| Venue: Principality Stadium Date: Saturday, 12 Februar Kick-off:14:15 GMT |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer or online at 16:00 GMT. You can also listen to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. Text commentary is available on BBC Sport website, app. |
Scotland and Wales will meet in Round 2 of the Six Nations Championships on Saturday. Both sides are determined to improve but for very different reasons.
Scotland enjoyed a triumphant start They beat England at Murrayfield despite having to fight a strong last quarter.
Gregor Townsend’s buoyant team will now try to win their first two Six Nations games.
Wales were well beaten by IrelandDublin and must improve rapidly to preserve their title defense.
As the eight British and Irish Lions continue to be absent, it is evident that the reigning champions lack the resources they need to succeed.
Captain Biggar will be making his 100th Test match appearance in Wales for the British and Irish Lions. This makes him the ninth Welshman that has achieved this feat.
Centre Jonathan Davies, a member of the replacements’ bench, will also be three figures.
The Principality Stadium crowd, which is 74,000 strong, will do everything they can to ensure that Wales does not lose their first two Six Nations games since 2007.
News from Wales vs Scotland
Wayne Pivac, Wales’ head coach, has made Jac Morgan, Ospreys flanker for Ellis Jenkins his debut and also brought Ross Moriarty back row into the starting XV.
Josh Adams is out with a tight calf. Ospreys centre Owen Watkin will start at 13 while Alex Cuthbert, club team-mate, makes his first Six Nations appearance since 2005. Johnny McNicholl will be on the wing.
Scotland made five changes to their Calcutta Cup winning team, Jamie Ritchie, an injured flanker, was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
Sam Skinner, Exeter’s forward, is in the back row. WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman, both from Edinburgh, are starting alongside Stuart McInally, the hooker.
Sione Tuipulotu, Glasgow’s Six Nations representative, makes his debut at the centre instead of Sam Johnson. Rory Darge flanker could make his Scotland debut on the bench. Cameron Redpath from Bath has also been included after his return to fitness.
Notes for commentators
Eddie Butler: “The fine line between discipline & fury.
“Wales were a little cautious in Dublin but Ireland took full advantage. Scotland will begin in Cardiff, having defeated England. They have mixed their fire with their cool as well as the Irish.
“But Wales will respond to their first-round passiveness. For instance, Ross Moriarty’s return guarantees some forthrightness, possibly at the cost of a penalty.
“That elusive old balance between passion and control… Wales to reach a higher temperature and sneak home in a classic: Wales 38 Scotland 34.”
View from both camps
Wayne Pivac, Wales’ head coach: “We think Ross Moriarty is the right man to start, now that he has had more training time and game time.
“Jac has really impressed us during training. He has worked extremely hard, gives us lots of physicality, and is very skilled with the ball.
“The players are very critical about themselves and want to show that they’re a better team than they were last week. We owe ourselves and the public a better performance.
Gregor Townsend, Scotland’s head coach: “We should be better prepared to face the challenge of going into Cardiff. Since we haven’t been there in four years, a lot has occurred to this team.
“We’ve had some experience against some top sides both at home as well as away and have shown resilience in those matches. Although we haven’t won them all, I think the experiences at Twickenham last year and in Paris last summer set us up for this week’s great challenge in a packed stadium at one the most prestigious venues in the world.
Line-ups
Wales: L. Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Rees-Zammit; Biggar (capt), T. Williams; W. Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Basham, Morgan, Moriarty
Replacements: Lake, G. Thomas. Lewis, S. Davies. Wainwright. G. Davies. Sheedy.
Scotland: Hogg (capt); Graham, Harris, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; Russell, Price; Schoeman, McInally, Nel, Gray, Gilchrist, Skinner, Watson, M. Fagerson
Replacements: Turner, Sutherland. Z. Fagerson. Bradbury. Darge. White. Kinghorn. Redpath.
Match facts
Head-to-head
- Only a second away was Wales’ win in Llanelli, 2020 for Scotland.
- Since 2002, however, they have not been able to beat Wales in Cardiff’s championship.
- The three Six Nations meetings that have occurred in the past three years were decided by seven points or less.
Wales
- Wales could lose its opening two Six Nations games for the first-time since 2007, when they were defeated both by Ireland in week one, and Scotland in week 2.
- Wales has won nine of the last eleven home Six Nations matches, with defeats against France and Scotland coming in 2020.
- Wales has conceded an average 31.4 points per match since the start of the 2021 fall series and scored an average 21.6.
Scotland
- For the first time since 1927, Scotland could win five consecutive away matches in the Six Nations. Their current run is four wins, their best in the Six Nations era. They started in 2020 with a victory of 17-0 in Italy.
- They could win their opening fixtures for the first time at the Six Nations.
- Scotland have won six out of seven of their last seven Tests. South Africa was the only loser.
Match officials
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia).
Touch judges Wayne Barnes (England) & Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)