They were simply brilliant before the break and now go into their last game with Ireland next weekend full of confidence.

Scotland never recovered after a dreadful first half and although there was some improvement in the second period, they were never really in the game.

Here BBC Sport highlights how the key battles played out in Edinburgh.

Full-back Paterson did little wrong but could not do much apart from trying to stop wave upon wave of Welsh attacks.

He never stopped working and always looked to come into the line. He deserved his late try and he also kicked three from four attempts at goal.

Jones is the form fly-half of the tournament and his all-round game was again in evidence, especially in the first half as he was able to feed his backline effectively.

He kicked well from hand, as well as landing 16 points from the floor.

And with the latest injury to Jonny Wilkinson, Jones is surely the favourite to take the number 10 jersey for the Lions tour this summer.

The 22-year-old Lamont, making his debut on the international stage, never looked out of his depth in the Scotland side.

But as a wing he will be disappointed that he spent most of the time defending rather than attacking.

There was a hint of his strength going forward in the first half, which came to the fore with 13 minutes to go when he powered his way through two Welsh defenders for his try.

Shane Williams continued his dazzling form at Murrayfield with a try in the first half and was a constant threat to the Scottish defence throughout.

He showed impressive reading of the game and, although he missed one tackle on Lamont in the second half, Williams was defensively strong.

Blind-side flanker Taylor, one of Scotland's few genuine world-class players, struggled to impose himself as the Welsh forwards dominated.

He did come into the game when Scotland finally shored up their defence and enjoyed a bit of possession in the second half but was not his normal influential self.

Williams is probably the star performer for Wales this year and again his work-rate was outstanding.

He was an immense presence in the loose and always made himself available in support as Wales ran riot in the opening period and supplied the pass for Ryan Jones' early score.

Yet again he gave a wonderful example of open-side play and was a superb link between his backs and forwards.

Murray struggled to get into the game and was one of the Scottish locks that missed the tackle on Ryan Jones which led to Wales' first try.

After the break, Murray helped Scotland get a foothold in the game and was able to get the ball in hand but by then the game was lost.

Cockbain was one of the main stars in a pack that gave the Welsh backs the platform they needed to cause havoc.

He was a giant in every way but the only black mark on his copybook was his sin-binning on 61 minutes for coming in from the side when Scotland were threatening the try-line.