and others have pointed to the fact that players often jump in the air when scoring a try, so what’s the difference?

There have even been references to Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley spectacularly hurdling over a Jacksonville Jaguars defender a few months back – an act of acrobatics which has been acclaimed worldwide rather than sanctioned.

But different sport, different rules.

In rugby union, whether people like them or not, the laws are pretty clear in this matter.

A player is allowed to dive with the ball in order to score a try, but jumping to hurdle a potential tackler is deemed dangerous play.

Essentially, it’s okay to dive forward in the act of try-scoring, where you are going in head first, but it’s not permitted to leap up vertically where you are creating the risk of catching a defender with your studs.

The debate will no doubt go on, but, tellingly, Sherratt had no complaints about the call, accepting it was the right decision.

It looked as though Scotland were going to rub salt in the wounds as they hammered away in the dying minutes, but the defiant Welsh rearguard stayed firm, twice holding opponents up over the line.

Then came the thrilling stoppage time finale, as Roberts raced away from his own 22 on a lung-busting run, earning a penalty which led to another try off a close-range lineout with centre Max Llewellyn showing good strength to barge over.

It had been a madcap ending to the game and it had certainly shown a never-say-attitude from Wales, along with their new-found ability to do damage with ball in hand.

On the individual front, there were some notable performances.

Second row Dafydd Jenkins won the lineouts that led to all four Welsh tries and made a mammoth 28 tackles, with inspirational flanker Morgan not far behind on 25.

Faletau was as consistent as ever stats-wise, putting in 15 carries and 19 tackles, with the No 8’s classy displays in this Championship, after so little rugby over the past 18 months, having yet again shown just what a generational talent he is.

Elsewhere, the elusive Murray has emerged as a real plus with his will-o-the-wisp abilities at full-back, a position he looks to be making his own.

There were also a number of eye-catching cameos off the bench. It was great to see Dewi Lake back fit and showing his ball-carrying clout at hooker, while tighthead Keiron Assiratti played his part as the scrum got on top, with Teddy Williams and Aaron Wainwright both made their presence felt around the field.

They have all put their hands up to start against England, as have Jarrod Evans and Joe Roberts who both had a real impact with ball in hand.

So there are personal positives to hang on to and some collective compensation in terms of the cutting edge in attack and the spirit.

But the damage had been done in the opening 50 minutes, while there is an element of Scotand having maybe taken their foot off the gas with the game won.

The deficiencies which were painfully exposed in a 16th straight defeat will have to be rectified if Wales are to have any chance of beating England.

Above all, the defence must improve, in terms of both organisation and individual lapses, with 33 tackles having been missed in total yesterday, a tally that is just unsustainable.

One last stat for you. If Wales lose yet again next Saturday, it will be 17 Test defeats in a row – the worst ever run by a Tier 1 team.

So the stakes could hardly be higher as Sherratt heads into his final week as caretaker coach.