Scotland v Wales, Six Nations 2023: What time is kick-off and what TV channel is it on?

James Corrigan
·5 min read
Rio Dyer gets past Ireland's Peter O'Mahony - Scotland v Wales, Six Nations 2023: What time is kick-off and what TV channel is it on? - Nigel French/PA
Rio Dyer gets past Ireland's Peter O'Mahony - Scotland v Wales, Six Nations 2023: What time is kick-off and what TV channel is it on? - Nigel French/PA

Warren Gatland has insisted that he has not heralded a "changing of the Welsh guard", despite dropping a holy trinity of red-shirted legends with a staggering 360 Test caps between them.

There were calls for the head coach to bring in the youngsters in the wake of the 34-10 home humiliation against Ireland last weekend, but few expected Gatland to consign No 8 Taulupe Faletau to the bench for Saturday's trip to Murrayfield - and to jettison Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric from the matchday squad entirely.

And the fact that their replacements – Christ Tshiunza, Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Reffell – have only a combined seven caps, only accentuated the shuddering on the west side of the Severn.

When asked if this would have been the 23 had Wales downed the world's No 1 ranked side, Gatland replied: “Yep… There has been no knee-jerk reaction because this has been plan right from day one. We said we need to find out about some of these youngsters.

"We could easily have played Faletau at No 8. But we know what he and Justin can do. We could have put another midfielder in or tried someone else at full-back but then you’re talking about too many changes where you lose some of the continuity you have created."

"We have got a huge disparity between those experienced players with the number of caps they've got, and a lot of incredibly talented youngsters with a limited number of caps," he said. "We just need to find that balance."

When and where is Scotland v Wales?

Wales will travel to Scotland for their second match of the 2023 tournament on Saturday February 11, with kick-off at Murrayfield in Edinburgh taking place at 4.45pm (GMT).

The other fixtures on the second weekend of the tournament are Ireland v France at 2.15pm on Saturday and England v Italy at 3pm on Sunday.

What is the latest team news?

Wales

Starting XV: 15. Liam Williams, 14. Josh Adams, 13. George North, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Wyn Jones, 2. Ken Owens, captain, 3. Dillon Lewis, 4. Dafydd Jenkins, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Christ Tshiunza, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Jac Morgan

Replacements: 16. Scott Baldwin, 17. Rhys Carre, 18. Leon Brown, 19. Rhys Davies, 20. Taulupe Faletau, 21. Rhys Webb, 22. Rhys Patchell, 23. Alex Cuthbert

While the alterations in Wales's front row were somewhat forced – Gareth Thomas and Tomas Francis are both, to varying degrees, suffering niggles – Jones, Faletau and Tipuric were all available. It was almost unthinkable that none of these Lions would be in the line-up, but Gatland claimed they were all on board with the rationale.

"We had spoken to Alun Wyn before the campaign about not playing all the games as we need to see some of the youngsters in that position where we have got some talent, but they are young and inexperienced,” Gatland said.

"The decision-making at No 8 is who is our cover if Faletau gets injured. In fairness, they [Jones and Tipuric] have been brilliant. They understand our thinking. We know what they can do, but some of these youngsters we don't know what their potential is or how they are going to handle international rugby."

Scotland

In contrast, there was only one change in Scotland’s XV, with Gregor Townsend bringing back in Zander Fageron, with the prop recovered from a hamstring. The bookmakers have the home side at near 1-3 favourites to turn the tide of history.

Not only have they failed to win their first two games in the Championship in 27 years, but they have never beaten a Wales side coached by Gatland.

With the 2018 autumn international thrown in, Gatland has presided over 12 straight wins against Scotland, but this collision must be the biggest danger yet to his streak as Townsend’s men ride the confidence of a third successive win over England.

Starting XV: 15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Kyle Steyn, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Sione Tuipulotu, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Ben White, 8. Matt Fagerson, 7. Luke Crosbie, 6. Jamie Ritchie (capt.), 5. Grant Gilchrist, 4. Richie Gray, 3. Zander Fagerson, 2. George Turner, 1. Pierre Schoeman

Replacements: 16. Fraser Brown, 17. Jamie Bhatti, 18. WP Nel, 19. Jonny Gray, 20. Jack Dempsey, 21. George Horne, 22. Blair Kinghorn, 23. Chris Harris

What TV channel is Scotland v Wales on?

Scotland vs Wales will be broadcast on BBC.

What happened in this fixture in 2022?

Wales bounced back from a humbling first-round defeat against Ireland on the road to edge the visitors 20-17.

Captain Dan Biggar played through injury to put on a heroic kicking performance, and Wales had an answer to the impeccable form of Darcy Graham and Finn Russell, making it 20 years since Scotland last won in Cardiff.

Who is the referee?

Referee Andrew Brace (IRFU) will take charge of the match, with assistance coming from Frank Murphy (IRFU) and Chris Busby (IRFU). Brian MacNeice (IRFU), meanwhile, will be television match official (TMO) for the day.

Scotland v Wales best of the latest odds

  • Scotland: 5/12

  • Draw: 24/1

  • Wales: 12/5

Odds correct as of February 8

What is our prediction?

Scotland 18 Wales 10

This is the moment Scotland must back up their famous victory over England against a Wales side still reeling from their Ireland defeat.

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