Wales's James Hook inspires Six Nations win against Scotland

It may be premature to suggest that the Wales coach, Warren Gatland, is off the hook after his change of outside-half prompted an end to a run of matches without a victory that extended back to last season's Six Nations, but most of what was good about a game that veered between dank and dismal came from the elusive James Hook, who was making his first start at 10 for 17 months. Gatland, who last autumn signed a contract that will take him to the 2015 World Cup, had come under media scrutiny after a gradual but pronounced decline following the grand slam of 2008, but in the fickle world of sport, the focus will turn to his opposite number in Edinburgh, Andy Robinson, who, when signing a new deal with Scotland on Wednesday, had forecast a bright outlook for the national side. Scotland talked themselves up but in taking play to Wales in the opening minutes they merely presented the initiative to a side in desperate need of a leg-up. Ambition amply exceeded aptitude for the home side who, instead of applying pressure against a side whose self-belief had been flattened by failure, made two early mistakes that came to have a significant influence on the outcome. Dan Parks, the Cardiff Blues outside-half, had a clearance kick charged down by Paul James just outside his own 22 after five minutes. Wales wasted the opportunity when Bradley Davies knocked on, but Scotland were shoved off their own ball at the resulting scrum and Wales, prompted by Hook, took play through six phases. Hook had been preferred to Stephen Jones at outside-half for his ability to react to the unexpected and he brought runners into play on angles that allowed them to get behind the defence. Wales stretched Scotland before Hook, spotting the prop Allan Jacobsen in front of him on the Scotland 22, stepped into space and all Shane Williams had to do was run the right support line. Wales started to believe again. Two of their Lions, Mike Phillips and Jamie Roberts, who had been so passive against England, made an impact physically and vocally and it was Scotland who became dogged by doubt. Their scrum, which had cracked in Paris the previous week, lost a hinge early on and they surrendered possession tamely: Jacobsen stole the ball from Phillips but then promptly handed it back by knocking on three passes later. As Wales applied pressure, so Scotland conceded penalties and they were twice fortunate not to receive yellow cards, first when John Barclay willfully slowed down possession on his own 22 and then when Hugo Southwell, chasing his own kick ahead, took out Lee Byrne in the air, suffering a boot in the face that ended his match. Hook put Wales 16-0 ahead after 22 minutes with three penalties that resulted from breakdown offences, and at that stage the visitors had done nothing to upset the referee, George Clancy. Their first two penalties resulted in yellow cards: Bradley Davies was sent to the sin-bin for playing the ball after a tackle as he tried to salvage an egregious knock-on by Phillips four minutes before Byrne tackled the wing Max Evans around the neck. Evans's brother, Thom, had seen his career end in Cardiff 12 months before after running into Byrne. Wales looked comfortable even with 13 men and the more Scotland tried to move the ball, the more they exposed their own limitations. Happy to assume the role of favourites, they became victims of their own hyperbole. When their driving mauls were not stalling or their scrum not stuck in reverse, elementary errors undermined them, such as Jo Ansbro dropping the ball 10 metres in front of the Wales posts with Nikki Walker free on the right wing, and Wales controlled the breakdown through Dan Lydiate and Sam Warburton. Parks eventually kicked a penalty to reduce Wales's interval lead to 13 points, but the outside-half was even less effective after the break than he had been before, misdirecting kicks as well as passes, offering a microcosm of his team's deficiencies, but Scotland kept the playmaker Ruaridh Jackson on the bench, even when they had to take risks. Scotland dominated the second period in terms of possession, but the more they moved the ball, the less they looked like scoring. They too often lacked any alignment behind and when they did eventually find a line to move the ball across and worked an overlap, Kelly Brown threw the ball slightly behind Barclay, who dropped it. The standard of play, never high, deteriorated. Parks's second penalty brought Scotland to within 10 points, but it may as well have been 100 such was their lack of poise and precision. Even when they made ground, they could not evade tacklers. Walker scented a chance but he was overhauled by Hook, who was replaced after kicking his fourth penalty. He was replaced by Stephen Jones as Wales looked to protect their lead. Roberts should have made the game safe after profiting from Nick de Luca's mistake, but he was caught by Sean Lamont. It was merely a matter of being patient, and when Jacobsen again lost the ball, Jonathan Davies chipped into space for Williams to claim try number 53 for Wales who, despite giving Gatland respite from the naysayers, still have it all to prove, while Scotland still need the stimulus of disappointment to charge their weapon.