Wales make the most of their chances

The home side rallied well in defence all game and showed good glimpses in attack but were made to pay late in the game for not running pressure into points as Wales grabbed two late tries to secure the win.

Scotland trailed just 3-0 at halftime after a strong opening 40 minutes where they had taken the initiative in the opening phases and a fine break from winger Annabel Sergeant gave them some good territory. Indiscipline got the better of Wales early on when, after eight minutes prop Meg York was sent to the sin bin for pulling down the maul and stand-off Tanya Griffith took a solid kick to touch.

Wales were awarded a penalty after 24 minutes, against the run of play and with the three points secured by Laura Prosser, the scored stood as the sides went in for half time - glad of the respite from the biting cold and blizzard conditions which had replaced the earlier crisp sunny day.

Scotland continue to pile on the pressure early in the second half, camped on the Welsh 22 for much of the opening period with the pack putting in a sterling shift, led by captain and no 8 Susie Brown.

Phase after phase threatened the line Scotland paid for not taking their changes when,  against the run of play, Charlie Murray raced over for Wales followed, five minutes later by Sioned Harries.

Wales head coach Rhys Edwards, said: "It was an excellent win today in horrendous conditions. The girls stayed composed and finished the job at hand. To be fair to Scotland they played really well in the first half while our decision making was appalling. We made a few changes at halftime and steadied the ship in the second half and showed a lot more composure. It just goes to show the value of the match day 23 as every player ensured it was a squad effort to get the win. We're now looking forward to taking on England at Aberavon next Sunday in the final game of the tournament.”

Scotland head coach Karen Findlay said: "It was a really good step up in terms of performance. The team stuck to the game plan, they did the things that we asked, there was a significant improvement around the tackle area and our ability to clear out and create quick ball. The result's really hard on the players. Wales had two chances they took two chances and they've come away with a win that'll probably enable them to facilitate World Cup qualification."

Wales could still lose to England next weekend and grab a World Cup spot as they will need Italy to beat Ireland convincingly to lose their position in the table.

Wales: 15 Dyddgu Hywel (Caernarfon), 14 Caryl James (Cardiff Quins). 13 Elen Evans (Waterloo), 12 Rebecca De Filippo (Cardiff Quins), 11 Philippa Tuttiett (Cardiff Quins), 10 Elinor Snowsill (Bristol). 9 Laura Prosser (Pontyclun), 1 Meg York (Blaenau Gwent). 2 Carys Phillips (Cardiff Met)3 Catrin Edwards (Cardiff Quins), 4 Vicky Owens (Pontyclun), 5 Shona Powell Hughes (Neath Athletic), 6 Sioned Harries (Cardiff Quins), 7 Nia Davies (Cardiff Met), 8 Rachel Taylor (Bristol, captain)

Replacements 16 Lowri Harries (Neath Athletic)17 Jenny Davies (Waterloo), 18 Bethan Howell (Seven Sisters), 19 Gemma Hallett (Pontyclun), 20 Catrina Nicholas (Cardiff Quins), 21 Amy Day (Unattached), 22 Charlie Murray (Neath Athletic), 23 Leila Johns (Unattached).

Scotland: 15 Steph Johnston (RHC Cougars), 14    Annabel Sergeant (Richmond), 13 Sarah Dixon (RHC Cougars), 12 Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers), 11 Megan Gaffney (Hillhead Jordanhill), 10 Tanya Griffith (RHC Cougars) 9 Louise Dalgliesh (RHC Cougars), 1  Heather Lockhart (Hillhead Jordanhill), 2 Sarah Quick (Murrayfield Wanderers), 3 Tracy Balmer (Worcester), 4 Lindsay Wheeler (Richmond), 5 Bridget Millar-Mills (Worcester), 6 Jade Konkel (Hillhead Jordanhill), 7 Tess Forsberg (Richmond), 8 Susie Brown (c) (Richmond)

Substitutes: 16 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers), 17 Suzanne McKerlie-Hex (Murrayfield Wanderers), 18 Lindsey Smith (Hillhead Jordanhill), 19 Kelly Shields (Murrayfield Wanderers), 20 Sarah Law (Murrayfield Wanderers), 21 Lisa Ritchie (Carlisle), 22 Leanne Neary (RHC Cougars), 23 Lauren Harris (Melrose)