| Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 3 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One, S4C, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru & live text on the BBC Sport website and app. Highlights on Scrum V, Sunday, BBC Two Wales and online, 4 February and later on demand |
Forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys says the Principality Stadium factor is vital for Wales as Scotland aim to end their 22-year hoodoo in Cardiff.
Scotland have lost 11 games in the Welsh capital since 2002 with nine of those defeats in the Six Nations.
Former Wales captain Humphreys has twice been part of a losing Scotland coaching staff.
“I think people underestimate the stadium how noisy and intimidating it is,” said Humphreys.
Scotland have had one Six Nations victory in Wales during the last two decades, but that came against Wayne Pivac’s side in Llanelli in 2020 in the Covid-19 affected fixture.
Humphreys was the Scotland forwards coach between 2013 and 2017 and part of the backroom staff that came to Cardiff in the defeats in 2014 and 2016.
“When you are the other side of that it hits you,” said Humphreys.
“The fans can play a massive part in this.
“It is not a nice place to come especially if Wales are on the front foot and going well and the crowd are behind them.
“That’s a challenge in itself. I know lots of people talk about the atmosphere.
“When the stadium was built (in 1999), there were a few of us who were asked our opinion from the old stadium.
“What we wanted was the ability to still to be enclosed like the old Arms Park was. It’s unusual compared to other stadiums in how impressive that can be.”
Wales were also on the right side of history going into this fixture last year with head coach Warren Gatland having never lost to Scotland during his time in charge.
Scotland went onto produce a record 35-7 victory at Murrayfield against an experimental Wales side with fly-half and new captain Finn Russell starring.
This fixture came before the World Cup later that year when Gatland guided his side to the quarter-finals and Gregor Townsend’s team bowed out in the pool stages.
When asked about last year’s defeat, Humphreys replied: “It hurts any time to lose in international rugby, especially in the Six Nations but that’s not the focus for us.
“In international rugby you move on pretty quick, we have had a World Cup since then.
“We went there last year and blooded a lot of people, we wanted to find out who we could take to the World Cup with us.”
