Scotland survive spirited Wales revival

SCOTLAND - so accomplished for the first 50 minutes but so miserably poor for the final half hourmade heavy weather of beating a Wales team that refused to go quietly.

- BRENDAN GALLAGHER

Still it was the win they desperately needed to partially rescue a campaign that had promised much more. They will, however, need an unlikely victory over France in Paris in the final game of the 2025 Six Nations to lift their season above the middling mediocrity that has become their norm.

The Scots had remorselessly built a 35-8 lead by ten minutes into the second half but thereaf ter in the blink of an eye lost concentration and momentum at exactly the same time that Wales finally discovered a little continuity.

Wales lack many things at present but, with skipper Jac Morgan to the fore, a fighting spirit is not one of them. From that nadir they clawed their way back into the game against a Scottish team they sensed were already in the bar celebrating and in the final quarter hit back with three tries to secure both a try bonus and a losing bonus point, all of which could be very useful in attempting to avoid the wooden spoon.

It's a start. When you are on a run of 16 straight defeats, these things count.

As for Scotland, it was a performance that demonstrated just about everything that is good and bad in their game. The Scots boast talent and attacking skills in abundance but can also lose concentration and confidence in an instant. Rarely do they produce an 80-minute performance although that is exactly what they will need to even stay in contention in Paris on Saturday night.

All of which made for entertaining fare last night with the game ebbing and flowing wildly.