Always unpredictable, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend responded to the euphoria of the Calcutta Cup win by changing a third of the team.
Always looking for an edge, Townsend has borrowed a bit from South Africa, thinks Scotland have learned from the Cardiff debacle of 2018, and continues to quietly introduce new options to his side.
Here’s his main points discussing the selection for Saturday.
Away games with returning crowds
The Welsh Rugby Union will serve weaker beer and shut bars after half-time in Six Nations games to try to help curb anti-social behaviour at the Principality Stadium ⤵️
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) February 2, 2022
Scotland’s three key away victories in the last 18 months were all in Covid-cleared stadia. 80,000 people at the Principality – even with the beer weakened – is a different proposition.
“It’s a challenge, it’s something to embrace,” said Townsend. “It is one of the best stadiums in the world.
“The atmosphere at Wales games is incredible – before and during the match – and it’s something we’ve got to thrive in if we are going to come out the end of it.
“We’ve got to enjoy listening to the Scotland supporters that are in the stadium as well. Play the game we know we are capable of, with the togetherness we’ve shown. That’s got to be on the pitch for the full 80 minutes.”
2018 and all that
Scotland went to Cardiff with the hype of a coming team four years ago and were routed. Time has moved on, says Townsend.
“I remember going into that game debating with myself whether the roof should be open or closed,” he said. “We had it closed as we thought a dry game would suit us better than Wales (it’ll be open due to Covid protocols this time).
“We made errors in attack and Wales showed what a quality side they are. They took huge momentum from our errors but also momentum from the crowd.
“A lot of players who played that day are playing now. They’ve matured as rugby players and people and we’ve had more experiences, good and bad, to get us to this point today.
“I firmly believe we’re in a better position to handle the occasion and the challenges that Wales bring than we were back in 2018.”
Copying ‘The Bomb Squad’
What an awesome day to remember!
🏴
Thank you for the amazing support!!#AsOne 🏴 @pie@ pic.twitter.com/Z7aixAVFpP— WP Nel (@WP_Nel) February 6, 2022
The Springboks’ interchangeable front row units impressed Townsend in the summer and November.
“It’s South Africa’s ability to have a strong front row at the end of a game,” he said. “We saw that last week when WP, Stuart and Pierre came on and really did a good job, both in the tight and the loose.
“We see the same potentially happening with Rory, George and Zander. They’ve probably been our starting front row for the last couple of years when they’ve all been fit.
“We’ve now got a real depth in our front row. We want to use them so they’re fresh and can take Wales on in the first half as well as the second half.”
Ritchie and his replacement
Jamie Ritchie tore a hamstring against England, which means “months” out, said Townsend.
“I don’t think he’ll play again this season domestically,” he said. “Mark Bennett I remember had almost the same incident, and that was five or six months.
His influence in so many aspects makes his absence a big one for Scotland, especially in the breakdown and jackalling game. But the coach thinks Sam Skinner is a good fit for Wales.
“I don’t think we look at jackalling as something that is always required in the way we defend, it’s more a bonus if you have a player who is a good at it,” he said,
“We want to put pressure on the breakdown and there’s other ways of doing that – we can rip the ball, we can counter-ruck.
“Jamie is able to do a lot of different things in defence. That’s why he has been a key player for us over the last few seasons.
“But Sam has also done really well in our big games. I thought he made a huge impact at the weekend with a line-break and also a line-out steal.”
Rory Darge’s probable debut
Congratulations to local lad @rory_darge in making this weekends 6 Nations Squad
👏👏
🟥⬛🟥⬛ pic.twitter.com/NoIyERVQHn— North Berwick Junior Rugby (@BerwickJunior) February 10, 2022
The Glasgow back rower has been training with Scotland for over a year, said Townsend
“We’re looking forward to seeing him have an impact both sides of the ball. He’s one of the best attacking back-rowers in terms of defenders beaten in Europe this season and he’s also very good at getting over ball.
“We believe there is a good chance that the game will break up in the last 20 minutes so having players like Rory coming into a game like that should work in our favour.”
Wales are better than they looked last week
“I see strengths in the Wales team, and the way they want to play is an attacking game. They’re very aggressive in their defensive set-up, they push very high which asks questions of our decision-makers.
“They’ve got experienced players, Wyn Jones had a great Six Nations last year and went on the Lions tour, Adam Beard came through and played a Lions test.
“We know they have experience, quality, were champions last year, grow an extra arm and leg when they’re playing in the Principality. We’ll see the best version of Wales this weekend.”