Pulses race in Wales coaches' box as poignant handshake tells its own story
"It was a tale of the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes," said Matt Sherratt in the wake of Wales 16th straight defeat.
That was certainly an accurate reflection of what was an entertaining Test match but an all-too- predictable result for Wales.
On the long walk in to Murrayfield there was an air of confidence from the locals but it was also mixed with doubt. "Have you got a chance today?" asked the gentleman handing out the press passes. "It looked like a really positive performance against Ireland." Over the course of a hopeless first 40 minutes Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw could be seen getting animated in the coaches' box at the ease with which Scotland carved their Celtic cousins apart.
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After Blair Murray had recklessly tried to keep the ball alive in his own 22 by flinging it in field only for Ben Thomas to knock on and gift-wrap a try for Scotland, Forshaw slammed the table in frustration. That just about summed up Wales' performance.
By this stage, a handful of vocal Welsh supporters in the press box had removed their daffodil hats – an unmistakable sign that pride was hard to hold onto when your team is being outclassed. While Wales were clearly battling hard, they struggled to match Scotland's physicality and attacking intensity.
Wales captain Jac Morgan has been his country's leading performer over the course of the championship and it was evident Scotland had the utmost respect for his quality. At one stage in the first half as soon as Morgan got in position over the ball one Welsh player yelled "yes, Jac boy!"
Andrea Piardi was equally impressed and awarded a penalty. Scotland were sensing the one thing which could potentially stunt their rhythm was Morgan's ability at the breakdown. Finn Russell ran over to protest the decision, claiming Morgan's hands had touched the floor first, but Piardi was having none of it and hit back "his first action was good".
A few minutes later Russell was back in Piardi's ear moaning about Morgan and Wales' actions at the breakdown. To be fair Morgan also had his own reasons to complain to the officials, accusing Scotland of "jumping across" at the lineout but Piardi was happy it was a "fair contest."
Wales were taking risks they wouldn't have dared in the Warren Gatland era, with one wild cross-kick from Ben Thomas in his own 22 and they tried to be a lot more ambitious in attack. Wales centre Thomas could regularly be heard saying "let's play, go, go go" as the visitors tried hard to find the edges.
Unfortunately, the attacking intent was undermined by Wales’ inability to win key collisions, leaving them to play catch-up for most of the match. In a rare moment of celebration for the Welsh coaches, Wales did manage a well-worked try, with Gareth Anscombe’s delicate chip leading to Blair Murray’s score which resulted in a fist pump from Sherratt.
There was also a battle going on at the scrum with Nicky Smith clearly unhappy at the way Scotland were scrummaging. As the players walked off the field and into the tunnel at half-time Smith was deep in conversation with Piardi.
Whatever Smith was trying to highlight had an effect because Wales' scrum was a lot better after the break. The first half had knocked the stuffing out of Wales and Scotland's 28-8 lead forced journalists to dust off the rugby record books to hastily research record margins of victories and defeats.
While Scotland may have taken their foot off the gas, Wales finished strongly to give some hope of a Welsh revival in the near future. Thomas sliced open the Scotland defence to score on 61 minutes and when replacement second-row Teddy Williams reached out to score Wales' third try, Adam Jones triumphantly put his arm in the air.
At this stage a vocal bunch of Wales fans turned to the coaching box and began fist pumping the coaches as if to give their seal of approval. When Taulupe Faletau touched down late on the Welsh coaching team were ecstatic but less so when the try was eventually ruled out. When Max Llewellyn crashed over late on the Wales coaches afforded themselves a wry smile even though it was yet another defeat.
As the final whistle blew, one fan extended a handshake to Adam Jones, and with a smile, simply said, “Thank you, sir.” It was a small but poignant moment, recognising the work being done behind the scenes to rebuild Welsh rugby.
Perhaps there are better days ahead but Wales' came crashing back down to earth at Murrayfield and there is certainly much work to be done.
