Gregor Townsend feared another dramatic Cardiff collapse would cost Scotland their first win over Wales at the Principality Stadium for 22 years.
Head coach Townsend was an assistant to Andy Robinson in 2010 when Wales scored 17 points in the final few minutes in Cardiff to incredibly turn a 14-24 deficit in to a 31-24 victory.
But this time Scotland – who were 27-0 ahead a few minutes into the second half – survived a Welsh onslaught to win 27-26 and get their Guinness Six Nations campaign off to a positive start.
"It was a bit like 2010 and it went into my thoughts as the second half went on," said Townsend after Scotland had ended a run of 11 straight defeats in Cardiff stretching back to 2002.
"I remember the atmosphere that day when Wales had the momentum behind them and came back on the scoreboard.
"The same happened today, fortunately we stayed ahead and we were able to play well in the final five minutes.
"A lot of effort went into that last five minutes – we should have scored a try and we felt there were a couple of penalties that could have gone our way in the last passage – but it was past 80 minutes and we got the win."
Wales comeback just falls short as Scotland prevail 27-26 in Cardiff #SixNations #rterugby pic.twitter.com/nNBU4uXWwJ
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 3, 2024
Wing Duhan Van Der Merwe scored two tries and prop Pierre Schoeman also touched down, while skipper Finn Russell was flawless with the boot in landing 12 points.
After Van Der Merwe sliced through for a stunning second try just after the restart, Scotland were on course to eclipse last year's record win over Wales.
But that was not to be and Townsend was grateful to see Scotland hang on while cursing significant injuries to forwards Richie Gray and Luke Crosbie.
On the nail-biting victory, Townsend added: "We were accurate and put Wales under pressure in the first half.
"Those two tries were really good reward and to have that cushion should have made it a more comfortable second half.
"The fact that it didn’t is a concern for us, but a lot of that was due to the penalty count (16 to four against Scotland) and the numerical advantage Wales had for 20 minutes."
Out-half Russell, in his first match as Scotland captain, said he was happy to dig out the win in a game where momentum was running hard against them.
"We had a really good first half and a brilliant start to the second, then a bit of complacency crept in," Russell said.
"We had discipline issues in the second half which led to two yellow cards and them really getting on the front foot.
"But it showed that we've come quite a long way that we managed to win the game in the end. We held tough and did not allow them to get anything towards the end.
"I am probably a little bit disappointed with the second half, but overall it is a great start to the tournament for us. We’ve not won here in 22 years.
"We managed to dig it out in the end, but it shows how tough a place it (Cardiff) is to come. Wales never went away, and that was the pressure the team put us under, but also that the crowd getting involved.
"I’ve played in games with Scotland like that when we have lost, and that was the most pleasing thing, that we managed to find a way to win even though momentum, the crowd, everything was against us towards the end.
"There was loads of good stuff in that first half. With the way everything unfolded in the second half, I am a little bit down, a little bit frustrated, but when we look back there will be loads of positives to take.
"It (the second-half performance) was nowhere near where we need to be. But that is something we will address on Monday and we will build on the back of it and get ready for France (next weekend)."
Wales made the most of second-half yellow cards for George Turner and Sione Tuipulotu to turn the contest on its head.
James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and debutant Alex Mann crossed, with Ioan Lloyd kicking three conversions, as Wales secured two losing bonus points.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland, whose young side head to Twickenham next Saturday to play England, said: Did we give Scotland too much respect in that first half?
"They were fully loaded and we’re a young team. To do what we did, be 27-0 down, other teams might have shown less character and start thinking about next week, even throw in the towel.
"We didn’t do that. They kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That showed real character and we’ve just got to play like we did in the second half.
"You can’t coach experience. When you’re out there in front of 75,000 people making that much noise and the pace is quicker than club rugby, sometimes that takes time for players to get used to.
"We’ll need a little bit of leeway, but it’s still Test rugby and it’s about winning. That’s what we’ve got to focus on."
