6N 2018: Wales v Scotland, 3 February

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WALES v SCOTLAND
3 February 2018
KO: 14:15 GMT
Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Live on [ITV, RTE, SC4, FR2, DMAX / BBC (H)]

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant 1: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant 2: Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)

A. Head to Head

122 Played 122
70 Won 49
3 Drawn 3
49 Lost 70
1,624 Points 1,263

B. Recent Form

9 March 2013
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
18–28 to Wales

15 March 2014
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
51–3 to Wales

15 February 2015
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
23–26 to Wales

13 February 2016
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
27–23 to Wales

25 February 2017
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
29–13 to Scotland

C. Teams

WALES 

Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); Josh Adams (Worcester), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Steff Evans (Scarlets); Rhys Patchell (Scarlets), Gareth Davies (Scarlets); Rob Evans (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Cory Hill (Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, capt), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester).

Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Bradley Davies (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Aled Davies (Scarlets), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Owen Watkin (Ospreys).

SCOTLAND

Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks); Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors); Gordon Reid (London Irish), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray, John Barclay (Scarlets, captain), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Cornell du Preez (Edinburgh).

Replacements: Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors), Murray McCallum (Edinburgh), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne), Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Maitland (Saracens).

The Oracle wrote:

Tramptastic wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Scotch tight 5 already creaking and we haven't started yet

I know it can be difficult to tell the difference between an alcoholic beverage and a national identity but there is a subtle difference;

Scotch = Alcoholic beverage

Scottish = National identity

I hope this clears this up for you

You've fallen for his trap, Tramptastic.  He's on the wind up.  

It was an obvious trap, i'm merely curious to what his response would be!

on a totally unrelated note I reckon the score at the weekend will be Wales 3 - 82 Scotland

A very evenly match game this and has the potential to be the match of the 6N.

One thing that Gatland is incredibly good at is his ability to set up Wales to counter other coaches tactics, he generally has Schmidt in his pocket so I would imagine he will have Wales set up to nullify Scotland's attacking intent.

eirebilly wrote:A very evenly match game this and has the potential to be the match of the 6N.

One thing that Gatland is incredibly good at is his ability to set up Wales to counter other coaches tactics, he generally has Schmidt in his pocket so I would imagine he will have Wales set up to nullify Scotland's attacking intent.

Forwards win the game, the backs decide by how much.

munkian wrote:

eirebilly wrote:A very evenly match game this and has the potential to be the match of the 6N.

One thing that Gatland is incredibly good at is his ability to set up Wales to counter other coaches tactics, he generally has Schmidt in his pocket so I would imagine he will have Wales set up to nullify Scotland's attacking intent.

Forwards win the game, the backs decide by how much.

What did Jiffy say to Martin Williams on Scrum V a few weeks ago ? Your job is head down, @rse up. Leave the silky stuff to us backs.

Wales team being announced at 12 today.

LordDowlais wrote:

munkian wrote:

eirebilly wrote:A very evenly match game this and has the potential to be the match of the 6N.

One thing that Gatland is incredibly good at is his ability to set up Wales to counter other coaches tactics, he generally has Schmidt in his pocket so I would imagine he will have Wales set up to nullify Scotland's attacking intent.

Forwards win the game, the backs decide by how much.

What did Jiffy say to Martin Williams on Scrum V a few weeks ago ?  Your job is head down, @rse up. Leave the silky stuff to us backs.

Martin Williams to Jiffy: "Your job is to keep your mouth shut, wait until you're given the ball by real rugby players who work for a living, then feck off to do your Strictly Come Dancing moves with it, you little runt."

Had a minor panic - SRU sent a tweet starting "News: Jonny Gray...." and I feared the worst!

Luckily it was just an interview!

You didn't read it all

"News:  Jonny Gray Interview.  Jonny Grey has admitted 'it's probably what you all feared the worst.... but I'm owth of the Six Nations.  Too much gaming in me hotel bedroom and I damaged both thumbs badly."

SecretFly wrote:You didn't read it all

"News:  Jonny Gray Interview.  Jonny Grey has admitted 'it's probably what you all feared the worst.... but I'm owth of the Six Nations.  Too much gaming in me hotel bedroom and I damaged both thumbs badly."

I'm just relieved it's gaming!

Tramptastic wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

Tramptastic wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Scotch tight 5 already creaking and we haven't started yet

I know it can be difficult to tell the difference between an alcoholic beverage and a national identity but there is a subtle difference;

Scotch = Alcoholic beverage

Scottish = National identity

I hope this clears this up for you

You've fallen for his trap, Tramptastic.  He's on the wind up.  

It was an obvious trap, i'm merely curious to what his response would be!

on a totally unrelated note I reckon the score at the weekend will be Wales 3 - 82 Scotland

Stop doing down our team.

Given we should be disregarding results over the past 12 months, but instead looking at the past 15 years, I can scientifically conclude that by analysing the following results:
Japan 23 - 8 Wales (June 2013)
Scotland 100 - 8 Japan (November 2004)

Scotland should be beating Wales by approximately 107 points

With Hogg scoring 1 and Russell 2, as in 2004...

Obviously outliers I know, and we all know from our experience with past interim coaches that statistics are like a bikini!

WALES TEAM TO PLAY SCOTLAND (SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3 KO 14.15)

Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (74 Caps)
Josh Adams (Worcester) (*UNCAPPED)
Scott Williams (Scarlets) (51 Caps)
Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (1 Cap)
Steff Evans (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (27 Caps)
Rob Evans (Scarlets) (20 Caps)
Ken Owens (Scarlets) (52 Caps)
Samson Lee (Scarlets) (34 Caps)
Cory Hill (Dragons) (10 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (113 Caps) CAPT
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (13 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (7 Caps)
Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (17 Caps)

Replacements:

Elliot Dee (Dragons) (2 Caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (26 Caps)
Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (57 Caps)
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (52 Caps)
Aled Davies (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (2 Caps)

So he's gone for a powerful pack with a Scarlets backline - probably a good mix.

Who is this Josh Adams bloke?

We'll never have a better chance I reckon......

RDW_Scotland wrote:WALES TEAM TO PLAY SCOTLAND (SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3 KO 14.15)

Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (74 Caps)
Josh Adams (Worcester) (*UNCAPPED)
Scott Williams (Scarlets) (51 Caps)
Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (1 Cap)
Steff Evans (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (27 Caps)
Rob Evans (Scarlets) (20 Caps)
Ken Owens (Scarlets) (52 Caps)
Samson Lee (Scarlets) (34 Caps)
Cory Hill (Dragons) (10 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (113 Caps) CAPT
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (13 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (7 Caps)
Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (17 Caps)

Replacements:

Elliot Dee (Dragons) (2 Caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (26 Caps)
Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (57 Caps)
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (52 Caps)
Aled Davies (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (2 Caps)

That is actually a very good looking team. I would be very nervous if I were a Scottish fan.

eirebilly wrote:

That is actually a very good looking team. I would be very nervous if I were a Scottish fan.

I am.

There, in theory, should be a good understanding in that team with the number of Scarlets players involved, and there is a fair bit of experience running through that side.

With this team I reckon Wales will give a good account of themselves, as long as Gatland use them correctly.

No Tipuric? A bit of a surprise that IMO. Think Scotland will have a chance to dominate the breakdown. A pretty inexperienced backline (starting and bench) in general, though plenty of the in-form Scarlets in there, so will be interesting to see how they get on.

Anyone know when Scotland's team is announced?

Tomorrow

So as predicted - Scarlets v Scotland. Scarlets now have to prove they can transfer to International standard, which allegedly is a whole other different kind of game - as their very own Warren Gatland has stated.

RDW_Scotland wrote:So he's gone for a powerful pack with a Scarlets backline - probably a good mix.

Who is this Josh Adams bloke?

Worcester winger. Been in great form.

SecretFly wrote:So as predicted - Scarlets v Scotland.  Scarlets now have to prove they can transfer to International standard, which allegedly is a whole other different kind of game - as their very own Warren Gatland has stated.

As a Scotland fan I'm happier with that team, I'd be far more concerned about the physical game but it looks like it's going to be harlem globe trotter rugby on both sides. The game will be a cracker.

Also our Captain will know that backline's defensive structure inside out. Barclay the traitor hahaha!

Fair bit of impact in certain positions off the Welsh bench. I’m sure people will do their usual slate Cory Hill. As good as Bradley has been for Ospreys though, Hill has been playing well enough for Wales when he has had his chance.

powerful tight 5 though, our front row will get a bit of a beasting. I just hope John Welsh doesn't get crocked otherwise we will be playing a bunch of kids at prop.

EWT Spoons wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

That is actually a very good looking team. I would be very nervous if I were a Scottish fan.

I am.

There, in theory, should be a good understanding in that team with the number of Scarlets players involved, and there is a fair bit of experience running through that side.

With this team I reckon Wales will give a good account of themselves, as long as Gatland use them correctly.

I've got mixed feelings about the team, and I've always been nervous about this game so it doesn't change that!

It is a real physical pack, albeit Corey Hill's name in the starting team doesn't strike me with much fear, although he is a solid player. The backrow will be a real battle.

The Scarlets backline will be dangerous but they are also inexperienced at this level - 4 of the players have 5 caps or less and the winger is making his debut. Can they reproduce their club form in the intensity of the 6N? That's the big question. Again I'll be much happier if Dunbar or Taylor are fit.

So all in all nothing changes IMO - there are a lot of unknowns here.

RiscaGame wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:So he's gone for a powerful pack with a Scarlets backline - probably a good mix.

Who is this Josh Adams bloke?

Worcester winger. Been in great form.

AP top try scorer this season, in a rubbish team. Be interesting to see how he goes...

Very good Wales team, that.

The Scarlet's front row is an impressive unit, and the backs have the benefit of playing together week in, week out.

I think Scotland can get some change out of attacking the wingers aerially, both are relatively small, and Finn is one of the best in the world at a crossfields. I hope we might be able to get some advantage at the breakdown, although that very much depends who we play at 8.

This game is too close to call for me, with the key question resting on if the Wales backline can bring its domestic and European form to the international stage, and if we can field Dunbar/Taylor at 12.

I've got that week-before-Six-Nations nervous-excited-cold-breathless feeling. God I love this time of year!

Further, it seems we won't have to wait until April for Glasgow to play Scarlets!

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

SecretFly wrote:So as predicted - Scarlets v Scotland.  Scarlets now have to prove they can transfer to International standard, which allegedly is a whole other different kind of game - as their very own Warren Gatland has stated.

As a Scotland fan I'm happier with that team, I'd be far more concerned about the physical game but it looks like it's going to be harlem globe trotter rugby on both sides. The game will be a cracker.

Also our Captain will know that backline's defensive structure inside out. Barclay the traitor hahaha!

So, it looks like it'll be the Scarlets  v the Warriors backs with a few fat boys thrown in to make up the numbers (and provide random violence, of course).

Could be a dress rehearsal for the Pro14 final, then.

p.s. Not only has Tattie Scones sourced a ticket for me  but Mrs Pip went above and beyond by agreeing to let me go and then saying,

"You can't drive there and back in one day....Book a b&b and have a beer or two after the game."
Have I died and gone to heaven?

My guess

1) Bhatti
2) Rambo
3) Angela
4) Little Jonny
5)Gilchrist (hard on Toolis but I think we'll need his grunt more than Toolis' athleticism)
6)Batman
7) Watson
8) The Scarlets' Captain
9) Aldi Price
10) Not Good Enough For The Lions
11) Maitland
12) Taylor/Dunbar (whichever is fit Horne to bench, covering 10/12)
13) Jones The Try (as they say in the valleys)
14) Lions Top Try Scorer But Not Good Enough For The Tests
15) Hogg

16)Shrek
17) Lawson (biggest resurrection since Lazarus...ooh er missus)
18) McCallum
19) Toolis
20) CDP
21) Frodo
22)Horne (Grigg if Taylor and Dunbar are both Friar Tucked)
23) McGuigan (I would have had Kinghorn in the 23 as a counter attacker but with the Scarlets' backs even Gatland won't insist on Warrenball)

Should be some game.

Decent team Jimbo, I’d go for something similar except, I’d swap Gilco and Toolis. Scotland get a lot of tries from lineouts, and against AWJ we’ll need our top lineout stealer (is that a term?), Toolis is different class at the lineout (he’ll have a total mare now I’ve said that).

Also I think generally Barclay has been playing 6 for Scotland rather than 8 (could be wrong) so would swap Wilson and Barcs around.

Other than that, probably the same team

This is the sort of game you need CDP or Denton. Wilson is too flimsy. We need some serious ball carrying power in our backrow

That team will be there or thereabouts. Maybe some questions about Wilson at no.8, is he fit enough? I would probably go with Dents or CDP to start, Wilson to bench.

I would put Kinghorn on the bench as well. He is good enough to play now and has the X factor.

I think we'll see Bhattie on the bench - that will combine his inexperience with an experienced tighthead, then when Shrek comes on he will help an inexperienced tighthead.

Is that............................  I hate to bring it up, folks, and sorry in advance........................... but is that there roof closed or opened?

I think that Welsh team is designed to do two things.... get the players with best form onto the field (stand up Scarlets and do your duty)...but also to use the Scarlet kind of game to get that crowd revved and into an unstoppable circus mood.

I think Gatland will be conscious of the age old Welsh problem during his tenure - slow starts to the Championship.  He'll know Welsh people are now wanting to see more tricks and feints from their National team... and he knows too that he's going to have to show pomp and splendour at coaching such a game if he wants a true crack at coaching his very own ABs

I do think it could prove a long day for Scotland if that crowd are caught up in some early running results from Wales - and whatever they might say in public, Townsend knows that it'll be tough to reel back in a confident, strutting Wales if they get a head start and that mad crowd behind them.

It promises sparkle - the game - but just a warning; some of these big sparkle games have turned out to be dour stuff indeed or surprising one-way shows.

I think Sparkle will happen but if it happens with both sides then I still think Wales at home will have those last drives in the game to get the result they want. They are absolute basterdes to shake off

I think Shrek is reid, so looks to me like Bhatti starts and reid on the bench.

I've got questions on Wilson too, but Toonie loves him, so likely to start. My pref would be CDP, but got to be realistic I guess

For me:

1 - Bhatti
2 - McInally
3 - Welsh
4 - Toolis
5 - Gray
6 - Barclay
7 - Watson
8 - Denton
9 - Price
10 - Russell
11 - Kinghorn
12 - Dunbar ( Taylor / Horne )
13 - Jones
14 - Seymour
15 - Hogg

16 - Lawson
17 - Reid
18 - McCallum
19 - Gilchrist
20 - Wilson
21 - Laidlaw
22 - Horne
23 - Taylor / McGuigan / Maitland

Gatland doesn't like mixing it up does he.

Riding the on the coat tails of other peoples success once again.

If only we could merge the workrate, breakdown ability and soft hands of Wilson, with the physicality of Denton. 8 is the glaring weakness in our team, neither CDP, Wilson or Denton are in the class of their opponents faced during the 6n.

Wilson starts for me, if fit. We attack by building phases and securing quick ball via aggressive rucking - not qualities you are going to get from Denton and to a lesser extent CDP.

TightHEAD wrote:Gatland doesn't like mixing it up does he.

Riding the on the coat tails of other peoples success once again.

Not sure how you get that? Who's coat tails was he riding on when he coached two very successful Lions tours?

Is it him alone as a coach that only picks the form players for International rugby? Who else would he have chosen, the first 15 from Borth?

eirebilly wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:Gatland doesn't like mixing it up does he.

Riding the on the coat tails of other peoples success once again.

Not sure how you get that? Who's coat tails was he riding on when he coached two very successful Lions tours?

Is it him alone as a coach that only picks the form players for International rugby? Who else would he have chosen, the first 15 from Borth?

Hmm. I don't know who else he'd have picked but I do hope he cops onto himself as coach and picks those boys for us

eirebilly wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:Gatland doesn't like mixing it up does he.

Riding the on the coat tails of other peoples success once again.

Not sure how you get that? Who's coat tails was he riding on when he coached two very successful Lions tours?

Is it him alone as a coach that only picks the form players for International rugby? Who else would he have chosen, the first 15 from Borth?

If Wilson is fit I expect he'll start. I know some fans don't rate him that highly, but Toonie clearly does (as does Renzo incidentally). Much as I like Kinghorn, I'd be surprised if anyone other than Maitland and Seymour started on the wings. Kinghorn may make the bench though, Toonie mentioned he was seen as covering all the back-three positions when he picked the squad. I reckon we'll see:
Bhatti McInally Welsh
J. Gray Gilchrist
Barclay Watson Wilson
Price Russell
Dunbar Jones
Seymour Maitland Hogg
with a bench of:
Reid Lawson McCallum Toolis CDP Laidlaw Horne Kinghorn/McGuigan/Taylor

EST wrote:If only we could merge the workrate, breakdown ability and soft hands of Wilson, with the physicality of Denton.  8 is the glaring weakness in our team, neither CDP, Wilson or Denton are in the class of their opponents faced during the 6n.

Wilson starts for me, if fit.  We attack by building phases and securing quick ball via aggressive rucking - not qualities you are going to get from Denton and to a lesser extent CDP.

When did he last play though?

The Welsh are going to come out and try physically intimidate us up front, maybe Denton's extra bulk for the first hour could help.

Chuffed to bits for Patchell, and for him being in the side, he has earn't this cap. I was hoping he would be in before Biggar or Priestland were injured. He is a very big and fast outside half. Lets hope he thrives.

This game should be exciting.

I still give Wales the edge but here's hoping for an upset.

Scotland just need to translate last year's form to this year and then we'll have a good chance of winning, it's still very 50/50, if it was at Murrayfield I think my predictions would be very different.

Sticking with my original predictions but with youngsters in the Wales squad at home it's hard to tell what way it'll go.

I'm happy with the Wales team. I think that while he's obviously picked some inexperienced players he's also picked mostly on form (of those actually available, Moriaty aside as he's only just back). So I'm glad he wasn't tempted to chuck North or Roberts in. 

Still think that Scotland might have a little too much but hoping that home advantage might count for a score or two.

Whether out of blind optimism, arrogance, wummery or just cos I can I'm going to stick to my prediction of Wales 24 - 19 Scotland. Wales to come out all guns blazing and go a score or two up. Scotland to have a word with themselves and score some long range crackers (one of which will be contender for try of the tournament) and take the lead. Wales to come back and take the lead and hold out for a very nervy finish. Probably a ref controversy in there somewhere too.

Or, I could be wrong!

reallybored wrote:

EST wrote:If only we could merge the workrate, breakdown ability and soft hands of Wilson, with the physicality of Denton.  8 is the glaring weakness in our team, neither CDP, Wilson or Denton are in the class of their opponents faced during the 6n.

Wilson starts for me, if fit.  We attack by building phases and securing quick ball via aggressive rucking - not qualities you are going to get from Denton and to a lesser extent CDP.

When did he last play though?

The Welsh are going to come out and try physically intimidate us up front, maybe Denton's extra bulk for the first hour could help.

True, it is a concern. Whoever we pick at 8, we are going to lack in some aspect, as we don't have an all round player like Faletau or Parisse. I wouldn't be adverse to starting Denton, but he needs to stay in games, and not just offer one big carry and then go missing for 5mins. The Toonie game plan needs everybody working hard to support ball carriers at ruck time, that's my biggest concern with Denton.

The Oracle wrote:I'm happy with the Wales team. I think that while he's obviously picked some inexperienced players he's also picked mostly on form (of those actually available Moriaty aside as he's only just back). So I'm glad he wasn't tempted to chuck North or Roberts in. 

Still think that Scotland might have a little too much but hoping that home advantage might count for a score or two.

Whether out of blind optimism, arrogance, wummery or just cos I can I'm going to stick to my prediction of Wales 24 - 19 Scotland. Wales to come out all guns blazing and go a score or two up. Scotland to have a word with themselves and score some long range crackers (one of which will be contender for try of the tournament) and take the lead. Wales to come back and take the lead and hold out for a very nervy finish. Probably a ref controversy in there somewhere too.

Or, I could be wrong!

I would think that scoreline is fair, it really depends on whether your young guys take the opportunity to perform.

If the breakdown is policed I can see us getting into a bit of trouble, as we're still not great at subtlety in that area, not like NZ or Ireland but equally if we get a few big hits on Patchell and knock his confidence, I think we could see a reverse of that scoreline.

This is a game Scotland can't afford to chase, we don't have that luxury away from home.

NeilyBroon wrote:

The Oracle wrote:I'm happy with the Wales team. I think that while he's obviously picked some inexperienced players he's also picked mostly on form (of those actually available Moriaty aside as he's only just back). So I'm glad he wasn't tempted to chuck North or Roberts in. 

Still think that Scotland might have a little too much but hoping that home advantage might count for a score or two.

Whether out of blind optimism, arrogance, wummery or just cos I can I'm going to stick to my prediction of Wales 24 - 19 Scotland. Wales to come out all guns blazing and go a score or two up. Scotland to have a word with themselves and score some long range crackers (one of which will be contender for try of the tournament) and take the lead. Wales to come back and take the lead and hold out for a very nervy finish. Probably a ref controversy in there somewhere too.

Or, I could be wrong!

I would think that scoreline is fair, it really depends on whether your young guys take the opportunity to perform.

If the breakdown is policed I can see us getting into a bit of trouble, as we're still not great at subtlety in that area, not like NZ or Ireland but equally if we get a few big hits on Patchell and knock his confidence, I think we could see a reverse of that scoreline.

This is a game Scotland can't afford to chase, we don't have that luxury away from home.

I can see our backrow targeting Russell to be honest, a few rib ticklers from Mortiarty will certainly knock his confidence.

Personally I'm relying on Hogg doing something stupid if we get ahead.

munkian wrote:

NeilyBroon wrote:

The Oracle wrote:I'm happy with the Wales team. I think that while he's obviously picked some inexperienced players he's also picked mostly on form (of those actually available Moriaty aside as he's only just back). So I'm glad he wasn't tempted to chuck North or Roberts in. 

Still think that Scotland might have a little too much but hoping that home advantage might count for a score or two.

Whether out of blind optimism, arrogance, wummery or just cos I can I'm going to stick to my prediction of Wales 24 - 19 Scotland. Wales to come out all guns blazing and go a score or two up. Scotland to have a word with themselves and score some long range crackers (one of which will be contender for try of the tournament) and take the lead. Wales to come back and take the lead and hold out for a very nervy finish. Probably a ref controversy in there somewhere too.

Or, I could be wrong!

I would think that scoreline is fair, it really depends on whether your young guys take the opportunity to perform.

If the breakdown is policed I can see us getting into a bit of trouble, as we're still not great at subtlety in that area, not like NZ or Ireland but equally if we get a few big hits on Patchell and knock his confidence, I think we could see a reverse of that scoreline.

This is a game Scotland can't afford to chase, we don't have that luxury away from home.

I can see our backrow targeting Russell to be honest, a few rib ticklers from Mortiarty will certainly knock his confidence.

Personally I'm relying on Hogg doing something stupid if we get ahead.

Provided we get quick enough ball hopefully they won't get that chance! Hogg has matured a lot and doesn't tend to do stupid things so much anymore, though his dash for glory against New Zealand without recycling made me weep.

I think there's an interesting mix of players in this Welsh team, it's probably the most experimental side I've seen from Gatland but is well balanced in terms of experience and youth despite the injuries to regular starters.

I think my train of thought is

A) Can the Scarlets success transfer and/or influence and improve the style of play in this Welsh team from the Autumn?

B) Can this Welsh back row, that was dismantled in the 2nd half in the same fixture last year, prevent the same thing happening this time around and match or insert their own dominance? Possibly.

C) Can the Welsh pack dominate the weakened Scottish front row and disrupt Scotland's lineout? Possibly.

D) Will the Welsh backline be able to handle the influence of Hogg who was used very effectively in the Autumn as an additional fly half/second five-eighth? I'm not so sure.

Welsh Spine vs Scotland Spine

2) Ken Owens vs MacInally
8) Moriarty vs ? (Wilson, Denton, CDP, Bradbury)
9) Davies vs Price
10) Patchell vs Russell
15) Halfpenny vs Hogg

I think Townsend has had time to build and craft his ideas and Mike Blair mentioned this week how well the players have adapted in camp from coming to their clubs into the Scottish setup. There is a clear and well thought out plan in the Scottish camp where as I feel Gatland is carefully pulling together new ideas and building on the Autumn selections. The recent Welsh sides that have tasted success were built on a strong defence, but I think there are cracks in the armour here.

Hard to call this but I think despite the home advantage, Scotland have to and should win this match with a bit to spare, which going by recent history away to Wales is a big call to make. Another Scottish loss wouldn't surprise me although I would be very disappointed. Either way, let's just hope it's a great game devoid of red cards and foul play. expecting a fast start with lots of talking points at the conclusion of the match.

Can't wait for this one.

Gatland:

"We know what a quality player Ross [Moriarty] is, it's great he is back and available and we are looking forward to seeing his explosive ball-carrying on Saturday.

Explosive ball carrying??? This is the guy that makes around 5m a game playing 8. Off all of the things to compliment Moriarty on, explosive ball carrying wouldn't be one.