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

  • Steward and Van Poortvleit among England changes for Springboks Test Steward and Van Poortvleit among England changes for Springboks Test

    Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet will return for England on Saturday, with Steve Borthwick making four changes against South Africa.

    England were unchanged for their narrow defeats against New Zealand and Australia, but the Leicester pair, who were not included in the squad for either of those matches, come straight in to replace George Furbank and Ben Spencer.

    Ollie Sleightholme scored his first international tries in the defeat to Australia and is rewarded with a maiden Test start in place of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, while Sam Underhill comes in for Tom Curry, with both players missing due to head injuries.

    England have lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018.

    "We're excited to challenge ourselves against the world's top-ranked team and back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions," Borthwick said.

    "Test matches against South Africa are always thrilling contests, and I'm sure Saturday will be no exception."

    Meanwhile, South Africa have made 12 changes to their starting XV from their 32-15 win over Scotland on Sunday.

    Captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit return in the back row, while Cheslin Kobe is also named in the side.

    The world champions have got a more balanced look to their bench this time around though, with coach Rassie Erasmus opting not to name seven forwards among the replacements this time around.

    England squad in full:

    Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.

    Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Tom Roebuck.

    South Africa squad in full:

    Alphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian De Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Maine Libbok, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Wilco Loux, Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Jasper Wiese.

    Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am.

  • Australia 0-0 Saudi Arabia: Visitors denied last-gasp winner on Renard's return Australia 0-0 Saudi Arabia: Visitors denied last-gasp winner on Renard's return

    Saudi Arabia had a stoppage-time goal ruled out as Herve Renard's first game since returning as Saudi Arabia head coach ended in a 0-0 draw against Australia in World Cup qualifying.

    Sultan Al-Ghannam fired through a sea of bodies in the 94th minute of Thursday's Group C contest at AAMI Park, but the celebrations were cut short due to an offside infringement.

    Referee Ali Saeed Al Naqbi had earlier irked the home side by awarding a 12th-minute penalty for an Ahmed Al-Kassar challenge on Mitch Duke, which was then overturned.

    Replays showed the incident happened just outside the box, but Australia felt the Saudi keeper should have been sent off and not issued just a yellow card.

    Joe Gauci pulled off a fine double save later in the first half, albeit the offside flag later went up, but it was Australia who did more to win the game prior to the late drama.

    Brandon Borrello was played clean through on goal and opted to square to Riley McGree, who was unable to help the ball past covering defender Saud Abdulhamid in front of goal.

    Data Debrief: Another blank for both sides

    Australia entered this game without a goal against Saudi Arabia in 2,716 days - a run that will extend for a little while longer after this latest blank.

    The Socceroos have failed to score in three of their five third-round qualifying games, while Saudi Arabia have gone three in a row without netting.

    Tony Popovic's side will justifiably argue they did more to win the game, though, finishing with an expected goals value (xG) of 1.31 to Saudi Arabia's 0.05, but the teams remain locked on points in Group C.

  • Carsley focusing on positives after nine England drop-outs Carsley focusing on positives after nine England drop-outs

    Lee Carsley wants the England players at his disposal to "make the most of the situation" after nine others dropped out through injury.

    Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite on Wednesday became latest player to withdraw from the Nations League games with Greece and Republic of Ireland.

    Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill have also dropped out.

    England captain Harry Kane has admitted to being unhappy with the large number of withdrawals for interim boss Carsley's final two games in charge.

    However, Carsley attempted to put a positive spin on the situation when speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of facing Greece.

    "The focus all camp has been on the players that are here and it's important that we make the most of the situation," he told reporters.

    "With the amount of players that have pulled out, it gives other players an opportunity to be here.

    "We're really looking forward to the game and it's going to be a tough test for us and the focus has been purely on the players that are here.

    "With the amount of pull-outs we've had in the window, historically it's been like that in the past - November has always been a challenging window.

    "But the culture that Gareth [Southgate], Steve [Holland] and the rest of the lads created has made it a really positive environment and the players that are here thoroughly deserve to be here."

    Grealish was one of the first players to withdraw from the squad, having been called up despite not playing for club side Manchester City since 20 October.

    City boss Pep Guardiola questioned England's decision to include Grealish in their squad as he recovers from injury, but Carsley insisted he was justified in doing so.

    "The medical teams are constantly talking throughout squad selection, regardless of whether there are games or not," Carsley said.

    "We are constantly getting updates. The medical departments have brilliant communication between club and country.

    "It was always the case we were going to get the players who were potentially going to miss out in to the assessed. Jack was one of them. He was assessed and sent back and it was as clear as that."

    England trail Group B2 leaders Greece by three points with two rounds of fixtures to play, having lost the reverse fixture 2-1 at Wembley last month.

    The Three Lions have won on all four of their previous trips to face Greece, doing so by an aggregate score of 9-1 - only against Luxembourg (5/5) do they hold a better 100% win rate away from home.

    However, Greece are on the longest active winning run of any European nation in all competitions (five games) and could win six consecutive matches for the first time November 2013.

    Carsley, who will step aside for Thomas Tuchel after next week's home match with Republic of Ireland, said: "We're expecting a tough game against Greece and it’s one we have to win.

    "But we're really looking forward to it, we've had a good week's training, the players are in good spirits and it's going to be a sell out with a great atmosphere.

    "We've had to wait four or five weeks for this, but this next window is so important to us, not just tomorrow but Republic of Ireland as well, so it's a great challenge for us."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.