Steyn's double ends Scotland's Six Nations hoodoo
MATCH REPORT: Scotland finally broke their long-lived second-round stumbles with a 35-7 win over Wales at Murrayfield on Saturday.
At the back of a dramatic 29-23 win over England last week, Scotland headed into the Round two fixture under a huge amount of pressure.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The side last posted wins in the opening two rounds of the tournament in 1996 – when the Championship was still the Five Nations.
They twice lost narrowly to Wales – hammered 34-10 by Ireland in Cardiff last weekend – on the second week in each of the past two years.
However, it was a very different Scotland team who took the field on Saturday.
Steered by mercurial flyhalf Finn Russell, Scotland dominated in all areas and scored five tries for the bonus-point win.
South African-born Kyle Steyn scored a brace of tries, while George Turner, Matt Fagerson and Blair Kinghorn also added their names to the scoresheet.
The win takes Scotland level with Ireland on 10 points at the top of the Six Nations table.
By contrast, Wales have lost their opening two matches of the Six Nations for the first time since 2007 with the return of Warren Gatland unable to turn around their fortunes.
Gatland won all 11 of his meetings with Scotland in his previous stint as Wales boss between 2008 and 2019.
But the New Zealander is quickly learning the scale of his task the second time around after a 10-34 humbling on home soil against Ireland last weekend.
Two Finn Russell penalties were the difference between the sides at half-time as Ken Owens’ try for Wales cancelled out Turner’s effort for the hosts.
But it was one-way traffic in the second half as Scotland ran in four unanswered tries.
Russell was the architect for both of Steyn’s scores in the corner with a delightful pass followed by an accurate cross-field kick.
Kinghorn and Fagerson then pilled the pain on Wales in the closing stages to break a 99-year-old record for Scotland’s previous biggest win in this fixture.
Man of the match: Liam Williams, despite his yellow card, was the standout for Wales. Scotland wing Kyle Steyn was impressive outside, he made lethal runs and really kept the Wales defence busy, also scored a brace of tries. Our nod goes to Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell, who was simply incredible. He was on point with the boot, tactical kicks were just as accurate, while his perfectly timed offload also set up his team’s second try.
Moment of the match: Ken Owen’s try just before the break really had an impact on the game. Trailing 0-13, Wales was rewarded with a penalty and opted to kick to touch. They secured the ball and powered their way over the line with Owens powered over the five points – making it a more competitive first half.
The scorers:
For Scotland:
Tries: Turner, Steyn 2, Kinghorn, Fagerson
Cons: Russell 2
Pens: Russell 2
For Wales:
Try: Owens
Con: Biggar
Yellow cards: George Turner (Scotland, 32 – High tackle); Liam Williams (Wales, 56 – cynical foul, killing the ball at the ruck); Reece Webb (Wales, 80 – deliberate foul)
Teams
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 WP Nel, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Jac Morgan, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Christ Tshiunza, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Wyn Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Alex Cuthbert.
Date: Saturday, February 11:
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16.45 (16.45 GMT)
Expected weather: Periodical bursts of sun, with a very small chance of precipitation – less than 10 percent. High of 10°C, low of 6°C
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
