Taylor in for Scott in Scotland’s only change for Wales

We play rugby to win games. We’d like to be able to hang on to the ball.

Wales’s defence guru, the man who masterminded the rearguard action plan which saw just two tries conceded in the whole of the 2008 campaign, had other ideas on the day which saw three teams – Wales, Ireland and England – embroiled in a high-scoring battle for the title. “Matt decelerated and felt something in his thigh”, he said. “He went for a scan this morning and it’s a slight tear”.

“We were impressed with the impact from the bench last week, and that will be just as vital this weekend in what is going to be a tough battle”. Beyond that, the same squad of players have been given the responsibility of making amends for the Calcutta Cup disappointment.

“It’s still in our hands, that is what’s good about it”, he said.

He said: “Yes, we’d like the roof shut. Why?”

Biggar, one of the standout performers at the World Cup, was injured early in Sunday’s 16-16 draw. “He got the injury right at the start of the game and got through to 20 minutes before we had to replace him”. We’re by no means out of the competition. But our scrum is looking forward to the challenge.

We probably got beaten on the emotional side, but we weathered the storm and were one decision away from winning the game.

“I think we will stick our record up against Bayonne’s coaching staff any day of the week!”

Scotland haven’t tasted victory in Cardiff since 2002. “I have had my foot in an ice bucket for the last four days, and obviously getting a lot of treatment and resting up”.

But they will have to do much better than they managed on their last trip to the newly renamed Principality Stadium.

That sounds like a unusual thing to say, but the truth is that we were playing against a Wales side who were distinctly ordinary, while we knew how to win.

“He has developed really well in terms of being a ten with his understanding and the variations he brings to deciding how we play”.

“But it’s a clean slate this weekend and we’re excited about going down there”.

He added: “We’ve got to be prove to ourselves that we’re the team that we think we are”.

Wales made only two offloads, and Ireland one.

“We came last a year ago”.

We’re not starting this game ten points down because we’ve lost our last eight games in the tournament. We train intensely, we put pressure on players, and that’s where we feel they improve. Those are just a given at this level, that we need to be working hard there.

The 51-year-old said: “I was at Murrayfield on Saturday and I quite enjoyed the game, in a perverse sort of way”. In that time they have averaged 30.38 points per game against Saturday’s opponents.