Six Nations: John Barclay to lead much-changed Scotland v Wales
Last updated on .From the section Scottish Rugby
| Six Nations: Scotland v Wales |
|---|
| Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh Date: Saturday, 25 February Kick-off: 14:25 GMT |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One, S4C, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru & BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, plus live text commentary |
John Barclay will captain a Scotland side featuring five changes for the Six Nations encounter at home to Wales.
Barclay, 30, is skipper in the absence of Greig Laidlaw, who misses the rest of the campaign with an ankle injury.
Ali Price replaces Laidlaw at scrum-half, with Sean Maitland dropping out and Tim Visser starting on the wing.
Gordon Reid is in for Allan Dell in the front row, while John Hardie replaces Hamish Watson and Ryan Wilson steps in for Josh Strauss at number eight.
"John has played a vital role in our leadership group and has led by example throughout this and previous campaigns," said head coach Vern Cotter of his new captain.
"It was disappointing to lose Greig Laidlaw. However, we continue to develop a system of shared leadership in this squad, which has supported the transition. It'll be a proud moment for John and one which he thoroughly deserves."
The Scarlets loose forward took over the captaincy temporarily when Laidlaw sustained his injury in the gruelling 22-16 defeat by France in Paris two weeks ago. However, he had to be replaced after suffering shoulder and head injuries, from which he has since recovered.
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Barclay will be joined in the back row by Edinburgh's Hardie and Wilson, the latter having recovered from the elbow infection that kept him out of the France game and who replaces the injured Strauss.
Harlequins wing Visser gets his first opportunity of the championship as a straight swap for Maitland, who has failed to recover sufficiently from the rib injury sustained representing Saracens last weekend.
| Six Nations table | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Bonus Pts | Points | |
| 1. England | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 32 | 0 | 8 |
| 2. Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 37 | 2 | 6 |
| 3. Wales | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 28 | 1 | 5 |
| 4. France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
| 5. Scotland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 44 | 1 | 5 |
| 6. Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 96 | 0 | 0 |
Since the Six Nations started in 2000, Scotland have beaten Wales just three times, the last success coming in Edinburgh in 2007.
"We know the Welsh will throw everything at us but we will keep our attacking mind-set and look to convert pressure to points as often as possible," said Cotter.
"The players have worked hard to prepare for this game and are really looking forward to putting in a top performance.
"It's a huge weekend in the championship and we're still right in the mix."
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Tim Visser, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Alistair Price; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay, John Hardie, Ryan Wilson.
Replacements: Allan Dell, Ross Ford, Simon Berghan, Tim Swinson, Hamish Watson, Henry Pyrgos, Duncan Weir, Mark Bennett.
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There isn't a single area 1-15 where Scotland are in the same class.
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That's true.
In the front row, second row, fly half and Fullback Scotland are better.
Home advantage to see Scotland through to a tight win.
I (a Welshie) really enjoyed the Scotland/Ireland match, was chuffed for Scotland.
Also, try watching rugby objectively and you will see Scottish rugby is vastly improved recently.
Good Scotland team, Maitland still not recovered from knock so Visser in, yeah no probs.
Imagine if we had our first choice props, Scotland would win this by 10 points.
Prediction Scotland 27- 26 Wales,
Cmon Scotland 👍
Firstly wales are not a bad team - they have been competitive for many years with 2 grand slams. Average age under 27.
Secondly Scotland have not yet proved themselves - maybe this year they will finish top 3.
In summary don't criticise the welsh for confidence, plus don't criticise the scots for optimism.
Both view points are valid.
Wales currently have two teams in the top 4 and 2 in the bottom four. If it wasn't for Treviso and Zebre, Dragons would be bottom. For the past three seasons the best a Welsh side has done is fourth.
A fair statement is Irish teams dominate the Pro12
It will be close, and perhaps Wales have the better '9', so closing down and snapping Rhys down will be key. Bully him with the ball, and he will snatch and knock on. Be assertive in the open, and aggressive at the break down, and Scotland should win this one.
Scotland by 3 to 5 points.