Wales managed to produce the result with six new caps in their side was all the more pleasing, said Rowland Phillips: “Every one of them played their part. It’s a good starting point for these players, and an opportunity to start building their international rugby careers.”
As Scotland made an improbable comeback in the closing stages at Stadiwm Zip World, Phillips would have been forgiven for having flashbacks to last year’s meeting at Cumbernauld. “I felt we controlled most of the game on Friday, and was feeling confident,” he said. “But when we conceded that last try, it was as if momentum had shifted.”
It took a last-gasp penalty for Scotland to edge that encounter in 2017 by a single point, and Wales were adamant they wouldn’t allow it to happen again this time. “We unloaded the bench – and it was a big pressure situation for them – which brought that extra energy we needed to carry us across the line at the end.”
According to Phillips, these predominantly young Wales players are growing as a team. “There were potentially game-changing moments where we were under massive pressure and were able to deal with it,” he said. “We displayed character at the end to absorb that pressure and force a turnover in our own 22 via Nia Elen Davies that enabled us to win back the ball and kick it to touch. That’s a sign of growth.”
Wales were strong in the set-pieces and created several try-scoring opportunities. The fact that they didn’t convert some of the latter is something to work on, Phillips said. “We scored some nice tries, which reflected the skills work we’ve been doing. But when we get those chances we need to show a bit more control, because we left some tries out there on Friday night.”
He gave credit to Scotland for their determination not to allow the game to escape them, with fleet-footed fullback Chloe Rollie scoring a brace to keep them in contention. “They showed a lot of fight and spirit in their team to come back the way they did,” said Phillips. “On the flipside, when the game was slipping away from us, we were able to grab it back and seal the win.”
He allowed that it doesn’t come much tougher in the women’s game than taking on England, which Wales do this Saturday at the Twickenham Stoop. “They’re close enough to being head and shoulders in front of everybody else,” admitted Phillips. “Our goals are to show progress and to keep building. I would have thought that theirs is to win the Grand Slam again.
“It shows where these two teams are at this stage, but it’s an opportunity for us to play against the second best team in the world. It’s going to be another great step in developing this group.”
‘Good starting point’ for Wales
Wales marked their first Women’s Six Nations match in Colwyn Bay with a dramatic victory against Scotland on Friday, and their head coach says it’s a step in the right direction for his team.
