Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt has acknowledged the danger posed by Scotland’s back three ahead of their Guinness Six Nations clash at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wales is looking to secure a seventh win in their last nine Six Nations trips to Edinburgh. However, they haven’t won in the tournament for two years and are currently on a nine-match losing streak in the Six Nations, as well as a record 15-Test losing streak overall.
Despite these struggles, Wales showed promise against Ireland, leading by eight points at one stage in their last match. Now, Sherratt’s side must maintain that momentum against a Scotland team with attacking firepower but only one win in this year’s competition.
Scotland’s back three of Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, and Duhan van der Merwe have scored 75 Test tries combined, making them a key attacking threat.
“Scotland’s back three is a major weapon,” said Sherratt.
“Three-quarters of their line breaks come from their back three. That is something we are going to have to contain, but with the ball, we want to have a threat as well.”
While fly-half Finn Russell orchestrates Scotland’s attack, Kinghorn, Graham, and Van der Merwe are dangerous in open play and could punish Wales if given space.
Sherratt, who will return to his role as Cardiff head coach after the tournament, has coached against Edinburgh and Glasgow multiple times. He also knows Scotland’s defensive coach, Steve Tandy, from their time at Ospreys, and even spent time in Scotland’s camp previously.
“Knowing how they would defend against Cardiff gives me a heads-up, but that advantage goes both ways, as they’ve faced similar styles of play before.
Wales will field the same starting XV that pushed Ireland to the limit two weeks ago. This is the first time in 66 Tests—since the 2019 World Cup games against Georgia and Australia—that Wales has kept an unchanged lineup.
Despite their form, Scotland starts as favorites, but Wales will feel more confident after their improved performance against Ireland.
“The challenge the group set themselves was to be pleased with the performance but not the result,” Sherratt said.
“We all want to build on that performance and bring the same passion and effort.”
Wales will need to limit Scotland’s counterattacks while creating their own scoring chances if they hope to break their Six Nations losing streak.