Scotland: (18) 30

Tries: Walters (2), Jollands, McMillan, Robertson Goals: Hogg (5)

Wales: (8) 8

Tries: Kaye, Green Goals:

Determined to assert themselves on the pitch, Scotland started the game in full force, ready to bounce back into the runnings for tournament champions.

Four minutes in Walters, in similar fashion to his previous two tries, skipped over the line to lay down the first try of the match. Hogg comfortably converted for a 6-0 lead.

Battling back and forth for 15 minutes, Wales’s Kaye eventually powered through and scored, Stroud missed the opportunity for conversion leaving Scotland with a narrow lead.

26 minutes into the first half and Scotland Students extended their lead, with Walters delivering a comfortable run to score his fourth try in two games, unconverted by Hogg on a windy field Scotland were 10-4 up.

In response to Scotland’s efforts Wales’ Green broke through their defence across the pitch to score what would be Wales’ final try of the match. Unconverted again, the score sat at 10-8.

Minutes after, in his third ever Rugby League match, Jollands proved his strength delivering Scotland’s third try. Experienced kicker Hogg took to the stage again, converting the try and kicking the final penalty of the first half for an 18-8 lead.

Returning from half-time Scotland’s first set brought another try, this time from McMillan spotting a gap and ceasing the opportunity. Converted by Hogg.

Wales’ half-time talk ignited a strong defence in the second half, as both sides prevented points on the board for more than 20 minutes. Mistakes were made with both sides giving away penalties as they grew more tense throughout the game. Scotland utilised these opportunities, Hogg kicking to put Scotland on a 26-8 lead, cementing the match.

In the final minutes, Robertson scored again for Scotland to further seal the deal. Unconverted by Hogg, the 30-8 victory means that Scotland achieved what they set out to do. They can now head into round 3 needing 29 points over England to win the tournament during a home year.

Scotland:

5 Jonny Hutton, 18 Clayton Woods, 1 Jake Seymour, 4 Craig Robertson, 5 Fraser McNee, 6 Alex Williams, 7 Matt Hogg, 8 Connor Terrill, 9 Luke Walters, 10 Josh Honan, 11 Jack McMillan, 12 Charlie Emslie, 12 Jordan Duncan

Interchange: 14 Dan May, 20 Josh Dalton, 16 Chris Hollands, 15 Niall Hall 

Wales:

1 Connah Harding, 2 James Bartlett, 12 Rowland Kaye, 15 Aled Davies, 5 Sam Baker, 6 Cobi Green, 7 Fraser Stroud , 11 Rhys Davies, 9 Macauley Harris, 8 Ellis Simon, 16 Jacob Lee, 10 Dewi Billingham, 18 Max Hendy 

Interchange: 13 Kieran Lewis, 17 Ieuan Roberts, 14 Matthew Morgan, 19 Charley Bodman