Scotland need to be more physical than 'pumped-up' Wales to end Cardiff hoodoo

Grant Gilchrist says Scotland need to be more physical than a "pumped-up" Wales team if they are to win in Cardiff for the first time in 20 years this weekend.

Fresh from retaining the Calcutta Cup with a 20-17 triumph at BT Murrayfield to start off this year's Six Nations campaign on the front foot, Scotland head to the Welsh capital hoping to build on that victory and claim the spoils at the Principality Stadium for the first time since 2002.

Wales were soundly defeated 29-7 by Ireland in their tournament opener and Scotland second row Gilchrist, who will win his 50th cap if selected, is expecting their opponents to be fired up in front of their own fans in a traditionally difficult venue for the Scots.

“I think we’ve maybe lost the physical side of the game," Gilchrist said of previous defeats in Cardiff. "We’ve got down there and tried to play expansive rugby without earning the right. I think the Welsh teams in the past, when they’ve got the better of us they’ve been more physical than us.

Grant Gilchrist in action for Scotland during the Guinness Six Nations victory over England at BT Murrayfield. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

“And that’s the challenge we’ve got this weekend. We’ve got to be more physical than a pumped-up Wales team that are playing in front of their home crowd and who are desperate to make amends for a poor result in the first round.

“That’s a great challenge for us because if we have aspirations in this tournament we’ve got to raise our game, game on game and be better than we were at the weekend because when we reviewed the game, yeah, we were delighted with the result but there were aspects of that performance that we think could be a hell of a lot better. That’s obviously exciting but we need to do the work on the training pitch to get it out there. We’ll have to be better this weekend if we want to win.”

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