SCOTLAND came agonisingly close to pulling off an improbable victory in the Principality Stadium last night, but Wales finished the stronger team to pull clear. There was a major doubt about the legality of the home team’s first try, scored by Gareth Davies, but no dubiety at all about the power and pace deployed by Jamie Roberts and George North for their second and third.

Tommy Seymour and Duncan Taylor were Scotland’s try-scorers, bookending the Welsh touchdowns in a much-improved performance. Even so, their run of Six Nations Championship defeats has now stretched to nine. They have a fortnight to regroup before playing Italy in Rome.

Scotland had made a late change to their team, promoting Sean Lamont from the bench to replace Sean Maitland, who injured a hamstring in training on Friday. Ruaridh Jackson joined the substitutes.

Wales attacked at a high tempo from the start, and took the lead after seven minutes when scrum-half Gareth Davies seized on a loose ball around halfway and raced clear to the line. The score went to the TMO, to reassess Davies’ position when Jamie Roberts knocked back a Dan Biggar chip. But, while the scrum-half looked to be ahead of the kicker and thus offside, the score was given. Biggar converted to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

It was not a propitious start, but Scotland hit back to level five minutes later with an excellent move. The forwards drove on through the middle, aided by swift recycling from Greig Laidlaw, and when Finn Russell chipped to the right corner Tommy Seymour gathered and touched down. Laidlaw converted from out on the touchline.

The visitors might have had a second try ten minutes later when John Barclay broke clear from his own half, but the flanker kicked ahead for Mark Bennett to chase instead of passing inside to Hogg. The kick went out and the chance was lost. Hogg went off injured shortly after that and was replaced by Jackson.

On the half-hour, Scotland were awarded a penalty a few metres inside the Welsh half after John Hardie had won the ball on the deck and Justin Tipuric did not roll away in the tackle. Laidlaw’s aim was true: 7-10.

Wales were level minutes later, however, after being given a penalty for a scrum offence, Biggar scoring from nearly 40 metres out. But Laidlaw restored Scotland’s lead from a penalty with the last kick of the half, awarded after Samson Lee had offended on the deck. That made the score at the break 10-13.

Five minutes into the second half Biggar again equalised with a penalty. It was not long, though, before the Scots scrum won a penalty on the edge of the Welsh 22, and Laidlaw made no mistake to put his team back in the lead.

At the end of the third quarter, Tom James broke clear after picking up a ball dropped by John Hardie, and the winger looked certain to score. But Duncan Taylor got across to put in an excellent tackle, and although Wales retrieved possession, their switch to the right ended with the ball going out of play.

They were not so wasteful with 15 minutes to play, however. Phase after phase took the ball closer to the Scots line, and eventually Jamie Roberts, who had had a quiet afternoon by his standards, crashed over. Biggar converted, and Wales were 20-16 up.

With eight minutes George North made sure of the victory with his team’s third try, bursting through on a looping run from just outside the Scotland 22. Biggar converted to make it 27-16.

Substitute Blair Cowan went off with a head knock with five minutes to go, and John Barclay came back on. Two minutes from time Taylor pulled a try back, going alone through the Welsh 22 after using Hardie as a decoy on the outside.

WALES: Tries: G Davies, Roberts, North. Cons: Biggar 3. Pens : Biggar 2.

SCOTLAND: Tries: Seymour, Taylor. Cons: Laidlaw, Weir. Pens: Laidlaw 3.

Wales: L Williams; G North, J Davies, J Roberts, T James (G Anscombe 66; D Biggar (R Priestland 76), G Davies; R Evans (G Jenkins 48), S Baldwin (K Owens 48), S Lee (T Francis 69), L Charteris (B Davies 48), A Wyn Jones, S Warburton, J Tipuric (D Lydiate 62), T Faletau. Unused substitute: L Williams.

Scotland: S Hogg (R Jackson 29); S Lamont, M Bennett, D Taylor, T Seymour; F Russell (D Weir 69), G Laidlaw (S Hidalgo-Clyne 78); A Dickinson ( G Reid 66), R Ford (S McInally 66), W Nel, R Gray, J Gray (T Swinson 69), J Barclay (B Cowan 66), J Hardie, D Denton. Unused substitute: Z Fagerson.

Referee: G Clancy.