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Wales win in Scotland to continue impressive autumn campaign

Inpho
Scotland succumbed to defeat in their first autumn international of the season as a polished Wales performance delivered a 17-3 triumph at Scotstoun.

Scotland succumbed to defeat in their first autumn international of the season as a polished Wales performance delivered a 17-3 triumph at Scotstoun.

Bethan Lewis and Lisa Neumann scores combined with a penalty try awarded at the end of the first half proved too much for the hosts to handle, with their late rallying efforts failing to produce a turnaround.

The result comes as a blow to Philip Doyle’s side as they begin their autumn campaign ahead of next year’s Guinness Six Nations, but for the Welsh it proved another dominant display of their credentials following last weekend’s 15-13 triumph in Ireland.

It was the visitors who started the game the brighter of the two sides, moving the ball slickly through their backline but encountering a defiant Scotland defence.

But their early pressure paid dividends on just 12 minutes, when a rapidly advancing maul following a well-taken line-out led to back-rower Lewis dotting down.

And Rowland Phillips’ side continued to dominate the early exchanges, enjoying considerable territory and scoring again on 22 minutes.

A clever grubber kick from Lauren Smyth proved decisive in penetrating the Scottish backline, with Neumann latching onto it in the corner to go over from close range.

The hosts were soon forced into an early change as Rachel McLachlan was introduced to replace the injured Jodie Rettie, and that change looked to give the Scots’ some much-needed momentum as they began to mount more of a threat going forwards.

And that improvement led to points on 33 minutes, when inside centre Helen Nelson cooly slotted a penalty to reduce Scotland’s arrears.

Scotland second row Emma Wassell was then shown a yellow card on the stroke of half-time for taking a side entry into a maul, with the home side camped in front of their try-line and defending resiliently to stay in the contest.

And Wales went into the break with a healthy 17-3 lead, in cruise control for much of the game and appearing in ruthless spirits in Scottish territory.

It was a largely cagey second period, as the Wales defence set about thwarting any Scotland attempts to get back in the game as they tackled aggressively to maintain their advantage.

A Jenny Maxwell burst and a penetrative Chloe Rollie run proved the only real second-half resistance the hosts could muster, as they struggled to find a breakthrough past a polished Wales performance.

And it was the visitors who held on in Glasgow, extending their impressive start to their autumn campaign and gaining valuable momentum heading into their games against Crayshaw and Barbarians in the next two weeks.

What they said:

Wales skills coach Geraint Lewis said: “I’m very pleased with the win – it’s another step forward for us after a good victory last week against Ireland.

“I thought we got better again with our performance this week and elements of our play were very good, but also we’ve got lots top build on.

“I thought the forwards and backs interplayed quite well today, and now it’s just about trying to get more consistency going forward in our play.”