Wales Vs Scotland: Scotland's terrible beauty reverses the narrative in wales vs scotland
Scotland produced a stirring second-half fightback in Cardiff to win 26-23, a turnaround that matters because it sent them to the top of the Six Nations table and allowed them to retain the Doddie Weir Cup. The wales vs scotland contest finished with Scotland ahead after George Turner’s late score and Finn Russell’s boot sealed a nervy finish.
Wales Vs Scotland: Second-half fightback in Cardiff overturns a 12-point deficit
Scotland overturned a 12-point deficit to win in Cardiff, having trailed 17-5 at one stage and been 20-5 down after 47 minutes before winning the remainder of the match 21-3. The final score was 26-23 to Scotland, a result that preserved momentum in their charge for the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations and meant they retained the Doddie Weir Cup.
Russell, Turner and Graham delivered the decisive plays
Finn Russell was pivotal in the second-half turnaround, scoring 11 points in that period and either creating or scoring two fast-paced tries that swung the contest. George Turner piled over late to put Scotland ahead for the first time on the day, and Russell’s conversion made it a three-point game. Chris Graham also scored straight from the restart in the sequence of Scotland’s scoring actions.
Wales' early dominance, tries and injuries
Wales produced a powerful first half, with Rhys Carre opening the scoring and Josh Adams adding a try in the left corner; Sam Costelow converted and kicked penalties during Wales’ early advantage. Hosts Wales had the lead until the 74th minute after a spark from wing Josh Adams, and they had been convincingly beaten by England and France in the first two rounds of the tournament. Wales also contended with injuries to Sam Costelow and Taine Plumtree, which head coach Steve Tandy said “don’t look great. ”
Key moments at the breakdown, crowd and discipline
The Principality Stadium atmosphere was loud, with a reported attendance of 70, 649. The match featured a sequence of tactical and disciplinary moments: an early dangerous tackle by Joe Hawkins drew a yellow card for Wales’ inside centre, and an offside penalty from Sam Costelow added to Wales’ first-half scores. A long pass intended for Duhan van der Merwe was intercepted by Josh Adams during Wales’ counterplay.
Referee interventions, lineouts and tactical substitutions
Referee Matt Carley was involved from the first minute after Wales went through nine attacking phases and were penalised for going off their feet. Gregor Brown was involved in a collision with Joe Hawkins that led to a high-tackle decision and a yellow card for Hawkins. Scotland’s lineout work featured a delayed pass from Finn Russell to Blair Kinghorn that released Kyle Steyn for a try — Steyn’s 16th international — while Gregor Brown’s subsequent line-out won possession that fed several Scotland attacking phases. Scotland made tactical substitutions including Pierre Schoeman for Nathan McBeth and Josh Bayliss for Max Williamson, with Brown moving into the second row; Bayliss later won a jackal penalty early in the restart while Wales countered with a breakdown penalty of their own.
What the result means for Scotland's campaign and narrative
The win completed a dramatic recovery for Scotland, coming a week after their Calcutta Cup success over England and marking only the third time Scotland have followed an England victory with another Six Nations win. After their opening defeat in week one, Scotland sit at the top of the table for now; they will drop to second if France beat Italy on Sunday. Players and staff spoke of digging deep: Sione Tuipulotu said the squad had to “dig deep, ” while others noted the team showed grit and character in an error-strewn but ultimately successful performance.
