Dan Biggar has turned the pressure on Scotland and challenged them to prove they are as good as they think.
Scotland received a storm of applause after their surprise victory over England at Twickenham last weekend. With Wales opening their Six Nations campaign with a comprehensive defeat at home to Ireland, most pundits have ruled out Warren Gatland.
But Biggar insists he has heard it all before and believes Scotland have yet to prove they can secure good results for others.
Scotland vs Wales Exact Predicted Result
“Scotland played well last week against England, but you think you’re the better team, don’t you?” Biggar said something sarcastically.
“We will have to see how they behave on Saturday and see if they can support him as the pressure is on them.
“They are big favorites, the best team in the tournament, so let’s see how they do on Saturday. We don’t seem to get any credit and the other teams seem to get a lot of praise for things I probably didn’t get, but that’s the way it is.
“I think our results are as good as anyone in this competition for the last 10 years or so.”
Wales have dominated this match for decades, winning 17 of the previous 20 test matches against Scotland.
Wales have won six titles in that span, including four Grand Slams, while Scotland have not won a silver medal since 1999.
And while Biggar has been impressed with Scotland of late, he believes the media hype surrounding Gregor Townsend is overblown.
“Medals are important when you look back on your career and we’ve been lucky enough to increase the cabinet several times and other teams should try to repeat that,” said the Toulon outside midfielder.
“And I hope if teams do that they get the applause they deserve, but like I said, they are a fantastic team right now, playing with confidence, lots of good players.
“But from our point of view, it’s still the same. In Wales, you lose a game, you’re denied, you win, you just go in. It’s one of those things where we try to control what we can.
“But we kind of laugh at the fact that there are other teams that are getting a lot of praise without endorsing it, I guess.
“We’ve only lost twice to Scotland in my time.”
Despite Biggar’s disappointment, he respects the current crop of Scottish players and expects a tough battle on Saturday when he takes on 2021 British & Irish Lions teammate Finn Russell.
“We have a good record against them, but I think it will come out on Saturday,” he said.
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“They’re going to take their chances, they’ve picked a strong team, lots of good players obviously who played well last week and are going to be full of confidence.
“But it was the same last year, we had a really slow start in Ireland and then we played Scotland and you canceled us before the game started and we rolled up our sleeves and got the job done.
“I hope it’s the same this weekend because if you listen to everyone, which is great in this game, we might not get on the plane.
“I think the only thing you expect from him (Russell) is not knowing what to expect. We’ve talked a little bit about him this week, but we’re trying not to focus on him too much because in a lot of the games you play he gives you a lot of chances, but he can also create a lot for your team.
“It’s just a matter of making sure we’re on fire, our space is good and our defensive line is good, so hopefully that takes away a lot of opportunities for him.”
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Source: Wales Online
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.