The Fort Worth Press - Russell restart try 'big moment' in Scotland win, says Townsend

The Scots trailed for most of the game as they took on a Wales side who had lost 23 of their last 25 Tests, only taking the lead with George Turner's 75th-minute try.

"That was some game. It would have been great for the neutrals," Townsend told the BBC.

"We left it late but I'm really proud of the effort in the second half.

"It's not just a physical effort, it's a mental effort too; finding solutions, staying together and riding momentum waves."

The match turned on two Scotland tries in the space of three minutes, with Finn Russell involved in both.

First he sliced through the Wales defence to touch down himself. Then, as the Wales players celebrated a penalty that put them 23-12 up, he noticed their lack of attention.

Russell's quick restart caught them off guard with the ball bouncing backwards into the grateful arms of Darcy Graham who went over for the try.

"That was a big moment in the game and credit goes to Finn for seeing that space and Darcy (for) being alive to it," said Townsend.

"It wasn't something we practised. That's just in the moment."

Russell had sympathy for Steve Tandy, who spent six years as Townsend's defence coach before taking over as Wales coach last year.

"He (Tandy) knows that's something I look for and Darcy scoring is a coach killer," said Russell.

"We knew they were going to come out passionately. We weren't good enough at the breakdown. We expected a tough and tight game, especially with Steve knowing us so well.

"We got the win even though it maybe wasn't our best performance."

- 'A lot more intent' -

Tandy, meanwhile, said he was "disappointed" with the result but preferred to pick out the positives in a performance which was head and shoulders above anything Wales have produced in recent years.

"We felt it was a game that we could have and should have won, but ultimately the performance was much better," he said.

"We asked the players to be better than last week and they were. We showed a lot more intent. We're starting to take shape around the way we want to play.

"The thing we've talked about is better performances, if you take the result it's bitterly disappointing, but ultimately we feel like we are getting to where we need to be."

Wales captain Dewi Lake also heaped praise on his side after their thrashings by England and France.

"The boys were class today, we were dominant and showed in the first half what we can do," he said.

"I hope everyone can see the improvements today, especially in defence.

"It's silly mistakes in the second half and we've spoken about these moments and staying in games and unfortunately Scotland punished us today.

"Finn is fast on his feet and Graham scores in the corner.

"Even though the scoreline wasn't there today I think our performance was great."

A.Williams--TFWP