Scotland’s record in London may be notoriously bad, with just four wins registered in the 107 years since Twickenham was opened, but they have not fared that much better on their trips from Edinburgh to the other capital city on the British mainland.

In the past 90 years, a total of six wins have been registered in Cardiff and while that statistic is slightly skewed by the fact that Wales continued to share the hosting of international matches between the capital and Swansea, where the Scots enjoyed a bit more success, until the fifties, that sequence encompasses 36 visits.

In Herald Sport today, Jim Calder recounts the dam-busting efforts of his team in 1982 which was a precursor to their history-making exploits over the next two years in which they would register what remains Scotland’s most recent win at Twickenham, a draw with the All Blacks and, of course, the Grand Slam triumph of 1984.

That ended a 20-year wait for a win in Cardiff, but it is chastening to realise that it was not the longest gap between successes there, that having taken place between 1927 and ’62, all of which places the current 16-year run without a win at the Millennium/Principality Stadium, into a slightly different context.

1962: Wales 3 Scotland 8

A low-scoring encounter was by no means unusual for the time, that year’s championship book-ended by scorelines of 0-0 between England and Wales and 3-3 between Ireland and Wales in a match which offers insight into social history since it was postponed until the following November due to a smallpox epidemic. 

In between times, another draw in the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield  denied Scotland a first Triple Crown since 1938 and a share of the title which was taken by France. 

The first Scotland team to win in Cardiff since 1927 – there had been wins in Swansea in 1933 and ’37 – was captained by Arthur Smith and contained several other greats of the Scottish game including Ken Scotland, Hughie McLeod and Dave Rollo, the only try of the match, scored by Frans ten Bos, proved decisive.

1982: Wales 18 Scotland 34

The first of the team’s five tries is one of the most replayed in the sport, a blistering counter-attack started by Roger Baird and finished by Jim Calder, David Johnston, Jim Pollock, Jim Renwick and Derek White all following him over the Welsh try-line, while Andy Irvine converted four of them and Renwick and John Rutherford both dropped goals. 

It remains a telling statistic in Scottish rugby that after 10 years in the team, in his 40th Five Nations appearance and 47th in all of his then-record 52-cap Scotland career, it was Renwick’s first away win in the Championship. 

Considering that his career coincided with that of Irvine and Rutherford, as well as Gordon Brown, David Leslie, Colin Deans, Ian McLauchlan and Sandy Carmichael, it serves to remind us that Scotland have always found life tough on the road.

1984: Wales 9 Scotland 15

For the first time ever, Scotland achieved a second successive victory in Cardiff and it was all the more apt that it was achieved by a team that was destined to go down in the annals as the first to win a Grand Slam for 59 years.

By comparison with the spectacle of two years previously, it was a relatively prosaic affair as Scotland eased their way into the competition, tries from Iain Paxton and Jim Aitken, accompanied by the reliable goal-kicking of Peter Dods who converted both as well as registering a penalty. 

1990: Wales 9 Scotland 13

Another win in Wales and another Grand Slam, heady days indeed for Scottish rugby, albeit this was a grinding affair which reflected the overall campaign in which Scotland scored a total of six tries. 

Having also beaten Ireland by that stage, David Sole’s Scots knew they had to win in Cardiff to set up the feted “Grand Slam” decider against an England team who were to score twice as many tries in their four matches. Damian “Del boy” Cronin’s try, along with three wobbly Craig Chalmers penalties were enough to edge them to a nervy victory.

1996: Wales 14 Scotland 16

Once again a win in Wales was required to set up a shot at what was effectively a Grand Slam decider against England – current Scotland coach Gregor Townsend’s try cancelled out by a Wayne Proctor score and Michael Dods’ conversion ultimately making the difference as he and Arwel Thomas registered three penalties apiece. 

This time, though, the Calcutta Cup was claimed at Twickenham and they went on to complete their clean sweep with victory over Ireland a fortnight later.

2002: Wales 22 Scotland 27

As Townsend has noted this week, there was some disappointment in victory for the Scottish players because of the nature of the entertainment provided on the peerless Bill McLaren’s final performance in the commentary box. 

For the record, Scotland’s two tries were registered as a result of lineout drives, with hooker Gordon Bulloch claiming both.