Wales v Scotland: Preview, Stats and Line Ups
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The final round of the 2020 Six Nations is finally imminent and, with it, some exciting match-ups on the cards. The round kicks off with Wales hosting Scotland at Parc y Scarlets, in a celebration of rivalry which goes back to 1883.
Scotland currently find themselves in fourth position on the overall standings, having won two of their four games. Gregor Townsend's charges opened their campaign with a seven-point loss to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Things didn’t improve much in Round 2 as the Scots suffered a frustrating 13-7 defeat to the English.
It was in Round 3, however, that things began to look up, as the Italians felt the Scots’ might as Stuart Hogg, Chris Harris and Adam Hastings ran in tries to give their team a valuable 17-0 victory. It was Round 4 when Scotland really flexed their muscles, pulling off an unexpected and superb victory over France at Murrayfield with flanker Jamie Ritchie putting in an inspired shift.
The Welsh hit the ground running, brushing Italy aside in brutal fashion with a 42-0 Round 1 result before the crashed to a 10-point loss to the Irish in Round 2. Round 3 saw Wayne Pivac’s men lost unexpectedly to a spirited French outfit in the former’s backyard – a major disruption to their campaign. Their luck didn’t change in Round 4 as a valiant effort was not enough to sink the English at Twickenham, the scoreboard showing 33-30 at full-time.
Those are the stories of the two sides going into the final round of this year’s competition. While Scotland will have their tails up on paper, they cannot count on the wave of momentum they were riding still being present after a six-month break although, of course, it cannot harm their mindset.
Wales, however, will be desperate for a win as the shadows of losses are still difficult to shake off after the hiatus. The confidence of the Scots mixed with the eagerness of the men in red makes for a massive clash which is sure to give fans their dose of excitement.
Looking at the history between the two teams, it appears that the Welsh have the upper hand by a significant margin, having won 73 of the 125 encounters. The 80 minutes will be packed with fierce individual talent and match-ups as both teams put it all on the line, making this one a must.
