Warren Gatland urges Wales to build on near-miraculous comeback against Scotland ahead of crunch Twickenham showdown against England… but admits his side must be ‘incredibly tough on ourselves’ after dismal first half display

Wales head coach Warren Gatland urged his team to build on a remarkable second-half performance when they head to Twickenham on Saturday following the narrowest of defeats to Scotland.

Gatland’s youthful side – featuring eight Six Nations rookies – went down 27-0 to Gregor Townsend’s visitors before roaring back into the Principality Stadium after the break.

The home side responded with four tries and 26 unanswered points, almost within the narrowest of margins. But in the end Scotland held on for a 27-26 victory.

It was their first win in Cardiff since 2002. Wales next face England after Steve Borthwick’s side started their campaign with a 27-24 win over Italy in Rome.

“We have to learn from that experience and play like we did in the second half,” Gatland said, looking ahead to a meeting with England.

Wales scored 26 unanswered points after trailing 27–0 early in the second half, with Man of the Match Aaron Wainwright (centre) scoring his side’s third try

The hosts just failed to complete what would have been a miraculous comeback

‘We go there with a lot of confidence that we can build on that performance in the second half. But we have to be incredibly hard on ourselves.

‘We have to make sure we are smarter in the big moments.

‘I said to the players: ‘Did we give Scotland too much respect in that first half?’ They were loaded and we were a young team. We kept fighting and didn’t throw in the towel.

‘I thought the team really showed character in the second half.’

Wales were absolutely terrible in the first period. They went 20-0 down at half-time and their deficit became 27 points when Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe grabbed his second try.

Pierre Schoeman and Van der Merwe’s brace had given Townsend’s side complete control before Wales came out of nowhere on the comeback trail.

James Botham, Rio Dyer, man of the match Aaron Wainwright and Alex Mann all scored as Wales made it a one-point game but fell just short.

Gatland’s side ended the match with two losing bonus points.

“I’m really disappointed with that first half,” the New Zealander continued.

‘We were not accurate and had no pace in our game. There were mild punishments. The message at half-time was simple: get out there and play some rugby.

Rio Dyer scored Wales’ second try as they lifted the roof of the Principality Stadium

Duhan van der Merwe scored two tries either side of half-time to put Scotland under control

‘There is a lot to learn, but after that first half it was a step in the right direction. We will judge this harshly. Trial match rugby is about being accurate in the big moments.”

Wales No. 8 Wainwright said: “We probably wanted the game to last another five minutes.

‘We allowed ourselves to do too much and were probably not accurate enough in the first half. A lot of their ball came from our mistakes.

“As the scoreboard ticked, the belief grew, but the inaccuracies in the first half cost us.”