Wales face uphill task after opening round defeat

Scotland celebrated a fifth successive victory over Wales [Huw Evans Picture Agency]

It was a championship opener that both sides needed to win when considering the juggernauts awaiting in round two.

And like it has been in the past three Women's Six Nations, Scotland edged Wales in a close and gritty Cardiff encounter.

It was a welcome four points on the board for the Scots as they prepare to face world champions England at Murrayfield next Saturday, while Wales, who salvaged a losing bonus-point, have the daunting prospect of hosting France at Cardiff Arms Park.

England and France cruised to bonus-point victories over Ireland and Italy on the opening weekend and, if history is anything to go by, will be battling it out for the Grand Slam on the final weekend in Le Crunch.

For Wales, victory on Saturday was an even more important aim given they have away trips to England and Ireland after the visit of France - two games where it will be very difficult for a side ranked 12th in the world to pick up points.

But defeat means, as in the 2024 and 2025 tournaments, it could all come down to the final game against Italy, with Wales this time having home advantage.

But before we look too far ahead, lets take stock of what went wrong and what went right against Scotland.

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Better, but the wait for a win goes on

In the opening 30 minutes at Principality Stadium, Wales were unrecognisable from the side that crashed out of the World Cup last summer.

Defensively they were coming hard and fast off the line, making dominant tackles and Scotland could do very little.

The players have clearly bought into the systems of new defence coach Tyrone Holmes.

Wales also showed more variation in attack, got the ball out to the wider channels and looked threatening, especially with ball in hand.

But their bid to be an 80-minute team fell short as energy levels dwindled after the break, with player of the match Helen Nelson pulling the strings at fly-half for Scotland.

She slotted a kick in behind for Shona Campbell's try, while debutant Seren Singleton and Kayleigh Powell were left to rue letting the ball bounce.

Meryl Smith also put in a perfect kick for Lucia Scott's try, while in comparrison Wales' kicking game was poor, something head coach Sean Lynn admits they will be looking at for next week.

Their set piece could also do with tightening up after a few line-out wobbles in what had been promising positions.

But credit to Wales, after going 24-12 down, they came back into the contest largely thanks to the impact of their bench, with line breaks from Donna Rose and Seren Lockwood setting up Kate Williams' try.

And even when the clock was in the red, they continued to play from deep inside their own half right up until the 89th minute when the ball eventually went dead.

What the pundits thought

Former Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap said: "It was a hugely improved performance, we probably startled Scotland at first, they didn't know what was coming at them, especially from a defensive point of view.

"I thought in the first 30 the attack looked much better, they were testing Scotland's defence, but credit to Scotland, in that second half they came out and they found that kick space in the wide channels."

Former Wales fly-half Elinor Snowsill said: "If we look at the game as a whole there were some huge strides taken forward by Wales.

"They are looking much more comfortable in defence, their systems and their structures, with some really dominant shots going in.

"They are making themselves a team that's hard to score against, and that's exactly what we want.

"We've come out with a very heavy kicking game, but when we kept the ball in hand we showed promise."

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Preparing for Les Bleues

Lynn admitted to having selection headaches for Scotland, and after the weekend he has been given even more to think about.

With Wales' kicking game so ineffective and France's backline so dangerous, Lynn may consider moving Kayleigh Powell to 10, a player who likes to keep ball in hand, and starting Seren Lockwood ahead of Keira Bevan at scrum-half.

Powell showed in the World Cup game against Fiji she is more than capable of operating at fly-half, while Lockwood made her case for selection off the bench.

And while France have been a super power in women's rugby, there may not be a better time to play them, as they like - many other teams at the start of a new World Cup cycle - are going through a re-build.

They only scored one try in the first half against Italy, but ran in five after the break, looking more like the free-flowing side of old.

The game will be played at Cardiff Arms Park after a relatively poor showing next door at Principality Stadium.

Saturday's gate was 10,569, a drop in the ocean compared to the 77,120 at Allianz Stadium for England's opener against Ireland.

But Lynn and the players are hopeful they can get a good following as they go in search of a first Six Nations win in over two years.

It is a tough ask, but defeat could see Wales staring down the barrel of a third consecutive wooden spoon heading into the final game.

Fortunately for Lynn and his squad, there is a lot of rugby to be played until then.