Scintillating and sloppy Scotland return to Six Nations winning ways but concerns emerge after Wales fightback

They led 35-8 early in the second half and were playing with a verve that the visitors could not match. They simply blew Wales away in the opening 45 minutes. The rampant Blair Kinghorn scored two tries and so did Tom Jordan. Darcy Graham, back in the side after concussion, got one and Finn Russell rediscovered his kicking boots, landing all five conversions. But the energy levels dipped and Wales were able to land a couple of bonus points. They ‘won’ the second half 21-7, which will be a concern for Gregor Townsend.

The victory lifts Scotland into third place in the Six Nations table ahead of the Sunday match between England and Italy and they will finish their campaign in Paris next weekend against a title-chasing French side who have scored 115 points in their past two matches. It’s a daunting assignment but one Townsend’s side should relish.

At their best, this Scotland side are a joy to watch but they seem unable to play for the full 80 minutes. The slew of substitutions didn’t help, the withdrawal of Russell midway through the second half in particular.

It was a victory nonetheless, and it was the stand-off who lifted the Doddie Weir Cup. Given that Scotland had run rings around England at Twickenham and still contrived to lose, it was vital that this match was won. A defeat would have heaped pressure on Townsend but the coach can now go to Paris with two wins in the bag from this season’s championship.

It is the first time since 1991 that Scotland have beaten Wales three times in a row and it extends their opponents dreadful run to 16 successive Test defeats, equalling Italy's record for most consecutive losses by a tier one team in the pro era.

A fast start to shake off the disappointment of Twickenham would have been uppermost in Scotland’s minds and they duly delivered, albeit after a brief hiccup. It was Wales who got the first points on the board through Gareth Anscombe’s penalty after the home side had been guilty of coming in from the side. The Scots quickly asserted their authority thereafter. They scored two tries in the first 10 minutes and had the bonus point in the bag just after the half-hour.

Scotland’s backs had looked menacing against England and it remains a mystery that they lost. There was no such profligacy at Murrayfield and the returning Graham was quickly to the fore.

The Edinburgh winger is such an inspirational player and he was quickly involved against Wales with a brilliantly timed pass to Kinghorn for Scotland’s opening try. The full-back finished impressively in the corner. Russell, kicking from a similar position to where he missed in the final minute against England, landed the conversion with aplomb. He said on the eve of the match that he felt he had his kicking mojo back and so it proved - the stand-off landed four from four in the first half alone.

If anything, the second try was even better. Duhan van der Merwe fended off Wales winger Ellis Mee then passed to Huw Jones, who switched it back inside to the supporting Jordan who ran in for his first Scotland try.

Wales were rocking and they were made to sweat when the TMO checked Ben Thomas’ challenge on van der Merwe. The Welshman’s hands made contact with the Scotland wing’s eye area but it was deemed to be “not on purpose”.

If that was a let off, it at least allowed Wales to steady the ship. They began to look more dangerous and Blair Murray scored a fine try thanks to the vision of Anscombe, who deftly chipped into space for the full-back.

Scotland hit straight back and it was Graham who did the damage. Russell’s delayed pass eliminated Anscombe and opened the door for the Hawick man to score his 30th try in 45 Tests for Scotland.

Things went from bad to worse for Wales when WillGriff John was sent to the sin-bin. The prop lifted a lazy leg in an attempt to disrupt a Scottish attack which must have had Matt Sherratt tearing his hair out. The fourth Scotland try quickly followed and it was a Welsh calamity. They tried a risky cross-kick close to their own 22. It was wayward and Murray tried to keep it in play by flinging it back to Ben Thomas but the centre fumbled and Jordan hacked through to bag his second try.

The only sour note for the Scots was the loss of Rory Darge to injury just before half-time. He was replaced by Matt Fagerson and the Glasgow man was quickly involved as Scotland increased their lead early in the second half. He chased down a kick to the corner and, from the subsequent lineout, the fifth try was scored. Huw Jones flicked it back to Russell who played in Kinghorn for his second of the afternoon.

There then followed a lull. The crowd seemed to become disengaged and a flurry of substitutions disrupted the flow of the match. The longueurs was broken by the second Welsh try. Jarrod Evans, who had replaced Anscombe at 10, played a hard flat pass for Thomas to race onto. Evans converted and Wales suddenly looked revived. They scored their third try shortly after, Teddy Williams barging over from a lineout. Evans’ conversion reduced Scotland's lead to 13 points with 11 minutes remaining.

The home side stormed back but they were held up over the line and it was Wales - incredibly - who thought they had scored the next try but Taulupe Faletau’s effort was chalked off because Murray was adjudged to have leapt over the attempted tackle of Will Hurd in the build-up. It was harsh on the Wales full-back who had shown great strength to set up the chance.

Wales did get their bonus point in the end, Max Llewellyn squeezing his way over, and Evans’ conversion meant the final winning margin was a measly six points.

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