Wales suffer late heartbreak as Scotland claim historic Six Nations win in Cardiff

Wales Women suffered late heartbreak in their Six Nations opener as they fell to a 20-18 defeat to Scotland in Cardiff.

Ioan Cunningham’s side battled hard for the full 80 minutes, with some outstanding defensive work on display, and looked like they would come away with something as Alex Callender crossed in the 79th minute to put Wales within two points. But Lleucu George's conversion sailed just wide to give Scotland a historic win.

Coreen Grant had put her side ahead early on as she finished off a well-worked team move in style. But Wales went into the break just four points adrift thanks to the boot of Keira Bevan, as Scotland failed to make their first-half dominance count.

A lively second half saw the visitors grab a second try as Emma Orr broke through the Welsh defence to set up Rhona Lloyd, before the impressive Sisilia Tuipulotu powered over to give her side hope. But with Scotland holding firm in defence and Helen Nelson reliable from the tee, Wales couldn’t get back over the line until the final moments, when the impressive Callender bundled over to give them a shot at a draw.

With the pressure all on Georges's shoulders, her last-minute effort narrowly missed with Scotland holding on to claim their first ever tournament win in the Welsh capital.

Going into the match, Wales had only lost one of their previous six meetings with Scotland. But with the fixture consistently proving to be a tight encounter, Cunningham named a strong side for the showdown at Cardiff Arms Park, with a debut handed to former England U20 captain Jenny Hesketh.

It was Cunningham's side who drew first blood on Saturday evening, with Bevan scoring an early penalty to get them off the mark. But they soon found themselves behind as Scotland