Wales Women were sent home from Edinburgh tae think again, as Scotland claimed a narrow 24-21 victory at the Murrayfield gazebo.

This pulsating match had with more cards than Clintons and an over enthusiastic TMO whose constant interventions frustrated fans and players alike.

Goodness knows, Welsh rugby and its followers needed a lift, and a try by Carys Phillips after just four minutes did just that to create a 7-0 lead.

A 17th Munster penalty from Helen Nelson narrowed the gap, and the remainder of the first half was all Scotland (and TMO).

Wales defended that narrow lead heroically, but the dam burst on thirty-six minutes when Sarah Bonar crashed over for a try converted by Helen Nelson to give Scotland a 10-7 lead at half-time.

As the Edinburgh dreich turned into a mini monsoon, Scotland took just four second half minutes to extend their lead with an Emma Orr once again converted by the admirable Nelson.

Wales then went on a rare attack with Chloe Rollie driven back over her own try line, A high tackle by Georgia Evans earned her a second yellow card having only just returned to the field.

Wales however refused to lie down, and after Evie Gallagher was shown a Red card for a dangerous lower limb clean out. Wales attacked from the line-out and the resulting maul concluded with Abbie Fleming crashing over for a try on 53 minutes. Keira Bevan’s conversion reduced the deficit to just three points (17-14).

Leah Bartlett’s 65th minute try looked to have won the game for Scotland, but this dogged Welsh outfit refused to lie down and from a driving maul Gwenllian Pyrs announced her arrival from the bench with a crucial try. Bevan’s conversion made it 24-21 with five minutes remaining.

Scotland managed the game well in the dying minutes as Wales tried desperately to win back possession to eke out an opening day victory.

New Wales head coach Sean Lynn who has only had a few days with his charges said: “What I asked the players to deliver this week, to bring energy and passion, I couldn’t fault them out there today. We talked at half-time to try and play a more territorial game because our set piece and driving maul had gone really well, and they delivered that. I’m super proud of the group. There were some defensive system errors which we feel are easy fixes moving onto next week, and with England we’ll definitely need to.”