Two teams face each other at Murrayfield on Sunday on the back of opening-round defeats, but there is a marked difference in their psyches
.
Scotland have revived under Vern Cotter, but the Six Nations will properly gauge their improvement, while Wales have had some spiky training sessions this week after the unexpected reverse to England.
On paper, it is an away banker: Wales have not lost to Scotland since 2007 and are looking to achieve a fourth successive win there for the first time. Scotland have won only three of their last 20 matches in the Six Nations (two against Italy) and since finishing third in 2006, their record is eight victories, one draw and 32 defeats.
They took a lot out of last weekend’s defeat to France in Paris, scoring the only try of the match, but they failed to beat a side who have finished in the bottom half of the past three championships.
Scottish width
Scotland have broadened their approach under Cotter with
Stuart Hogg
profiting from the resulting width. Just as England’s halfbacks were instrumental in the win over Wales, so
Finn Russell
and
Greig Laidlaw
will be pivotal on Sunday. They will need to find ways of creating holes in a blanket line of defence that rushes up on the ball carrier.
Both sides have been forced to make changes at tighthead prop. Geoff Cross has replaced Euan Murray, who does not play on Sundays for religious reasons, while Wales are without Samson Lee, who failed the concussion protocol. With Adam Jones having retired from international rugby, Aaron Jarvis takes over.
Wales have talked this week about the way they recovered from an opening-day defeat to Ireland two years ago to go on and win the title. The difference now is that two years ago Wales staged a second-half recovery against Ireland and took that momentum into their next match. This time they have to rally from a failure to score a point or muster an attack in the second period, and while head coach Warren Gatland did not say a word to his players last Friday night, he has uttered a few this week and training has been combative.
Wales failed to react when England took control of the match. "We lost the game but not our belief," said outhalf Dan Biggar. "Some harsh but fair words have been spoken this week and the character in this squad is second to none. We fully believe we can turn things around."
Both teams are armed with motivation, but Wales's experience and record against sides they are expected to beat give them the edge. – (Guardian Service)
