Wales Vs Scotland - SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY - KO 15:00 Gonna be a classic..!

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Wales Vs Scotland

Date: Sunday, February 12
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Millennium Stadium

Coverage: Live on BBC One Wales, BBC Radio Wales & online, S4C and Radio Cymru, plus live text and score updates on the BBC Sport website

Date: Sunday, February 12
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 15:00 (15:00 GMT)
Expected weather: Cloudy with a few showers likely. High of 5°C, low of 3°C
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)



Scotland will encounter a Wales side oozing confidence when round two of the Six Nations concludes at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

The opening round of the Championship was a weekend of contrasting fortunes for the two sides.
Wales underlined their status as potential Six Nations champions with a rousing 23-21 victory over Ireland in Dublin. It was a wonderful advert for Six Nations rugby with two teams going at it hammer and tongs for a game won in the last 20 seconds.
That win came less than 24 hours after Scotland had started their challenge with a 13-6 loss to England at Murrayfield. The Scots created enough chances to have beaten their visitors last week, however simple errors coupled with a lack of tries led to another disappointing defeat for Andy Robinson's men, who have now lost three on the trot.
Just once in 13 attempts have Scotland won on the opening weekend of the tournament since Italy joined the Five Nations in 2000.
Scotland must now attempt to bounce back and beat the Welsh in their own back yard - something they have failed to achieve in a decade.
They came mighty close though in their last Cardiff contest after leading by ten points with seven minutes remaining, only for the now retired Shane Williams to score a last-gasp try to secure a dramatic 31-24 come-from-behind victory.
Winning away from home has been a wee bit of a problem for the Scots in the Six Nations, where they have won just once on the road since 2006 (23-20 against Ireland at Croke Park in 2010).
But despite Scotland's poor showing last weekend and dismal away record, Wales will do well not to underestimate Sunday's visitors who are expected to come out all guns blazing after asking for the Millennium Stadium roof to be closed.
With wet weather being forecast, Scotland - notwithstanding the apparent lack of abilities to score tries (at least in the past four games) - have backed themselves to take on Wales at their own expansive game.
"We cannot afford to underestimate Scotland, the amount of possession and territory they had against England last weekend meant that they should have won the game and they will come to the Millennium Stadium buoyed by that knowledge," said Wales coach Warren Gatland.
Wales have won the opening two games of a Six Nations campaign on just two previous occasions - in 2005 and 2008 - and each time they went on to win the title and Grand Slam. Three of the World Cup semi-finalists' remaining four games are in Cardiff, starting on Sunday when try-shy Scotland arrive at the Millennium Stadium.
But following Wales' heroics in Dublin, the build-up to Sunday's Test has been blighted by the suspension of Bradley Davies, who will miss the rest of this season's tournament after collecting a seven-week ban for a reckless tip-tackle on Ireland replacement Donnacha Ryan last weekend.
Davies is the second Wales player suspended for that offence this season following Sam Warburton's dismissal and three-week punishment for an incident in the World Cup semi-final against France last October.
Davies now joins his fellow World Cup locks Luke Charteris and Alun-Wyn Jones on the international sidelines. But in a triple boost for Gatland, flanker Dan Lydiate has recovered from an ankle injury to reclaim the number six shirt, prop Gethin Jenkins has recovered from knee trouble to start and skipper Warburton also features after being in doubt with a leg injury.
However, Warburton has been wrapped in cotton wool this whole week and took a very limited part in training while staying clear of any contact work. Whether he actually leads the team out hangs in the balance and probably won't be known until the morning of the match.
In a game where the back-row battle will be absolutely crucial, everyone in the Welsh camp - and in Wales as a whole - will be keeping their fingers crossed that the inspirational skipper can defy the injury odds and help guide his team to back-to-back wins.
Wales are favourites, but nobody should have any illusions how tough this match will be...
Ones to watch:

For Wales: Former Wales captain Ryan Jones will, as expected, fill the second-row void against Scotland caused by Bradley Davies' seven-week suspension. Jones was exceptional at blindside flanker against Ireland in Dublin and his versatility is proving of immeasurable value to Gatland.
For Scotland: With Dan Parks calling it quits from Test rugby this week, Greig Laidlaw inherits the number 10 jersey for Scotland. The Edinburgh skipper won the first two of his three caps as a replacement scrum-half, before coming on at fly-half for Parks in the Calcutta Cup defeat to England. Yet an impressive display during the small amount of time he was on the pitch has been rewarded with his first Test start.
Head to head: Toby Faletau v David Denton. Scotland's Zimbabwean-born number eight Denton was deservedly named man-of-the-match following his Herculean ball-carrying against England last Saturday, and much of the same will be required against the tough as nails Faletau, who will always be found where the battle is at its most ferocious.

Recent results:
2011: Wales won 24-6, Edinburgh
2010: Wales won 31-24, Cardiff
2009: Wales won 26-13, Edinburgh
2008: Wales won 30-15, Cardiff
2007: Scotland won 21-9, Edinburgh
2006: Wales won 28-18, Cardiff
2005: Wales won 46-22, Edinburgh
2004: Wales won 23-10, Cardiff
2003: Wales won 23-9, Cardiff
2003: Scotland won 30-22, Edinburgh
Prediction: Neither history or form is with Scotland heading into this match, and while we're sure they'll give it a good crack - we just can't see Wales letting this one slip. Wales to win by nine points!
Rugby Union betting odds

The teams:

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 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ryan Jones, 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.

maestegmafia wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:I'm actually glad Parks is not playing. One of the lads pointed out in work all Park had to do was stand back and kick for the corners and pressurise the Welsh line out, which lets be honest Ryan Jones and Ian Evans would of struggled against the Scottish guys.

If their planning to have a loose game against Wales it will play right into our hands.
Scotland have beaten Wales once in nine games, the last time they beat us at home was 10 years ago, and I'd be very suprised if Wales didn't beat them again this week.

Since when did Parks kick accurately. Loads of sentimental rubbish being spouted now he is out of scots colours. Parks kicked a lot. Most of it was aimless.

We are up against a decen scots halfbacks this weekend. They will pressurise Wales if they get opportunities a lot more than a brainless dullard like Parks ever did.

Not quite sure why someone chose to refer this post to the mods? Parks isn't a brainless dullard, he was a player with one very strong skill set and other weaker ones - unfortunately, even that strong skill set has been letting him down as of late. Enough said.

If that was plan A, to shoot for the corners and pressurise lineouts, I'm sure wee Greig is more than capable of putting it into practice - his beauty tho is that if he sees a better alternative, he will take that instead

I think Cyril who now calls himself safeasmilk addressed it to the mods. I don't know why either?

Anyhow..!

I can't agree with you re Parks, at best he was average and rarely saw him at his best, certainly never in the last two years.

I agree though that Jackson, Laidlaw and weir are more skilled and far more interesting talents that give you guys a lot more options.

As we saw when Laidlaw came on last week and was disallowed a try.

maestegmafia wrote:I think Cyril who now calls himself safeasmilk addressed it to the mods. I don't know why either?

...

Just FYI, it wasn't safeas who reported the post.

The post was adjudged to be within house rules (though had a fellow poster been addressed in that fashion it wouldn't have been)



Personally I thought you were a bit harsh in your phrasing though Maes.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

Just FYI, it wasn't safeas who reported the post.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:I think Cyril who now calls himself safeasmilk addressed it to the mods. I don't know why either?

...

Just FYI, it wasn't safeas who reported the post.

The post was adjudged to be within house rules (though had a fellow poster been addressed in that fashion it wouldn't have been)



Personally I thought you were a bit harsh in your phrasing though Maes.

Apologies KRD.

Back to the thread...!

Where's my apology?

Wales are as good as Gareth Llewelyn has ever seen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16976562

For the scottish boys, would you prefer Barclay starting instead of Strokosch? Barclay, Rennie and Denton. That would have good balance I think, as Denton makes up the physicality, Barclay does the dirty work and Rennie is the link-man. Would anyone else like to see this?

If Barclay plays I can see Toby making a few deposits behind the posts and 1/2p probably adding the interest. If this happens I'm banking on a big win for Wales with North cashing in late on with a few trys

Do you not think Barclay is a big tackler?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:Do you not think Barclay is a big tackler?

Not saying you are wrong or anything, was just wanting to hear some opinions! Fair enough.

tbh I'd rather see Barclay than Strockosh, although I think Harley would be best in place of Stroks. I really think that he adds nothing and is vastly over-rated, he's not even that good for Gloucester. I was so bummed when Kelly Brown got injured, I bet he would have pulled our sh*t together on Saturday a bit better too, we may even have won for a change!

Barclay - deposits -interest - banking - cashing in

You getting the picture now Rory or are you a complete Merchant (joke mate)

Barclay had a man of the match performance last time in Cardiff. Sure to be a worry to Wales.

The scots backrow should cause Wales plenty of issues.

Wales coach Warren Gatland suggests imposing £30,000 fines to stop yellow card indiscipline

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/02/10/wales-coach-warren-gatland-suggests-imposing-30-000-fines-to-stop-yellow-card-indiscipline-91466-30306867/#ixzz1m0Lh1uym

I would have hoped that WG would have told the boys to prepare for a battle,also I would assume that he would have lambasted ANYONE in the squad who thought that Sunday was going to be an easy ride.Most of us certainly dont think Sunday will be the proverbial walkover.

maestegmafia wrote:Barclay had a man of the match performance last time in Cardiff. Sure to be a worry to Wales.

The scots backrow should cause Wales plenty of issues.

Dan Parks was man of the match last time, as picked by Jiffy.

Dan Parks deserved MOTM two years ago, the Scots were very clever that day putting Parks out on the wind in defence, if the game is half as good on Sunday we are in for s treat but I can't see Scotland backs breaking the line if they play like the last game.

On the wind!?

If the game is as good then we will all be very happy I am sure.

Scotland have picked a good team as have Wales.

Really excited for this, can Wales keep the roll going and manage another win. Will Scotlands passes go to hand and run in tries.

Wales defence will be a tougher contest than England's was, but I imagine Scotland have plenty more strings to their bow with Laidlaw at the helm.

I really can't see this game being a classic.
Scotland offer nothing beyond the bland and boring!

I alluded to this on another thread and the Scottish fans bit my head off.

I speak the truth,Wales will win and do it comfortably.

I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

Just a quick question. Over the last two years, which team, Wales or Scotland do you think has improved the most?

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

Just a quick question. Over the last two years, which team, Wales or Scotland do you think has improved the most?

Slow answer!

Wales but today your second row is second best & Scotland should do what Ireland didn't do enough of last week & kick for touch & attack your line out.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

Just a quick question. Over the last two years, which team, Wales or Scotland do you think has improved the most?

Slow answer!

Wales but today your second row is second best & Scotland should do what Ireland didn't do enough of last week & kick for touch & attack your line out.

Wales always have a weakened lineout compared to the opposition, but they held on to possession last week therefor not allowing Ireland to have many line out opportunities.

Scotland are a good team but they will have to do a lot more than play ten man rugby in attack to beat a welsh team even if it is on its second choice locks.

Front row battle will be great as will the backrow.

Both packs great in the loose.

Scotland have a decent sized back line. With Laidlaw they will get the opportunities that Parks couldn't see last week.

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

Just a quick question. Over the last two years, which team, Wales or Scotland do you think has improved the most?

Slow answer!

Wales but today your second row is second best & Scotland should do what Ireland didn't do enough of last week & kick for touch & attack your line out.

Wales always have a weakened lineout compared to the opposition, but they held on to possession last week therefor not allowing Ireland to have many line out opportunities.

Scotland are a good team but they will have to do a lot more than play ten man rugby in attack to beat a welsh team even if it is on its second choice locks.

Front row battle will be great as will the backrow.


Both packs great in the loose.

Scotland have a decent sized back line. With Laidlaw they will get the opportunities that Parks couldn't see last week.

I agree with most of that but Ryan Jones is not as good as B Davis as a lock IMO & therefor your 2nd row is even weaker than last weeks. The rest of the pack is a good match up.

Front row battle wil determine the margin of Welsh victory. If the underperforming Edinburgh front row can hold their own in the scrum then Wales will need to work fairly hard for their victory. If as is suspect they come off second best then Philips and Priestland will have maximum time to run their potent backline. This will lead to a lot of problems for the makeshift Scottish midfield - Sean Lamont just isnt a 12 and De Luca is far better going forward than in defence. Allied to our small wingers agianst the Welsh giants and it will be a very long day at the office.

looking at how comfortable England's scrum were last week i think Wales will dominate and we will see a Welsh win by between 10 and 35 points.

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:I think Scotland will edge the game up front & should attack the Welsh line outs - with a bit more luck than they had 2 years ago they are well capable of turning the tables on Wales.

Just a quick question. Over the last two years, which team, Wales or Scotland do you think has improved the most?

Slow answer!

Wales but today your second row is second best & Scotland should do what Ireland didn't do enough of last week & kick for touch & attack your line out.

Wales always have a weakened lineout compared to the opposition, but they held on to possession last week therefor not allowing Ireland to have many line out opportunities.

Scotland are a good team but they will have to do a lot more than play ten man rugby in attack to beat a welsh team even if it is on its second choice locks.

Front row battle will be great as will the backrow.

Both packs great in the loose.

Scotland have a decent sized back line. With Laidlaw they will get the opportunities that Parks couldn't see last week.

Not really - other than the Lamont brothers at 6'2" and 6'1", I don't believe any of the other lads are over 6' - they do have some pace outwide in Jones and Evans, but there's no doubt that imagining that the will go round the likes of North is more than a bit far-fetched. Hopefully the pair of them have spent all week watching Shane Williams videos and can do the damage all over the field and in an unstructured manner as the master did

I love all this talk about the weak welsh line out and how everyone's classy back rows could have the edge.

With gethin and lydiate back the welsh pack is stronger than last week - we lose Bradley but keep arguably the best forward last week in Ryan jones.

There were interviews with the Scotland squad on tv last night and the talk was of hoping Wales would be complacent - is that the tactic?

I thought they were larger..!

Lamont will know the Scarlet lads well. And most the team play against the lads in the Rabbo so there is plenty of familiarity in the game.

Mind you there was the same last week against ireland too.

Paul O'Connell can make anybodies lineout look poor.

Cymroglan wrote:Paul O'Connell can make anybodies lineout look poor.

aye. And DOC and Ryan were classy too. Possibly the best three locks for one nation in world rugby. Though kellock, Gray and Hamilton are no mugs.

Losing first choice welsh locks AW Jones and Charteris is huge to Wales.

WARREN GATLAND has warned that any Scottish attempt to intimidate his new breed of world class young guns is doomed to fail at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow.

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/02/11/warren-gatland-confident-giant-wales-can-overpower-scotland-91466-30307773/#ixzz1m5DLUl6W

Let's not get carried away with 'world class' quite yet...!

Quite - I'm glad Gatts didn't shoot his mouth off as much when he was at Wasps & we had a lot to shout about at the time (championships & cups)

LAMONT READY TO HALT CLUBMATES' PROGRESS

"People have asked me 'can you stop George?' But it's not 'can we?' We must," Lamont told The Scotsman newspaper. "We know they have big runners and a few in the backline. We have to stop them and we can do it - it's just about fronting up on the day and doing it.


http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/21086.php

This should be a comfortable win for Scotland tomorrow. Wales have no discipline whatsoever whereas Scotland will play a tight methodical game and give nothing away easily. Add in complacency which the Welsh will suffer from tomorrow and I can't see anything else than a Scottish win. Good luck Scotland!

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

•Wales have lost just one of the last eight Six Nations games between the two sides, a 21-9 defeat in 2007.
•Scotland have not won a Six Nations game in Cardiff since 2002.

•Wales have won just one of previous six Tests played on a Sunday at the Millennium Stadium.
•Warren Gatland's side have lost only one of their last five Six Nations games - 28-9 v France in 2011.
•On two of the three occasions they have won their first two games of the Six Nations, they have gone on to clinch the Grand Slam.


•Scotland have lost their last three Test matches and have not scored a try in their last four.
•They have won just one of their last six Six Nations games - 2011's 21-8 victory against Italy.
•Andy Robinson's side have won one Six Nations away game since 2006 - 23-20 at Croke Park in 2010

2008 wales hadn't beaten england in twickenham in twenty odd years. We had a poor 6n 2 years running before that, a shocking world cup and a new coach to add to the misery.
We done alright though.
All sides in the 6n can beat each other and even sometimes against the form. I think it was in 1999 wales had lost to Scotland and ireland and then were written off. They then beat england and france.

Anything could happen, thats part of the reason I love this game. Wales could now go on and win the gs, scotland could click and won all their other games wining the championship. We dont know, I just want to see a great game. After the boring rubbish produced the last two saturdays it's up to Wales + 1other to again play some rugby and provide some entertainment.

Good luck to both sides today

Especially Wales of course.

Scotland will struggle to score tries and that is why Wales will win. Wales don't have Hook in defence either.

Not having Patterson or Parks could also blow any chance they had of landing lots of penalties.

pedrojones wrote:Scotland will struggle to score tries and that is why Wales will win. Wales don't have Hook in defence either.

Not having Patterson or Parks could also blow any chance they had of landing lots of penalties.

apart from Laidlaw is as good a place kicker as either

Really ? Same experience of big match pressure kicks ?

Warburton out Shingler in

Has Shingler come straight in or onto the bunch? Surely not Andy Powell???????

Sorry, I must have Scotland on my mind. bench, not bunch!

Shingler starts, im not sure where he plays though! does he go into the 2nd row with Jones to 8 and Faletau to openside?

Why not Tipuric?