Late Biggar drop goal gives defending champions lift-off

Late Biggar drop goal gives defending champions lift-off

Dan Biggar's drop goal on his 100th Test appearance gave Wales' Six Nations title defence lift-off as they battled to a 20-17 victory over Scotland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac's side were thrashed 29-7 by Ireland in their opener but dug deep to edge out Scotland, who were seeking back-to-back wins after beating England last week.

Darcy Graham and Tom Francis crossed over in a first half that ended level and it remained all square at 17-17 late on as Biggar and Finn Russell kicked four penalties apiece.

A big moment arrived 12 minutes from time when Russell was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and, while Wales could not add another try, Biggar's boot two minutes later proved decisive.

Biggar punished slow-starting Scotland by kicking over a couple of early penalties, but the visitors soon got going and scored the first try with 11 minutes played.


Graham outmuscled Louis Rees-Zammit to ground the ball in the corner after collecting a looping pass from Russell towards the right.

Russell was unable to add the extras but slotted over three penalties, either side of one from Biggar, to give Scotland a five-point advantage.


But the hosts were on level terms at half-time thanks to just a second try in Welsh colours for Francis, who grounded after his side drove to the line from the line-out.

Russell and Biggar continued their kicking battle in the second half to ensure the sides remained all square heading into a tense finale.

Alex Cuthbert had a try ruled out for being in touch but referee Nic Berry and TMO adjudged that Russell was not in a position to catch the ball in the build-up when knocking on.

Russell was subsequently yellow-carded and Wales ramped up the pressure, culminating in Biggar slotting over a three-pointer, rather than going for the line, which proved the right call as Wales held on for victory.

Russell punished by Biggar

Russell was yellow-carded for the fourth time in his Test career, with each of those coming in the Six Nations – including in a defeat to Wales in 2015.

Wales still had work to do at that point and credit must go to Biggar on his landmark outing, the fly-half making a huge call to kick over for the three points when it looked like a try was on for the Dragons.

Darcy delights in Scotland defeat

Graham impressed in the late win over England and only enhanced his burgeoning reputation with his try-scoring display against Wales, even if he ended on the losing side.

The diminutive wing has either scored or assisted a try in each of his past three games for Scotland, making it his best-such run in Test rugby.

Key Opta Facts:

- Wales have won 10 of their 12 home games against Scotland in the Six Nations (L2), including each of their last nine in a row at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with Scotland last winning a Six Nations match in the Welsh capital back in 2002.

- The last four Six Nations matches between Wales and Scotland have been decided by a margin of seven points or fewer, this after just five of their initial 19 clashes in the Championship had been decided by such a margin.

- Wales have won 14 of their last 16 Six Nations matches at the Principality Stadium (L2), with only France (2020) and England (2017) coming away from the Welsh capital with a victory in that run.

- Biggar slotted a drop-goal against Scotland – the first by any player in the Six Nations since Romain Ntamack landed one against Italy in 2019, while it was Biggar's first in the Championship since 2015 against Ireland.

- Liam Williams made 17 carries for Wales, his most in a Test match since February 2019 (18 v England), and gained 136 metres – only against Fiji (twice) has he gained more metres in a match for Wales (207 in Nov 2014, 141 in Oct 2019).

What's next?

Wales are back in action on February 26 with a showdown against England at Twickenham, while Scotland host pre-tournament favourites France the same day.

 
 

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