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Scotland eye England glory

Vern Cotter's side scored 20 unanswered after the break at Murrayfield on Saturday as a 9-13 interval deficit was transformed into a 29-13 victory, their first against Wales since 2007.

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Second half tries by wings Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser, plus five penalties and two conversions by flyhalf Finn Russell, mean the Scots have the chance to complete a first Triple Crown since their Grand Slam in 1990.

Victory over England would also leave Scotland with a shot at a first Six Nations title since 1999 heading into the final weekend of the tournament.

"We're on a roll. We know how hard Twickenham is. It may be the record game for England. There'll be a lot of things to play for, I think," Cotter said.

Should England beat Italy at home on Sunday, they would go into the Calcutta Cup contest with a chance of equalling New Zealand's world record of 18 consecutive wins.

"It's been a while since we've been here talking about a win over Wales, so hats off to the players. We weren't particularly well-positioned at half-time but the players adjusted well in the second half.

"The boys did really well. They realised they were watching Wales play rather than playing themselves," he added.

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Wales were 13-16 down early in the second half when captain Alun Wyn Jones opted against a kickable penalty that might have tied the scores only for the lock himself to infringe at the ensuing line-out.

Afterwards Jones made the extraordinary admission that he had been over-ruled by his own goal-kickers.

"The kickers didn't want to, so we just went for the corner. And I got done for blocking at the back of the lift then, but yeah, I would have liked to have gone for the three [points]," Jones admitted.

Wales interim coach Rob Howley said Scotland had "every chance" of being in the title shake-up.

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"They've certainly got ingredients that can make them hugely competitive in the last couple of games," he said.

Having failed to build on their opening round win away to Italy, Wales – who subsequently suffered a last-gasp loss to England in Cardiff – have nothing but pride to play for in their final two games, at home to Ireland and away to France.

"We just weren't accurate enough. We made it easier for Scotland in the second half. We turned the ball over too many times and probably weren't clinical when we needed to be.

"The players are obviously hugely disappointed. It's how you respond and we welcome Ireland in two weeks' time," he added

Agence France-Presse

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