Scotland v Wales - Teams and Prediction
03/07/2025 05:38 AM
ROUND FOUR PREVIEW: Wales may be on a record losing streak of 15 straight Test defeats ahead of their Six Nations clash away to Scotland, but the hosts will be under pressure too.
Saturday's match in Edinburgh will be just Matt Sherratt's second as interim Wales coach since the Englishman took over after the end of Warren Gatland's unsuccessful second spell in charge of the national team.
Cardiff coach Sherratt has insisted his time as caretaker boss will only cover Wales' concluding three games of this Six Nations.
While Gatland justified some quirky selection decisions by the need to plan for the 2027 World Cup in Australia, Sherratt, unburdened by long-term considerations, restored several players to familiar roles for his opening Test as Wales boss against reigning Six Nations champions Ireland.
Wales still lost 18-27, but they gave table-toppers Ireland a genuine scare in Cardiff a fortnight ago.
And a similar performance at Murrayfield could see Wales win a Test for the first time since defeating Georgia in the pool phase of the 2023 World Cup in France.
"I know I am doing it [the Wales job] for three weeks," said Sherratt after naming an unchanged team on Thursday. "So yes, enjoy it while it has been fairly positive, but I also know in sport that it is not always like that."
Sherratt added: "The challenge the group set themselves on Monday was that they are pleased with the performance [against Ireland], but not the result, because they are all competitors. Can we do the same again and build a little bit more on top of that?"
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England defeat 'fuels' Scotland
While Sherratt makes the most of the freedom that comes from knowing he is in a temporary role, the same cannot be said of Scotland counterpart Gregor Townsend.
The former Scotland playmaker is the country's longest-serving head coach in the professional era, having been appointed in 2017.
Townsend, however, has been unable to improve on Scotland's record of never finishing higher than third in the Six Nations, with their most recent title achieved in the last edition of the Five Nations in 1999.
Scotland have lost two of their three matches this tournament, an opening win over Italy followed by a convincing loss to Ireland before their Calcutta Cup agony where the result would have been different had co-captain Finn Russell landed any conversion in a match where his side outscored England three tries to one.
Losing to Wales would raise fresh questions over whether Townsend, whose contract expires in April next year, remains the right man to lead Scotland into the World Cup.
"We were close at Twickenham, and that fuels the motivation to do better next game," said Townsend, who has recalled Darcy Graham in the only change to his starting team after the Edinburgh wing's sickening clash of heads with Russell during the Ireland match.
Scotland finish the championship away to France on March 15 and Townsend accepted travelling to Paris with a record of just one win from four Six Nations games "wouldn't be great".
"We've just got to focus on how we get the victory, how we build on what we did well against England," he said. "And we're going to not think of anything else outside of that."
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Players to watch
For Scotland: Scotland have recalled Darcy Graham in the only change to their starting side. The Edinburgh wing was concussed following a sickening clash of heads with his co-captain Finn Russell during an 18-32 defeat by champions Ireland at Murrayfield on February 9. Wing Duhan van der Merwe produced a man-of-the-match performance in his side's 15-16 defeat to England last time out and Gregor Townsend will be wanting a similar effort out wide on Saturday. In the pack, co-captain Rory Darge can be a menace at the breakdowns and with ball in hand, while Pierre Schoeman will be aiming to apply the necessary pressure at scrum time.
For Wales: Flyhalf Gareth Anscombe showed against Ireland that he can test defences and make key decisions in pressure situations. No.8 Taulupe Faletau has all the experience in the world and his ability to keep defenders busy will put a smile on his teammates' faces. Lock Will Rowlands will be another key figure in the physical exchanges, while fullback Blair Murray will want more ball in his hands to show what he is capable of on attack.
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Prediction
@rugby365com: Scotland by 10 points.
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (co-captain), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (co-captain), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Kyle Rowe.
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (captain), 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Joe Roberts.
Date: Saturday, March 8
Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16.45 (16.45 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be sunny and light winds with a temperature around 11°C
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
AFP & @rugby365com
