Finn Russell’s moment of genius sparks Scotland comeback win against Wales

Scotland exhibited so much in their revival and, as well as Russell and Turner, prevailed thanks to tries from wings Kyle Steyn and Graham. “We dug deep and did what we needed to do to win,” said Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu. “Full credit to Wales. They came out with fight and we had to find a way to win ugly.

“I said to the boys at half-time we would need to find a little bit in ourselves to come away with the victory. Several of the boys really held their hands up. It was not as sharp a performance as last week [against England], but that was down to Wales’s performance.”

This was an enthralling game from which both teams would have taken huge positives. For Scotland, their second-half fightback means that they are within one Six Nations match of winning their first Triple Crown in more than three decades.

And for Wales, despite the agony of not being able to hang on to a commanding 15-point lead with 30 minutes to go, this was the resurrection of competitive spirit.

So much for Townsend’s men traditionally being flakes after beating England. Inspired by their fly-half maestro, Russell, they produced a revival that was characterised by guts and adventure.

Wales had the Scots on the ropes and were ahead with just seven minutes to go and looking for their first victory in the Six Nations since 2023. But replacement hooker Turner crashed over and for just the second time in 24 years, the Tartan Army left the Principality Stadium savouring a Cardiff victory.

Presuming that Wales do not win in Dublin in two weeks’ time then the last day promises a delicious shootout with Ireland for Triple Crown honours. In contrast, Wales will feel that a third wooden spoon in succession may not be so inevitable.

“I think the Welsh deserve so much credit,” Tuipulotu said. “I don’t want to discredit their performance or how passionate they were. I thought Steve would get them up for this. But I did think they might die off a lot sooner than they did. I felt the Principality was bouncing today. Credit to them for putting in a performance that they needed.”