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.

Kill the game, 1/2p

Morgannwg wrote:

Plus one.

Plus we are a lucky bunch of cheats. Our 5 in a row (well it may be 5 at the end of this game) over Scotland was all down to the refs.

Lol a little over sensitive aren't you,where has anyone said anything close to that?

AlynDavies wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Poite has been poor today. There was no way Wales were back 10 there either.

You dont go past your own try line under any circumstances anyway. We couldnt of gone 10

Well it was 15 meters out Alyn so they could have gone 10. Even Jiffy said so

dublin_dave wrote:nah laidlaw done nothing wrong at 10.

far better with runners off him than a parks type player way behind gainline.

Not sure I agree with you tehre mate, he is looking a bit better now, but his first half perfomrance was nothing to write home about.

Morgannwg wrote:Just constant negative comments and insulting Wales' good performance from all of you. Some of you disgust me as much as Poite's performance. Just to let you know, IF Wales win the tournament I will be back to rub your noses in it.

Oh well in that case...... We ALL should get our tuppence worth in. The Welsh are a cheating pack of bar stewards who can't play decent rugby without handling in the ruck, illegal play and constantly complaining to the ref.

Morgannwg wrote:Plus one.

Plus we are a lucky bunch of cheats. Our 5 in a row (well it may be 5 at the end of this game) over Scotland was all down to the refs.

Yup thats right any time Wales beat anyone, it's not because were a good team that tries to play good rugby with our backs, it's because we cheat and are just lucky...

Wales of course have never had a referee decision go against them, in fact we will call it "luck of the Welsh", not "luck of the Irish" from today!

Pot Hale wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Just constant negative comments and insulting Wales' good performance from all of you. Some of you disgust me as much as Poite's performance. Just to let you know, IF Wales win the tournament I will be back to rub your noses in it.

Oh well in that case...... We ALL should get our tuppence worth in. The Welsh are a cheating pack of bar stewards who can't play decent rugby without handling in the ruck, illegal play and constantly complaining to the ref.

Well, 27-20 would have brought a different complexion to the game than 27-13, a shame that Poite seems determined to determine the outcome of this one; especially since Wales seem to need the opposition to be down to 13 or 14 men to score these days.

eirebilly wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Just constant negative comments and insulting Wales' good performance from all of you. Some of you disgust me as much as Poite's performance. Just to let you know, IF Wales win the tournament I will be back to rub your noses in it.

Oh well in that case...... We ALL should get our tuppence worth in. The Welsh are a cheating pack of bar stewards who can't play decent rugby without handling in the ruck, illegal play and constantly complaining to the ref.

Behave billy. PK

Wales looked very dangerous with the extra man.

So the lesson for eng.. Discipline is key. The new eng look bette n that respect than the old one.

AlynDavies wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Plus one.

Plus we are a lucky bunch of cheats. Our 5 in a row (well it may be 5 at the end of this game) over Scotland was all down to the refs.

Yup thats right any time Wales beat anyone, it's not because were a good team that tries to play good rugby with our backs, it's because we cheat and are just lucky...

Wales of course have never had a referee decision go against them, in fact we will call it "luck of the Welsh", not "luck of the Irish" from today!

Ok let me clarify -

I don't want to take anything away from Wales' performance today. If you need a team to finish off an overlap when the opposition are down to 13, I can't think of a more able team than Wales.

The reason some of you welsh are being called arrogant, is because you are being arrogant. Simple as that. Calling people jealous etc is just so childish just because some of us don't support Wales. Also, how you can say the refs throw anyone else a life-line is beyond me - Wales are very lucky with some of the big calls.

Very poor form by some of you. Disappointing.

eirebilly wrote:Well it was 15 meters out Alyn so they could have gone 10. Even Jiffy said so

From or after the length of Jiffys nose?

If we count his nose to, I think you'll find it was only 8.8 metres...

miteyironpaw wrote:Well, 27-20 would have brought a different complexion to the game than 27-13, a shame that Poite seems determined to determine the outcome of this one; especially since Wales seem to need the opposition to be down to 13 or 14 men to score these days.

Mate, Wales put Scotland under so much pressure. Both yellow cards were clear as day. Its not Wales fault if they take advantage of the fact that their pressure led to two Scottish player giving away cynical fouls now is it?

biltongbek wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Just constant negative comments and insulting Wales' good performance from all of you. Some of you disgust me as much as Poite's performance. Just to let you know, IF Wales win the tournament I will be back to rub your noses in it.

Oh well in that case...... We ALL should get our tuppence worth in. The Welsh are a cheating pack of bar stewards who can't play decent rugby without handling in the ruck, illegal play and constantly complaining to the ref.

Behave billy. PK

Many a true word....

Buggyman to add some umph.

miteyironpaw wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Plus one.

Plus we are a lucky bunch of cheats. Our 5 in a row (well it may be 5 at the end of this game) over Scotland was all down to the refs.

Yup thats right any time Wales beat anyone, it's not because were a good team that tries to play good rugby with our backs, it's because we cheat and are just lucky...

Wales of course have never had a referee decision go against them, in fact we will call it "luck of the Welsh", not "luck of the Irish" from today!

Ok let me clarify -

I don't want to take anything away from Wales' performance today. If you need a team to finish off an overlap when the opposition are down to 13, I can't think of a more able team than Wales.

I realise I should clarify again - I can't think of a more capable team than Wales, assuming that doing so didn't involve winning a lineout.

as I predicted, a depressingly poor performance from scotland AGAIN. We just need to get a completely new team, f**k being conservative in selection, just get a bunch of teenagers with some of the A team, we'd do better than we're doing at the moment.

Well it was funny biltong

miteyironpaw wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Plus one.

Plus we are a lucky bunch of cheats. Our 5 in a row (well it may be 5 at the end of this game) over Scotland was all down to the refs.

Yup thats right any time Wales beat anyone, it's not because were a good team that tries to play good rugby with our backs, it's because we cheat and are just lucky...

Wales of course have never had a referee decision go against them, in fact we will call it "luck of the Welsh", not "luck of the Irish" from today!

Ok let me clarify -

I don't want to take anything away from Wales' performance today. If you need a team to finish off an overlap when the opposition are down to 13, I can't think of a more able team than Wales.

I realise I should clarify again - I can't think of a more capable team than Wales, assuming that doing so didn't involve winning a lineout.

No hands! Cue no whistle for the blatant hands...

THAT was good from Laidlaw. Welsh backs too tall

Woo Scotland unlucky there.

That was a pretty clear block. Poite really is having a mare.... for both sides.

eirebilly wrote:Well it was funny biltong

I know mate, but we must behave, we might upset the locals.

We are supposed to support both teams and not just the underdog. no matter what.

Your man Hogg will add some real flair to that Scotland team. He deserves to start in 2 weeks time for Scotland.

Poite is killing this game. He is a disgrace.

Rennie, my MOTM

Poite seems t have chosen his side here. Crap.

Poite hasn't been biased, he's just incompetent

ChequeredJersey wrote:Rennie, my MOTM

Cuthbert.

I have really enjoyed this match, except for Poites refereeing, he has been poor.

Yeah, Poite has been a clueless plonker.

76 minutes into the match, Poite realises the Welsh defensive line is off-side and they are slowing in the rucks...

3 in a row over Ireland Rory. Ireland proper knocked out of the World Cup.

A yellow card way too late in this game. Wales have got away with murder at the the breakdown.

Great kick

Easy on the bickering eh folks.

IMO Wales have been the better side, though possibly a 14 point margin is a little harsh given how well Scotland have played.

And Poite is comfortably the worst-performing individual on the field. Though at least he's letting things go consistently.

Well at least another chance to hear Robinson moaning about injustices and the referee.... let the good times roll!

Thank god the Welsh boys have a week off to get over their injuries.

Both the Wales matches have been great and entertaining to watch.

IMO it is between them and france for the title.

Wales.sjould.have had 4 or 5 in the bin

Rennie, Denton, Gray - All of these scottish forwards have really really shone. They have put their heart on the line for their team. They are the core of this scottish team, and I really hope Scotland look to play the likes of Hogg, and that winger Jones, to add some real flair to the back-line.

Not sure I would have given MOTM to Lydiate honestly, I do think the three I mentioned have been better than he has.

Kiwireddevil wrote:Easy on the bickering eh folks.

IMO Wales have been the better side, though possibly a 14 point margin is a little harsh given how well Scotland have played.

And Poite is comfortably the worst-performing individual on the field. Though at least he's letting things go consistently.

True, he has been consistently incompetent.

Twas a good game and you can't knock Wales for taking the gifts they were given.

Well done Wales
The GS is still on

AlynDavies wrote:Well at least another chance to hear Robinson moaning about injustices and the referee.... let the good times roll!

Thank god the Welsh boys have a week off to get over their injuries.

funny enough.thia.time justified

Great game. Scotland still lack composure but they are a better team than people have given them credit for. Wales look menacing but beatable. IF England can actually get the back line moving. I don't care if he's just come back from injury, Tuilagi has to start now

ChequeredJersey wrote:Poite hasn't been biased, he's just incompetent

He cost Scotland 2 tries. Scottish forwards are some of the best in the comp. Ran themselves to a standstill. Really need Tim McVisser on board.

Well done Wales. But, Scotland shot themselves in the foot. Again.

England v Wales will be a tighter game.

Congrats to wales, you have a truly awesome back line, and you still need to work on your lineouts.

Cuthbert fills very nicely in the gap Williams have left. I don't think there is need to tinker in any way with that back line.

I would like to see the period of play just before DeLuca got sent off. I thought Scotland had the advantage and a Welsh player hacked it through. So it should have come back for the knock on (I think it was a knock on) . Of course I was watching it through one eye so could be mistaken.