2021 Six Nations Championship – Scotland vs Wales Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Scotland vs Wales taking place? Saturday 13th February, 2021 – 16:45
Where is Scotland vs Wales taking place? Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Where can I get tickets for Scotland vs Wales? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is Scotland vs Wales on? BBC
Where can I stream Scotland vs Wales? Scotland vs Wales can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
THE TEAM NEWS
SCOTLAND
- Scotland arrived at Twickenham with a Calcutta Cup game-plan and executed it masterfully to shock the reigning champions 6-11, winning their first match away to England since the 80s.
- Head coach Gregor Townsend will make three injury-enforced changes as Jamie Ritchie, Cameron Redpath and Sean Maitland all drop out of the squad, with Redpath particularly impressive on debut against England.
- Redpath’s injury will keep him out for the next few weeks in a huge blow for the Scots but Blade Thomson, James Lang and Darcy Graham come in to cover for the absentees.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 WP Nel, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Huw Jones
WALES
- Wales grabbed the win of head coach Wayne Pivac’s reign on Sunday in a 21-16 home victory against visiting Ireland, with a debut SIx Nations try for 20-year-old Louis Rees-Zammit.
- Dan Lydiate was ruled out for the season earlier this week and his natural replacement, Josh McLeod, is also out giving Aaron Wainwright a chance to grab a consistent first-team place.
- Head coach Pivac can select Liam WIlliams again after a ban and he is likely to come into the starting line-up alongside Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin for the injured George North and Johnny WIlliams.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 James Botham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Willis Halaholo
THE PREDICTION
Both Scotland and Wales were expected to lose last weekend but meet at Murrayfield here with four points each after impressive performances against England and Ireland, respectively. As a result this match already holds huge significance and could make or break a surprise challenge for the title for either side. It should be an engrossing watch on Saturday evening and the score is likely to come close to, if not exceed, the 40 points mark. Home advantage is lessened without their fans but Scotland’s performance against England last week has in some ways been a long time coming with this talented squad. They can cover -5 at Murrayfield but the lead could change hands several times.
