Wales’ impressive 18-11 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday leaves them one win away from achieving a Grand Slam, although England and Ireland are still in with a shot at glory ahead of this weekend’s final round.
Warren Gatland’s side’s patience on attack and discipline on defence was the difference in the end, as first-half tries through Josh Adams and Jonathan Davies guided them home.
Scotland huffed and puffed, and to their credit did score through Darcy Graham, but simply could not blow away the Welsh defence to any telling degree. Certainly, the injured duo of Stuart Hogg and Huw Jones were sorely missed as their side slumped to a third defeat this campaign.
Perhaps the defining factors of the Test match were Davies’ score after Wales went through as many as 23 phases, and then Scotland’s inability to finish off a late chance following 18 attacking phases. The visitors had the mental edge and fully capitalized on it.
The result means that a Welsh win over the Irish on Saturday will see them claim a Grand Slam. However, an English loss against Scotland and an Ireland win will mean that the defending champions come away with the spoils.
Joe Schmidt’s charges produced a solid all-round display in their 26-14 win over France. Two late consolation tries for the French meant that the final score didn’t accurately portray the extent to which Le Bleu were dominated throughout the contest.
Ireland will take heart out of Sunday’s performance, but will realize that a lot needs to go their way if they are to miraculously come away with a second title in as many years. Even if the men in green do get the job done in Cardiff, England will claim the title if they beat Scotland at Twickenham after their comprehensive 57-14 defeat of Italy on the weekend.
Following Scotland’s dramatic 25-13 Calcutta Cup win last year, one would feel that the English have plenty to prove this time round. Eddie Jones’ men will have their sights firmly set on achieving a fourth win of the season and a slip-up remains unlikely.
Still though, as the 2019 edition of the Six Nations draws to a close, there is little doubt that Wales sit firmly in control.
