22 points: Leigh Halfpenny
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Leigh Halfpenny scored 22 points as Wales claimed a 27-13 Six Nations victory over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.
The scores were locked at 3-3 at half-time but a fifteen-minute spell early in the second period saw Wales score three tries to build an unassailable lead.
The result at the end of an exciting, high-paced clash will leave Wales brimming with confidence as they head to Twickenham in a fortnight looking to claim the Triple Crown.
Scotland, meanwhile, will head home harbouring a number of regrets after a handful of errors spoiled what was otherwise a strong performance.
Both sides made their intentions to play an open game very clear from the first whistle but two well-organised defences ensured that a breathless first quarter ended scoreless.
Scotland finally broke the deadlock when Greig Laidlaw landed a penalty after an impressive 20-phase build up from the visitors.
A well-struck penalty from Halfpenny drew the hosts level at 3-all and the scoreboard remained unchanged until half time, despite a prolonged period of pressure from the Scots.
Wales were dealt a blow just before the break as in-form George North was forced off with a knee injury but his wing partner Alex Cuthbert got the hosts off to the prefect start in the second period by running straight through Laidlaw's attempted tackle to score.
The Scots only had themselves to blame as they had handed Wales a golden opportunity by making a hash of the restart and the visitors were guilty of another crucial mistake when Nick De Luca tackled Jonathan Davies without the ball to earn a yellow card.
Halfpenny split the uprights in a nightmare spell for Scotland, who had coughed up ten points in five minutes.
Laidlaw managed to reduce the deficit with his second three-pointer but Scotland were still trailing 13-6 and a were man down.
And the extra player proved crucial as Wales were able to move the ball from one touchline to the other until they had the overlap and Halfpenny could cruise over, before converting his own try.
Things went from bad to worse for the men in blue as Wales cut loose and Rory Lamont was his given marching orders for making a tackle from an offside position.
The game was essentially over were when Mike Phillips' offload found Halfpenny in acres of space down the blindside, giving the full-back had an easy run-in for his second try.
Any hopes Scotland had of fighting back looked to have been scuffed when referee Romain Poite incorrectly adjudged that Stuart Hogg had knocked on before scoring, but Laidlaw had no such worries when he found a gap on the side of ruck to snatch Scotland's first try in five games.
But it wasn't enough to trouble the home side and few would deny that Wales were deserved winners as they had the better of the closing minutes to secure a convincing win.
Man of the match: A number of candidates here and Leigh Halfpenny's contribution is difficult to look past. But the official gong went to flank Dan Lydiate, who had a storming game, carrying well and tackling tirelessly.
Moment of the match: It was anyone's game at half-time but Scotland's two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes left them with too much work to do against a free-running Welsh side.
Villain of the match: No rough stuff to report in an excellent game.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Tries: Cuthbert, Halfpenny 2
Cons: Halfpenny 3
Pens: Halfpenny 3
For Scotland:
Try: Laidlaw
Con: Laidlaw
Pens: Laidlaw 2
Yellow cards: De Luca (Scotland - 45th min - tackle without ball); R. Lamont (Scotland - 53rd min - professional foul); Jenkins (Wales - 77th min -
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Aaron Shingler, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ryan Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Lou Reed, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford (c), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ed Kalman, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Stuart Hogg.
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Comments
porridge_time says...
ridgeodge...
Have to agree with you Scotland are not getting the rub of the green, but having said that you make your own luck and these silly mistakes are what is holding them back.
I do think that they are almost there and if one try comes early against France then it might settle them and they can move forward.
What I like about is Wales and their ability to score tries... they are particularly lethal in this department and that was the difference between these two teams.
Posted 02:24 19th February 2012
makemehappy says...
@damo - very funny LOL! The better team often loses by 14 points. Personally I thought they were very lucky to lose by that amount, given there were quite a few fouls that the ref ignored when Scotland were under severe pressure.
Posted 22:17 13th February 2012
melkdave says...
I have to say i cannot for the life of me understand why people are having a go at POILET for the disallowed Hogg try.In real time it looked a blatant knock on and only in super slow motion do you see it wasnt.Can you imagine the uproar if he had allowed it and the slow motion showed it was a knock on LOLOL.As ive said before referees are not gods and can and will make mistakes and miss things I will say he was weak at the breakdown though and Wales did lay all over the ball or lazy /slow getting up off the floor or put hands onit in the 1st half espically Adam Jones hence the constant scots moaning.But all in all he had a decent game if not good
Posted 14:08 13th February 2012
fattysock says...
@DJP
Don't really agree with you on that third point there.
1) It wasn't a shocking call. It looked like a knock on. True, on super super mega slow motion replay you can just about tell that Hogg regathered teh ball before it hit the ground. But that's not what the ref got. He got one look, in real time, from slightly behind the player.
Was it (ultimately) the wrong call? Yes. Was it unfortunate? Yep. But was it "shocking"? No. Was it a call that you can justifiably understand HOW the ref got it wrong? Absolutely.
2) I also disagree that it was a turning point. Scotland scored their try minutes after the Hogg one was disallowed. Had the Hogg try been awarded, I doubt Scotland would have scored the Laidlaw try as they did. Overall Scotland still got the 7 points, even if it was a few minutes later.
Posted 12:35 13th February 2012
taffia1 says...
The Hogg try was a forward pass
Posted 08:30 13th February 2012
jontheref says...
djp
Well everyone is allowed an opinion, even one as far fetched as yours.
no 10.
Nothing between them?
You are having a laff.
At least priestland doesn't spend the game moaning at the ref.
Lawson looked like he was auditioning for the part of Moaning Minnie in a harry potter remake!
Posted 07:26 13th February 2012
DJP23 says...
Kentaff he's not as mad as he might seem. Scotland played far more rugby in the first half than Wales did. They'd made double the amount of passes, half the amount of tackles and had won three times as many rucks.
3 moments of madness turned the game ;
1) NDL (Nick De Liability) making a ridiculous unnecessary tackle. JD was never winning that chase
2) Rory Lamont. Again, cynical professional foul. Totally unnecessary too.
3) Poite. Shocking call re the knock on. Shame to deny young Hogg a (thoroughly deserved) try on his debut, especially when his pick up was top drawer.
Tbh, i think Poite had a poor poor game. Wales lay ALL over every ball. Breakdown was refereed very poorly.
Team of match (think trial game - best 15)
1) Jacobson
2) Ford
3) Adam Jones
4) Richie Gray
5) Jim Hamilton
6) Lydiate
7) Ross Rennie
8) Denton
9) Blair
10) Priestland/Laidlaw (Not much between them
11) Stu Hogg
12) JR
13) JD
14) Alex Cuthbert
15) Halfpenny
Posted 03:26 13th February 2012
ThinkingGame says...
@sebbb
TMO can rule on grounding only. As I'm sure you knew.
@makemehappy
Ken Owens doesn't know the calls.
@jimbosim
Two games doesn't indicate a decade in which Wales will beat either NZ or SA once, let alone dominate.
@Bones7
Shingler looked like J. Davies did making his debut, frightened out of his mind. Give him two years of club and he may be worth a look.
@damo
Irish? How's that working out?
Posted 02:58 13th February 2012
andyb says...
damo...Do you actually know anything about rugby???
Posted 01:36 13th February 2012
kenttaff says...
@damo you are on crack, butt. best team lost. more like the best team couldnt defend 3 tries
Posted 22:59 12th February 2012
damo says...
Better team lost here all, pity for the Scots they played all the rugby til the couple of sucker punches, they had a blatant try disallowed which was the difference as they would have been pushing for a draw rather than a consolation!!!!
Posted 21:29 12th February 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
1. ref saw it in real time and from behind the play.
2. It looked like a knock-on in real time, must have looked even more so from behind
3. He'd blown for it before Hogg crossed the line.
Poor call but unfair to crucify the guy, perhaps the three try gift is more a reason for a lynch mob.
I have to say that there needs to be more work on marshalling the blitz defence. It seems that if an attack generates reasonably quick ball, the ref has got so much to look at that the defence can steal a yard unseen. Yet to see a TJ call an offside.
Posted 20:53 12th February 2012
ABlack says...
Wales or France will win the 6N. The rest are mediocre to say the least.
Posted 20:06 12th February 2012
taffia1 says...
The non try! Was it knocked on, No! Was it a forward pass , Yes. I wish people would stop blaming the ref for making correct calls
Posted 19:57 12th February 2012
Bones7 says...
I have dreaded watching Scotland for years and have criticised them constantly but to be fair to them they turned up today and look like they have more flair than ever. Their only real achilles heel is their woeful centres. De Luca is atrocious, his defence is average and his skills on attack are poor and Sean Lamont has abysmal handling skills for an international 12. Every time Lamont got the ball you could be sure that it was unlikely to get much further because it's obvious that he just doesn't trust himself to fling the ball around. This is down more to him not being a centre than being a poor player though and his defence and carries are good.
Wales looked a good, if not a little shaky. The backline can create something from nothing which is always a good thing and the pack support and handle really well. My only real worry as a Wales fan was how easily Hogg seemed to wrong-foot the hulking backs when he came on. I think Shingler deserves more praise for a dynamic debut
Posted 19:27 12th February 2012
jontheref says...
Yep, Poite was a villan.
Hopeless, seemed to only understand scotish chalenges for infringements.
Cuister, only there for this.
Start Blair. Cuister hopeless.
The non try, knocked on.
Simple.
Loss it, it hit the floor, regtahered, grounded it.
No need for TMO, I saw it in real time, I am sure the ref did, he was nearer than me!
TJ even nearer!.
Hi momentum took him over the ball, which gave the illusion of the ball going backwards.
Anyway, the real scottish try came from the same part of the pressure, so if the non try was given, the real one would not have been!
capsi?
6 hours or Rugby without a try?
Wow!
Pity we had to give it up!
England at home will be hard.
both on two wins.
Game at a time.
Posted 19:10 12th February 2012
irishinlondon says...
sebbb video ref was not available as Poite pointed out to the Scottish player video ref is only for play over the tryline, still should have been a try good to see Scotland playing well. Yet again Poite was very poor
Posted 18:45 12th February 2012
atg77 says...
Positive for Scotland was Hogg- has to start the next game. If Ansbro is fit, I'd play him instead of Deluca and Hogg at Fullback. Problem still at 12 for Scotland. We need centres that can actually pass the ball; and in Matt Scott I beleive lies the answer. Laidlaw played well but I still think he is a nine. I'd Jackson to start at 10 for the French.
Posted 17:55 12th February 2012
jimbosim says...
Another entertaining game - Well done both sides!!
Huge improvement by Scotland, demonstrated they can compete at this level, Wales however still at 70% of thier best - much more to come from them - how good is this Welsh team - a golden decade shead - good luck for the triple crown in HQ. Will be favourites and rightly so :)
Posted 17:45 12th February 2012
quietbrit says...
Scotland struggled throughout. Wales looking good value to win the tournament (with their match against France looking to shape up to be a decider) and are a nailed on certainty for the triple crown. IMO Scotland played better than they did against England (whom they comfortably outplayed) and were still outclassed. At least they scored a Try (which they deserved for their enterprise).
Hopefully both Evans and North are OK after their early exits to ankle injury, they are two exciting players I hope to see more of.
Posted 17:40 12th February 2012