Scotland take on Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday in Round 2 of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
What they said this week
Ben White said: “Just to be thrown in at the deep end [last Saturday] was a good thing. You just go on and do your job.
“It is an absolute honour to play for Scotland so I didn’t have to think about it at all. To play for Scotland is a dream come true and it has been an incredible experience for me.
“We need to keep delivering as a team. Our focus now is to back it up with another win at the weekend.
“As a playing group it’s very tight-knit. Everyone has been incredibly friendly and helpful to me.”
Gregor Townsend said: “We only play five games so you’ve got to make sure you take your opportunities. Last week has set us up for an even bigger game this weekend in terms of where we could finish in the championship, but last week’s result would disappear all the positive feelings if we don’t get as result this weekend.
“Grant Gilchrist has been really consistent. He missed a couple of seasons with injury, he was destined to be Scotland captain a number of years ago and he is certainly one of our leaders and is Vice Captain this weekend. He is very well respected within the group and puts his body on the line.
“It’s a credit to him that he will join a select group of players who have got 50 appearances for their country.”
The teams
Key stats
- The last three Guinness Six Nations matches between Wales and Scotland have been decided by a margin of seven points or fewer, as often as had occurred in the 16 previous matches between the sides combined; four of the last six clashes in the Championship have seen the side losing at half time come back to win the match.
- Scotland come into this fixture with Wales on the back of their longest away winning streak in the Guinness Six Nations, having won four away games on the bounce in a run that started with a 17-0 victory over Italy during the 2020 campaign; the last time they won more away games in the Five or Six Nations was a five game run from 1925 to 1927.
- Scotland scored on average 3.4 points per entry into the opposition 22 against England, the most of any team last weekend in the Guinness Six Nations, despite making only five entries.
- Darcy Graham beat six defenders last weekend against England, the most of any player during the opening round of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations; only once before has he beaten more in a match for Scotland, nine against Russia at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
- Duhan van der Merwe gained 86 metres from seven carries against England in the first round, his average gain of12.3 metres per carry was the best among all players on the opening weekend of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
Where to watch and follow the game
Join us in the Scottish Rugby Match Centre on Saturday for match stats and live text commentary from Cardiff.
As always we’ll bring you the big moments as they happen, along with the latest from inside the Scotland camp.
Wales v Scotland kicks off at 2.15pm GMT and you can watch the game live on BBC One in the UK.
