Wales Vs Scotland: Russell inspires Scotland to thrilling Six Nations comeback
Scotland overturned a 12-point deficit to beat Wales 26-23 in Cardiff, a second-half fightback that left the Principality rocking and sent Scotland to the top of the Six Nations table. The win, secured by a try from George Turner and key scores from Finn Russell, also retained the Doddie Weir Cup and kept Scotland’s campaign on track for the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
Turner’s late score flips a tense Principality finale
Wales led 23-19 before George Turner "piled over" close to the line and gave Scotland the lead for the first time in their stressful day; Finn Russell’s boot then made it a three-point game and the visitors held out. The match finished Wales 23-26 Scotland. Seconds earlier a lineout and a frantic sequence had underlined how tight the closing minutes were inside the Principality, where the crowd noise was described as deafening.
How the scoreboard swung: from 20-5 to a 21-3 run
Scotland were 20-5 down after 47 minutes but won the remainder of the contest 21-3, an error-strewn but relentless recovery that produced four tries for the visitors: Kyle Steyn, Finn Russell, Graham and Turner. Finn Russell contributed 11 points in the second-half turnaround; Scotland’s conversions list shows Russell with three successful kicks.
Wales fight back, but injuries and yellow card disrupt rhythm
Wales opened with a Rhys Carre try converted by Sam Costelow (7-0, 9 mins) and extended the lead through Josh Adams’ left-corner finish (14-5, 19 mins) and a Costelow penalty (17-5, 30 mins). An early yellow card for Joe Hawkins, shown after a high tackle on Gregor Brown, left Wales a man down in the first quarter. Wales also contended with injuries to Sam Costelow and Taine Plumtree; head coach Steve Tandy said both “don’t look great. ”
Wales Vs Scotland: key players, substitutions and the crowd
Cardiff’s attendance was 70, 649. Wales’ match-day lineup included: Rees-Zammit; Hamer-Webb (Murray 62), James, Hawkins, Adams; Costelow (Evans 56), Williams; Carre (Smith 42), Lake (Elias 56), Francis (Griffin 51), Jenkins (Thomas 75), Carter, Plumtree (Botham 9), Mann, Wainwright. Scotland named: Kinghorn; Steyn, Jones (Jordan 67), Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe (Graham 54); Russell, White (Horne 54); McBeth (Schoeman 34), Cherry (Turner 54), Z Fagerson (Millar-Mills 54), Williamson (Bayliss 34), Cummings (Gilchrist 67), Brown, Darge, M Fagerson.
Referee calls, key phases and the Doddie Weir Cup
Referee Matt Carley penalised Wales for going off feet inside the opening minute after an extended attack. Scotland’s defensive effort repeatedly met long Welsh phases early on; Gregor Brown’s charging carry and a delayed Finn Russell pass that found Blair Kinghorn helped create Kyle Steyn’s 16th international try (7-5, 13 mins). Scotland’s tactical substitutions included Pierre Schoeman for Nathan McBeth and Josh Bayliss for Max Williamson, with Brown moving into the second row; Bayliss later won a jackal penalty that aided the visitors’ restart momentum. The victory also meant Scotland retained the Doddie Weir Cup.
Reactions from Cardiff and the table implications
Dewi Lake called the loss gut-wrenching and said Wales had delivered the performance they had worked on in the week but “probably didn’t stay in moments for the full 80. ” Sione Tuipulotu said Scotland had to dig deep. The result left Scotland top of the table; they will drop to second if France beat Italy on Sunday.
The next confirmed point on the calendar from this match: Scotland keep their place at the head of the table for now, with the immediate consequence hinging on France’s match against Italy on Sunday.
