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Townsend admits to having mixed feelings after loss to Wales
By Peter Thompson
Gregor Townsend said there was "partly frustration but a lot of pride" for injury-hit Scotland after they were beaten 18-11 by Six Nations leaders Wales at Murrayfield.
Scotland lost their entire back three of Tommy Seymour, Blair Kinghorn and try-scorer Darcy Graham in a tight contest, with Stuart Hogg already missing.
Clinical Wales led 15-6 at the break, tries from Josh Adams and Jonathan Davies putting them on course to make it four wins it from four.
Scotland dominated the second half but only had a Graham try to show for their superiority as Wales dug in with their backs to the wall to stand on the verge of a Grand Slam, with Ireland to come in Cardiff on the final weekend.
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Head coach Townsend was encouraged by a much-improved performance from his side, but was left to reflect on what might have been after they suffered a third defeat in a row.
"There is partly frustration but a lot of pride, we gave a true picture of what we are capable of," he told BBC Sport.
"The players had to handle some things that went against them, injuries early on and reshuffling the backline and players out of position, but we showed what we were made of in that second half in terms of the rugby we want to play and in our character.
"We had enough pressure in the second half to win. Strong defences will force errors, but we forced a lot of penalties out of Wales.
"I think [there were] five in the 22 that should normally lead to yellow cards with that pressure, but obviously we are very frustrated that didn't happen."
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Only 8% of the NZ voting base voted for the Act party, so it does not represent "all people". You sound super upset and sensitive because Perenara spoke out about something you don't like, which is a precious far right-wing party trying to rewrite New Zealand’s founding document to suit a particular political agenda that disenfranchises the indigenous people and wants to eradicate their culture through assimilation and domination. Your perspective is skewed tbh. Your comment about Perenara being "super woke" shows your fragility and xenophobia. Maybe the All Blacks should stop doing any haka so that Maori culture isn't displayed for financial benefits and entertainment. Do you know what the other players in the team think? Are they your mates and you rang them straight after the game to get their thoughts? How did the Hurricane Poua debacle go? Any sponsors pull out yet???
Go to commentsThey won. They got the job done. That's a trick the Boks have mastered. That's a very good sign if they do that, because it's good for them knowing they can get the job done in close games
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