Scots reeling after setback

STUART McInally said S c o t l a n d ’s N a t We s t 6 Nations rugby capitulation in Cardiff was “a bitter pill to swallow”.

Scotland arrived at the Principality Stadium scenting a first victory in the Welsh capital since 2002, having crushed Au s t r a l i a e a r l i e r this season and ran world champions New Zealand close.

However, optimism was quickly replaced by damage limitation as Wales scored two converted tries during t he opening 12 minutes and ran out 34-7 victors, with Scotland restricted to a late Peter Horne try that Finn Russell converted for their only scoring contribution.

France head to Murrayfield next Sunday and t he Scots have t o regroup quickly or their Six Nations campaign could collapse i nto a complete state of disrepair.

“We spoke so much during t he week about coming down to Cardiff and winning,” Scotland hooker McInally said.

“It i s a bitter pill swallow.

“A lot of the points they scored were our doing, our errors, so that is something we need to look at ourselves. How do we get better on that front.

“It was 14-0 after 14 minutes but the tries they got were two errors from us.They didn’t have to work too hard for them.

“We didn’t seem able to string more than a few phases together, and their defence was excellent,” McInally added. “They just played better than us.” to

Not a Scot to be seen as Wales mount another attack.