Six Nations: More to come from Scotland, pledges captain Ritchie

By Sports Desk February 11, 2023

Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie said "we have got a lot more in us" after Gregor Townsend's team routed Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield.

Wales were no match for their hosts in Edinburgh on Saturday, as Scotland cruised to a bonus-point win that sees them join Ireland at the top of the Six Nations standings.

George Turner went over in the first half but Ken Owens crossed for Wales, who should have gone into the interval on the back of a second try, only for Rio Dyer to squander a golden opportunity.

Scotland made Wales pay – Finn Russell combining twice with Kyle Steyn before Blair Kinghorn and Matt Fagerson drove through late on.

Their winning margin of 28 points marks Scotland's biggest victory over Wales in Test rugby, with the only other time they have beaten them by more than 20 points coming back in 1924.

Next up is a trip to reigning champions France on February 26, and Ritchie is hoping for more from his side at the Stade de France.

"It wasn't perfect but we did enough to get the job done," he told BBC Sport.

"We have belief that if we play to our best we can beat any team. It wasn't perfect today, we've got a lot more in us. We're looking to improve when we go to Paris, definitely."

Saturday's match marked the first Test at Murrayfield since the death of Doddie Weir, who passed away in November.

Scotland were presented the Doddie Weir Cup for their victory, and Ritchie said: "We're delighted and I'm glad to be holding Doddie's trophy.

"The first game here without him, we miss him so much, I'm just glad we have our hands on this. We're so delighted, I'm a bit all over the place at the moment – a bit emotional. I'm glad I could do this for [Weir's widow] Kathy and the boys."

Russell was the star of the show for Scotland, teeing up three of their tries and kicking 10 points.

He has now provided 10 try assists in nine Test matches for Scotland since the start of 2022, more than any other player from a Tier One nation in that period.

"I was just doing my job – making other boys look good," Russell joked after becoming the first Scotland player to register a hat-trick of assists in a Six Nations game.

"It showed the continuity in the squad. The boys were all on the same page and it allowed us to attack how we did today."

Scotland have won back-to-back games to start a Six Nations campaign for the first time, with the last time they had managed to triumph in their opening two games of the Championship coming in 1996, when it was the Five Nations.

Russell added: "Great game, great result for us. We knew we'd struggled before after the first games to back it up, and I think the boys put in a good performance today, which was great to have back here at Murrayfield."

Wales have lost their opening two games, conceding at least four tries in each match. It is the first time they have done so in back-to-back Six Nations Tests in the same year.

"When you're winning and you have that momentum, it's hard to lose. The flip side to that is the same," said captain Owens, with Wales having won just twice in their last 10 Tests.

"We've got to work hard next week. There's plenty of experience but plenty of youngsters coming through. There's new coaching staff, new players coming in, we just need to work hard.

"Turn the corner hopefully, against England, we've got to grind out a win, find a win and build that momentum. There are positives there. People are going to say there isn't but we believe in what we're trying to achieve, we work hard and try to deliver."

Related items

  • Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine

    Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.

    Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.

    Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.

    Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.

    Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.

    Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.

    Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona

    Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.

    The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.

  • Real Madrid 5-0 Alaves: Vinicius double continues LaLiga champions party Real Madrid 5-0 Alaves: Vinicius double continues LaLiga champions party

    Vinicius Junior scored twice as newly-crowned LaLiga champions Real Madrid thrashed visitors Alaves 5-0 on Tuesday, after the hosts had paraded the trophy in front of the home fans before the game.

    Jude Bellingham and Vinicius scored a goal each inside 30 minutes before Federico Valverde put Los Blancos 3-0 up at the break, unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time.

    Vinicius added one more in the 70th minute from a precise cross by Bellingham that the Brazilian fired into the top corner, and substitute Arda Guler completed the scoring with a low finish.

    Carlo Ancelotti's side travel to Villarreal on Sunday before hosting Real Betis on May 25 ahead of their Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.

    Having thrashed Granada 4-0 on Saturday and Cadiz 3-0, either side of their Champions League semi-final victory over Bayern, Real are firing on all fronts heading into the Wembley Stadium showpiece.

    Meanwhile, Alavez remain 11th in the table heading into their next game against Getafe at home on Saturday.

    Data Debrief: Madrid capitalise on opportunities

    Madrid found the back of the net five times from just 2.47 expected goals (xG), suggesting Los Blancos' finishing quality was far greater than Alaves' 1.28 xG.

    Ancelotti's side have now kept 20 clean sheets in 36 LaLiga games this campaign, their most in a single season in the competition's history (19 in the 1986-87, 1987-88 and 2019-20 seasons).

  • Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome

    Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.

    The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

    Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.

    Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.

    Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on

    No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.

    Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.