Wales 51
Scotland 3
WALES INFLICTED SCOTLAND’S heaviest Six Nations defeat with a crushing 51-3 victory at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. The Scots never recovered from having to play nearly an hour a man down after full-back Stuart Hogg was sent off for a late tackle on Wales fly-half Dan Biggar.
The visitors, seeking a first win in Cardiff in 12 years, took an early lead but from then on it was one-way traffic as Wales, unable to win a third successive title following last week’s defeat by England, took complete control of their final match of the 2014 Championship.
This was Scotland’s third heaviest Test defeat of all time, with their previous worst in the Six Nations a 43-3 thrashing by England in 2001. This result saw Wales surpass their previous best victory margin in 119 Tests against Scotland of 22 points set during a 44-22 success in 2005.
The Welsh superiority was summed up by this jersey-stripping tackle by George North on Scotland’s Alex Dunbar:
“It has been a tough few weeks for us,” North told BBC post-match. “We went to Twickenham and didn’t get the result we wanted against England. We trained really hard after that and I think it showed. I am happy with two tries but all the boys played exceptionally well. It doesn’t make up for the England defeat, but the performance was good and we finish the campaign on a high note.”
In all Wales scored seven tries, six after Hogg was dismissed, with North and centre Jamie Roberts scoring two apiece.
Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw kicked the visitors into a third-minute lead with a penalty only for Biggar to equalise moments later. Worryingly for the visitors, their captain Kelly Brown left the field with what appeared to be a head injury in the eighth minute.
Laidlaw then saw a second penalty effort at goal from 40 metres fall wide of the right post and soon afterwards Wales had the first try of the match. After sustained pressure near the Scots’ line, Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips found Biggar and the stand-off’s long pass to Williams saw the full-back dive in at the left corner.
Then came Hogg’s late challenge, his shoulder clattering into Biggar’s face long after the stand-off had completed a clearing kick. Initially, Garces produced a yellow card but, on viewing the replay on the big screen, changed his mind and produced a red. Scotland’s already difficult task of adding to their lone win this tournament, against Italy, had now become all but impossible.
Biggar recovered to kick the ensuing penalty and the floodgates opened shortly before half-time. Williams took a high ball superbly before bursting down the left wing and then passed out of the tackle to Phillips who in turn found North and the giant wing powered his way down the touchline for a try.
Wales centre Jonathan Davies then had a try chalked off after Taulupe Faletau was offside in the build-up. It scarcely mattered as Wales scored their third try on the stroke of half-time as North and Davies, both outpacing the defence, combined to send in centre Roberts.
Biggar made it seven goalkicks out of seven and Wales had a 24-point lead at the interval. After a only minute of the second half North scored his second try after Wales, making use of their man advantage, worked an overlap.
Wales were now attacking from anywhere on the field, as was evident from Roberts’ second try in the 47th minute. An overthrown Scottish line-out deep in the Wales 22 was picked off by home captain Sam Warburton and he released Williams.
He passed to Faletau and when the No 8 was brought down in sight of the line he found Roberts. In the 52nd minute, Faletau himself got in on the act, waiting out wide on the right to take lock Alun Wyn Jones’s pass as an overlap again proved Scotland’s undoing.
A welter of replacements disrupted the flow of the match and halted the scoring. Wales breached the 50-point barrier six minutes from time when James Hook’s clever kick ahead sent in fellow replacement back Rhodri Williams for a try which Hook converted.
