Wales were left frustrated after a spirited late comeback fell short in a 35-29 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield, despite a strong start and a determined second-half effort. Gregor Townsend’s side returned to winning ways in the Six Nations with a bonus-point victory, but Wales, who had struggled to contain Scotland’s attacking flow for much of the match, managed to earn two consolation bonus points after crossing the line twice in the final stages.
The Welsh men began brightly, with Gareth Anscombe putting them 3-0 up within the first few minutes thanks to a penalty. However, the early promise quickly faded as Scotland sparked into life, with a flurry of tries from Blair Kinghorn (two), Tom Jordan (two), and Darcy Graham leaving Wales with a significant deficit to overcome. At 35-8, the game looked to be slipping away from the visitors.
Wales were undone early on by Scotland’s fluid and incisive play. After five minutes, a superb multi-phase move saw Darcy Graham, making his return after concussion, break through the Welsh defence before delivering a perfectly-timed pass to Kinghorn, who powered over the line. The hosts doubled their advantage just six minutes later, with a flowing move involving Duhan van der Merwe and Huw Jones, allowing Tom Jordan to race in for a try behind the posts.
The Welsh defence struggled to deal with Scotland’s pace and precision, but a moment of brilliance from Anscombe gave Wales hope in the 24th minute. His chip over the top allowed full-back Blair Murray to race in for an easy try, although Anscombe’s conversion struck the post, leaving the score at 12-8.
However, Scotland quickly reasserted their dominance. In the 27th minute, Graham completed his second try of the match, finishing off a well-crafted move that saw Finn Russell deceive Anscombe with a dummy to create the space. The Scots extended their lead to 20 points in the 31st minute when Wales’ discipline faltered. WillGriff John was sin-binned for repeated infringements, and in his absence, Wales made a costly mistake inside their own 22. A fumbled pass allowed Jordan to scoop up the ball and score his second try of the match.
With Wales trailing 30-8 at half-time, it seemed as though the match was slipping away from them. But they came out with renewed vigour in the second half. In the 61st minute, Ben Thomas made amends for his earlier error, racing through the Scottish defence to score, with replacement Jarrod Evans adding the conversion to bring the score to 35-15.
Scotland, who had looked in control throughout, suddenly appeared rattled, and Wales capitalised on this. With time running out, Teddy Williams scored a try in the 74th minute, and Max Llewellyn crossed the line in the final play of the match. Despite these late scores, Wales could not close the gap sufficiently to steal an unlikely win, but they were able to take home two bonus points for their efforts.
While the result was disappointing for Wales, their late surge showed resilience and a fighting spirit that could prove valuable in the remaining fixture of the Six Nations. Scotland, on the other hand, will look to build on this victory as they continue their campaign.
