Rowlands: Wales to muscle up against Scotland in Six Nations

The Six Nations title defence got off to a disastrous start in Ireland when they were dominated physically in a 29-7 hammering.

The tight five have been firmly in the focus yet have all been given a shot at redemption against Scotland in Cardiff this afternoon.

The same quintet will be on from the first whistle. A repeat of Dublin will make another start at Twickenham in round three unlikely.

Carries, clear-outs and dominant tackles are a part of the game where towering lock Rowlands usually thrives.

The Dragons have had a tough season but the 30-year-old has impressed in his first year since heading to Wales to continue his Test career.

It's not often that Rowlands is on the back foot but that was the case at the Aviva Stadium.

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"It's always a focus for me to try and improve on, and to try and bring a bit of that to the team," he said.

"I do take it personally when we've come second best in that area, and I did a bit on the weekend."

Scotland are wary of a wounded Wales and Rowlands admits the poor performance in Ireland has added extra motivation.

"I don't want to say on the back of last weekend's result that the guys are fired up to perform well this weekend, because it's a Six Nations game at home at the Principality Stadium in front of 75,000 of our fans," he said.

"Everyone is fired up for those occasions all the time, but it definitely does add an edge. We were disappointed and as a result this weekend there's a bit more focus on trying to deliver a performance we know we are capable of."

Not that it has been a week of the hairdryer treatment, the response to losing away to a country that beat the All Blacks in the autumn has been measured.

Wales in a huddle ahead of the game in Ireland

"The environment here, and I think it's the case in most professional sports, is always pretty honest and pretty calm," said Rowlands.

"The result wasn't what we wanted on the weekend but it's by no means panic stations. It was away in Ireland against a good Irish side with a good attack.

"There's plenty of stuff we obviously want to work on, will improve on, and we will be better at this weekend but it's always calm and honest in the camp."

Ireland are seen as more limited than a Scottish side that possess game-breakers in Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, Darcy Graham and Hamish Watson, yet it all starts with those basics up front.

"We've spoken about the differences between the two teams and defensively you've got a slight different focus as a result," said Rowlands.

"I think ultimately rugby is quite simple, and teams do things differently here and there, but really the fundamentals that you've got to try and deliver on each week stay the same.

"We didn't really get into our attacking flow in Dublin, which is a reflection of some issues we had but also credit to Ireland.

"When you are playing on top of teams, getting go-forward and playing with quick ball it's much easier to start moving the ball around and find the extra spaces here and there.

"It's something that you will see from us in the games moving forward but it hinges on bringing the basics first up."