Injury blows add to Scottish woes

They returned home yesterday without wing Thom Evans, who is recovering in a Cardiff hospital from neck surgery after he was carried off during the 31-24 loss to Wales. He suffered a damaged vertabrae in his neck but the injury is not as bad as first feared.

And Chris Paterson, their celebrated cap centurion, remained in the same hospital receiving treatment for kidney damage .

Just to complete the miserable Millennium Stadium aftermath, Scotland also revealed that wing Rory Lamont has suffered a knee ligament injury.

All three will miss the rest of the Six Nations campaign, with Paterson out for 10 weeks.

A 17-point blitz during seven chaotic minutes of stoppage time saw Wales complete an escape act that not even Harry Houdini would have thought possible.

But despite the wild celebrations sparked by wing wizard Shane Williams's 49th try for his country, one fact should not be forgotten – Wales were outplayed for an hour.

Scotland finished the game in a state of disarray – substitutes Scott Lawson and Phil Godman both sin-binned, before emergency wing Mike Blair's ill-conceived restart handed Wales their chance to go for the jugular.

Coach Andy Robinson had tried to get his message down from the stands – kick the ball into touch and take a 24-24 draw but it never reached the players, allowing Williams to strike.