Scotland urged to build on stunning Six Nations start as key man set to return for Wales match

Gregor Townsend has urged Scotland to build on the momentum of their stunning win at Twickenham by backing it up with an even better performance against Wales at Murrayfield this weekend.

The 29-23 victory on Saturday helped rewrite the history books. Scotland have now beaten England three times in a row for the first time in 52 years. It was also the first time they have ever notched back-to-back victories at Twickenham, so long a graveyard for Scottish rugby.

Townsend’s team kicked off their Guinness Six Nations campaigns in 2021 and 2022 with wins over England but followed them up with defeats by Wales on each occasion. Last year’s loss in Cardiff was a tepid performance but the Scots were unlucky to lose at home to the Welsh 12 months earlier after Zander Fagerson had been sent off. Townsend hopes they can use the experience of both games to turn the result around on Saturday.

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“We know exactly what happened a year ago,” said the Scotland coach. “And two years ago I’d look at that differently, we played really well against Wales and were 17-3 up. There was no hangover, there was no complacency, we lost the game because we didn’t handle a red card. We could easily have won it. Last year we didn’t play well. This is now what we have to do this week, train well and play better.”

Scotland's flanker Jamie Ritchie lifts the Calcutta Cup after the 29-23 win over England at Twickenham.Scotland's flanker Jamie Ritchie lifts the Calcutta Cup after the 29-23 win over England at Twickenham.
Scotland's flanker Jamie Ritchie lifts the Calcutta Cup after the 29-23 win over England at Twickenham.

You have to go all the way back to 1996 for the last time Scotland opened the championship with back-to-back wins and, delighted as he was to beat England again, Townsend feels there is still more to come from his side. “We weren't at our best in the first half,” he said. “The game was a bit of a game of chess. We defended well and showed effort and were ahead on the scoreboard until three minutes before half-time. We were not satisfied with how we were playing. To win down here you’ve got to be better than that, and in the second half it was a much better performance.”

Wales, in their first game since Warren Gatland returned, lost 34-10 at home to Ireland on Saturday but Townsend felt they deserved more. “They had opportunities, were held up over the line,” said the coach. “They’ll take much more out of that than the scoreline. On another day they could have easily troubled or beat the No 1 team in the world.”

Townsend expects to have Fagerson available to face Wales after the prop missed the England game as he recovers from a hamstring injury. WP Nel started in his absence. The Scotland squad emerged from Twickenham more or less unscathed, although full-back Stuart Hogg was taken off with 15 minutes remaining. “He would have rather stayed on but his heel was causing him bother in the second half and I wanted fresh legs on,” said Townsend. “He would have stayed on fine, and I thought he played really well. Zander will be fit to go.”

“We back that team to get a result, and you think a lot will start next week,” added Townsend. “But a lot of that will be how they are physically. That was a tough game: 230 tackles, a Test match, a lot of running, we’ll see where we are. Zander trained with us, he’ll be ready to go. I thought WP Nel was very good, winning scrum penalties, helping with the tackle.”

Jamie Ritchie, the Scotland captain, said no-one in the squad was getting carried away with the result at Twickenham. “It’s just a start,” he said. “We are delighted to win and retain the Calcutta Cup but we have been in this position before and not backed it up. We will enjoy this victory but come Monday we are back to work and preparing for Wales.”