France crowned 2025 Six Nations champions after fending off Scotland

France claimed the 2025 Six Nations title after they overcame a determined Scotland side 35-16 at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

Tries from Yoram Moefana (2), Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Thomas Ramos, who finished with a 20-point haul, steered Les Bleus to tournament glory in front of their fans.

Scotland battled bravely throughout but missed opportunities and lack of brute force up front meant they were gradually moved out of reach of this superb France side.

Darcy Graham scored Scotland‘s only try of the game while Finn Russell kicked 11 points but Gregor Townsend’s men will rue several missed opportunities on the night.

England were hoping Scotland would do them a favour after their impressive win over Wales moved them above Les Bleus ahead of this final clash of the Championship.

However, France looked on their game from kick-off at the Stade de France as Ramos slotted a simple penalty on four minutes, this after the Scots brought down a maul.

Another maul pull-down led to Jamie Ritchie being sin-binned by referee Matthew Carley after 12 minutes, but Scotland managed to survive the ensuing French onslaught.

That was until the 17th minute when a fine side-step and offload from Gael Fickou on the Scottish 22 sent centre partner Moefana scrambling under the uprights for 10-0.

Then came a moment of controversy as France hooker Peato Mauvaka threw himself into Scotland’s Ben White on the ground, making head on head contact with the scrum-half after the referee’s whistle had blown.  However, his card remained yellow, much to the anger of plenty of supporters of Scotland who believed it should have been a straight red.

Russell would take the three points from the offence but that was soon wiped out by Ramos off the tee, who landed his own shot after Ritchie was penalised for offside.

Scotland were starting to find their groove with ball in hand and crossed the whitewash on 29 minutes when Russell’s inside ball saw Graham slice through and get over.

Russell would level matters at 13-all four minutes before the interval after Jean-Baptiste Gros was yellow carded, but Ramos kicked a penalty of his own on 39 minutes.

Scotland thought they had crossed before the interval when Russell found Jordan who crashed over.  However, Blair Kinghorn had grazed the sideline in an earlier attack.

It was a case of what if and that was only amplified when after an excellent start to the second period, Scotland found themselves under their posts in a flash when a loose pass was snapped up by Romain Ntamack, who passed it on to Bielle-Biarrey who cruised over.  With the Ramos extra two points, France were 10 points in front against the run of play.

Russell would opt for three points on 50 minutes, which made it 23-16, as Scotland had the view there was ample time left, but one wondered if they should have gambled.

France would make them rue that decision as they picked up their third and fourth try before the hour mark as Ramos and Moefana finished well to stretch the lead to 19.

That margin felt like the match had been ended as a contest and so it proved as despite Scotland continuing to chance their arm while France looked to their power game, neither side would trouble the scorers thereafter as Les Bleus subsequently cruised to their first Six Nations title since 2022 as Ireland’s Championship reign is brought to a conclusion.

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio 2, Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyrill Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Antony Jelonch, 23 Nolann le Garrec

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Marshall Sykes, 21 Ben Muncaster, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Referee:  Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (RFU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

Wales' losing streak extends to 16 after Six Nations defeat to Scotland

Wales were made to count the cost of a shambolic first 60 minutes after Scotland claimed a 35-29 victory in the Six Nations on Saturday.

After the improvement against Ireland, this was a step backwards from the Welsh, who were overwhelmed by an impressive Scottish team in the opening hour.

The result was effectively confirmed at the break as Tom Jordan’s double, allied by further scores by Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham, moved them 28-8 ahead going into the second period.

Blair Murray responded for the visitors in the opening period, while Ben Thomas, Teddy Williams and Max Llewellyn also touched down in the second half to rescue two bonus-points, but Blair Kinghorn sealed his brace to make sure of a victory for the hosts.

It moved Scotland up to third in the Six Nations table ― for the time being at least ― and within an outside chance of the title going into the final weekend, but this game mostly served as an opportunity for redemption after the England disappointment.

As for the Welsh, credit must be given for their response in the final 20 minutes, which gave them tangible reward for their efforts, but they were outclassed for the most part.

Hopes were high that Wales could finally end their barren streak and, after they earned an early penalty, which Gareth Anscombe converted, eyebrows would have been raised further, but it proved to be a rather chastening first 60 minutes for the visitors.

Matt Sherratt’s men were ripped apart time and time again, with the opening try showing just how fallible this team still is as Kinghorn shrugged off a couple of tackles to touch down.

Scotland, after their immensely frustrating defeat to England, were also fired up and played some outstanding rugby.  Gregor Townsend’s side moved the ball so well at Twickenham two weeks ago and once again they found gaps in the opposition defence.

That was demonstrated by their second try as a sweeping move from right to left saw Duhan van der Merwe send Huw Jones free down the left.  The centre then drew the final defender and sent Jordan over the line to open up a 14-3 lead.

Wales’ only real bright spark was New Zealand-born Murray and the livewire back latched on to Anscombe’s smart chip kick to get them back in the contest.

However, that Welsh delight was only brief as the Scots reasserted their authority and went over for the third time.  On this occasion it was Graham who scored but the wing was indebted to Finn Russell after the fly-half dummied and sent him through a hole to touch down.

A fourth try ― and thus the bonus-point ― was soon forthcoming when Jordan completed his brace for a 20-point lead at the break.

Although Wales mounted a remarkable comeback last year and almost snatched an unlikely win, Scotland effectively had the game wrapped up six minutes into the second period.

Townsend’s team once again dominated the physical exchanges and stressed Wales’ defence, which opened the space for Kinghorn to race through a large gap and cross the whitewash.

To Wales’ credit, however, they continued to work hard and they got their reward in the final quarter with two tries for Thomas and Teddy Williams.

It could have been a third in quick succession when Taulupe Faletau touched down ― which certainly would have made Scotland fans nervous ― but it was controversially ruled out for Murray ‘jumping over a tackle’ in the build-up.

That ended any faint hopes of a fightback, although the Welshmen did get a final score with the clock in the red when Llewellyn crossed, giving them two bonus-points.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Kyle Rowe

Wales:  15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Joe Roberts

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Finn Russell misses cost Scotland, England win Calcutta Cup

Finn Russell’s three missed conversions proved costly as Scotland somehow lost the Calcutta Cup following a 16-15 defeat to a poor England side at Twickenham.

The visitors utterly dominated the opening hour of the game but they found themselves just 10-7 ahead thanks to tries from Ben White and Huw Jones.

England’s only response came via Tommy Freeman but it was enough to keep them in the contest as the Scots’ profligacy harmed them.

The Red Rose would duly take advantage despite their pretty abysmal display with Marcus Smith kicking two three-pointers and Fin Smith adding one of his own which would confirm the win.

That was despite a remarkable ending to the match as Scotland manufactured a brilliantly worked try for Duhan van der Merwe.

It left Russell with a conversion out wide to win it but, like his other two efforts, it drifted wide of the uprights as Scotland failed to go five in a row against England.

Irrespective of what Scotland have done or what they go on to do, they always bring the performance against England and by and large they did so again on Saturday.

Considering how poor they were against Ireland and for large parts of their game with Italy, logic dictated that Gregor Townsend’s men would struggle at Twickenham, but they were excellent in the first half.

England’s defence certainly helped as their narrowness and passiveness enabled Russell, Tom Jordan and Blair Kinghorn to pick them off.

Scotland spread the ball wide with regularity and, as a result, that man Van der Merwe once again thrived.

The gargantuan wing was hugely influential for the first score as his off-load, combined with good hands from Kinghorn, sent Jordan free.  Although the centre still had plenty to do, he sent a beautiful pass inside for White to finish.

England did hit back as a spell of pressure resulted in Freeman crossing the whitewash, but the visitors were by far the better side.

Every time they had the ball in opposition territory they looked like creating something, which rather meant their two-try return in the opening half would have probably disappointed head coach Townsend.

Jones would get their second after more superb work from Van der Merwe, but they would fail to add to that for the next 60 minutes.

In fact, the Scots could have gone into the break behind had Ollie Lawrence got his off-load right having initially sent Marcus Smith clear.

Smith took play to within five metres before the centre got his hands on the ball for the second time, but his attempted pass went straight into touch to end the half.

Quite frankly, England were fortunate to only be three points behind at the break but they didn’t seem to heed the warning as Scotland continued to control matters in the second period.

Townsend’s outfit were comfortable against this English team but they almost became too relaxed as they failed to add to the scoreboard.

As a result, it enabled the hosts to edge their way into the contest and when the Scots conceded a penalty, Marcus Smith levelled matters off the tee.

All of a sudden, the visitors started to make errors and the Red Rose capitalised, with the two Smiths kicking a penalty apiece to take them 16-10 ahead.

That looked to have sealed the win for England, but there was a dramatic conclusion when Scotland manufactured another brilliant try.

Stafford McDowall scythed through the middle and the ball was sent out wide for Van der Merwe to finish.  It left Russell with a difficult conversion and for the third time in the game he missed to hand England the win and the Calcutta Cup.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellie Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Referee:  Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO:  Tual Trainini (France)

Ireland make Six Nations title statement with dominant win over Scotland

Ireland took another step towards an unprecedented Six Nations three-peat as they secured a thoroughly deserved 32-18 triumph over Scotland at Murrayfield.

Following their victory over England last weekend, they made it two from two in 2025 with another impressive display.

Ireland effectively controlled the match from start to finish, going 17-0 in front via Calvin Nash and Caelan Doris tries after half-an-hour, while Sam Prendergast added seven points off the tee.

There was a brief surge from the Scots as Duhan van der Merwe touched down and Blair Kinghorn kicked two penalties, but further scores via James Lowe and Jack Conan secured another bonus-point victory for the Six Nations title holders.

After a slow start in their Six Nations opener against England, Ireland were quite the opposite in the early stages of this encounter.  They were fast out of the blocks, playing at a tempo and intensity which the hosts simply could not deal with.

Easterby’s charges were hugely impressive and Robbie Henshaw set the tone with a powerful drive through the heart of the Scottish defence.  They then moved the ball through the phases with typical accuracy, forcing their opponents to infringe twice deep inside their own 22.

Instead of going for the posts, the visitors went for the jugular and their bravery was rewarded when Prendergast’s long pass was collected and finished by Nash, who was a late replacement for Mack Hansen.

It was an outstanding opening to the game from Ireland and they continued to dominate as pretty much everything went wrong for Scotland.

Their only success came at the lineout, with the Irishmen not helped by quick fire HIAs for Tadhg Beirne and then his replacement, Ryan Baird.

However, it was not enough to alter the momentum with all the chances being created by the back-to-back defending champions.  The Scots were perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty try when Duhan van der Merwe impeded Nash, but it did result in a yellow card for the gargantuan wing.

Ireland were also held up twice over the line by the desperate hosts, who did well to keep their tryline intact for the next 20 minutes.

That was until captain Doris found his way across the whitewash.  By that point, Prendergast had extended their lead off the tee and Scotland had seen Darcy Graham and Finn Russell both go off with head injuries after a nasty collision, but the Irishmen’s second try was nothing less than they deserved.

Once again, their young fly-half was at the heart of it when he broke down the left-hand side.  He decided not to throw the off-load and it proved to be the correct decision as his captain was on hand a phase later to touch down.

Scotland had been comprehensively outplayed and the loss of Russell certainly did not help matters, but they at least got themselves on the scoreboard on the stroke of half-time thanks to Van der Merwe’s brilliant finish.

Considering how the opening period went, it seemed like just a bump in the road for an Ireland side in complete control, but Scotland appeared revitalised at the start of the second half.

Kinghorn immediately reduced the arrears with a penalty and, following a stunning Huw Jones break, the full-back added another off the tee.

All of a sudden, Scotland found themselves back in the contest and within a converted try of their opponents, but that threat was only brief and Ireland soon re-established their dominance to put the game out of the home side’s reach.

Lowe, Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park set up a fine position and it was capitalised on by the left wing as he showed his strength to cross the whitewash.

Then came the decisive blow as with a quarter of the match remaining Easterby’s men killed off the contest when Gibson-Park’s utterly stunning kick was collected by Hugo Keenan.  Although the full-back was hauled down just short, Conan was on hand to go over and secure their second win.

Prendergast then added a three-pointer to extend Ireland’s lead before Scotland had the final word through Ben White’s late try.

However, it was barely a consolation score given the title ambitions they had before the tournament.  Instead, they succumbed for the 11th successive time to Ireland.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose

Referee:  James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Scotland rescued by Huw Jones hat-trick as they edge Italy in Six Nations

Scotland withstood a scare from Italy as Huw Jones’ hat-trick helped them open their 2025 Six Nations campaign with a 31-19 victory at Murrayfield.

The hosts had opened in fine style, finding themselves 14-0 and then 19-6 ahead thanks to tries from Rory Darge, Jones and Ben White, but the Azzurri hit back.

Tommaso Allan responded with two penalties before another brace of three-pointers reduced the arrears to seven.  When Juan Ignacio Brex intercepted Finn Russell’s pass to level the scores, the majority of Murrayfield was concerned, but Darcy Graham and Jones rescued the Scots.

Graham was the spark for both of the centre’s second-half tries as Scotland saw off a spirited showing from the Italians.

Fast start

The Scots went into the 2025 Six Nations with hopes once again high that they could end their long wait for a title and their start showed why.

Gregor Townsend’s men dominated possession and territory against an Italian outfit that were slow out of the blocks.  Co-captain Darge took advantage of their opponents’ slack opening, starting and finishing a try which moved them into an early 7-0 advantage.

The flanker, who was utterly sublime in the first half, turned over the ball on halfway before the play was shifted wide for Duhan van der Merwe to storm down the left-hand side.

Under pressure, Italy infringed and, instead of going for the posts, the hosts went for the jugular and it paid off as Darge barrelled over from close range.

Scotland then built on that early score and once again Van der Merwe was heavily involved as he surged down the wing and passed inside for Jones to finish.

It had been a dreadful start for an Azzurri team who themselves had big ambitions coming into the tournament.  Their lineout was malfunctioning while they simply failed to hold onto the ball for any significant length of time, but they finally began to edge back into the contest.

The scrum had the better of the Scottish front-row and the home side also started to make a few more errors, handing Allan a couple of penalty opportunities which the full-back kicked to reduce the arrears.

All the threat was coming from Scotland, however, and a third try was soon forthcoming as Dave Cherry’s brilliant off-load enabled White to touch down.

Only discipline was really letting Townsend’s outfit down and a third infringement inside their own half enabled Allan to make it a 10-point buffer.

But it was becoming a real issue and, after a fourth three-pointer got Italy to within a converted try on the scoreboard, the pressure increased on the Scots.

It evidently told on Russell, who forced a pass in midfield, and Brex was on hand to intercept and cross the whitewash unopposed to level matters.  The match had turned on its head and a revitalised Italy were hassling the Scots into mistakes.

The hosts needed something special to re-establish control of proceedings and it came via the magnificent Graham.  The flyer received the ball on the right-hand wing, cut inside and sped away before Jones was on hand to collect and score.

Graham was also involved in their fifth score as he took the ball off the shoulder of Russell to take them deep into Italian territory.  Under pressure, the visitors duly ceded when Jones crossed the whitewash for his hat-trick.

Those tries gave Scotland enough of a buffer to see out the rest of the game, despite a late surge from Italy which saw them create a number of chances.  However, their profligacy meant that they came away from Edinburgh with nothing to show for their efforts.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Niccolo Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Simone Gesi

Referee:  Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Superb Scotland blunt Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies to end tourists’ grand slam dream

The Wallabies are still waiting for their first Home Nations grand slam since 1984 after they were outplayed by an outstanding Scotland side, going down 27-13 at Murrayfield.

It was a tight and fraught opening period, with the hosts going 7-3 in front at the interval through Sione Tuipulotu’s try.

Noah Lolesio provided Australia’s response before the break and then added another three-pointer in the second period, but the Scots then hit their straps to take the game away from the tourists.

They touched down three more times via Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Finn Russell to end their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a fine victory.

The Wallabies, meanwhile, did get a consolation score through Harry Potter but it was a disappointing afternoon for Joe Schmidt’s outfit, who fell in the third match of their grand slam quest.

Plenty was riding on this contest, which was evident in the ferocity of the collisions and the fractious nature of the match.

It led to an intense and enthralling encounter, even if the mistakes meant that the sides struggled to truly find their rhythm with ball in hand.

The Wallabies were full of confidence following their victories in London and Cardiff.  In those matches, they scored 42 and 52 points respectively, but they found the Scottish defence much more difficult to breach on Sunday.

Although the tempo was there and the carries often forced the hosts’ rearguard back, Gregor Townsend’s men adjusted well and defended superbly inside their own 22.

Lolesio did reward the early Australian pressure with a penalty, but they struggled to turn their good work into tries.

In contrast, Scotland were more clinical.  They weren’t averse to the odd error when in good attacking positions, but the home side at least managed to turn some of their chances into points.

They had gone through the first quarter scoreless but rectified that in the 23rd minute when Tuipulotu charged onto Ewan Ashman’s lineout throw to touch down.

Schmidt would not have been happy with the Wallabies defence, but the Scottish captain was too powerful in contact for Andrew Kellaway and Len Ikitau.

After Russell added the conversion, that 7-3 scoreline remained until the start of the second period when the hosts’ fly-half extended their buffer.

Lolesio responded almost immediately but Scotland were beginning to take control thanks to the Australians’ discipline and the kicking accuracy of their opponents’ half-backs.

Townsend’s side duly put pressure on the Aussies’ try-line and it eventually resulted in Van der Merwe powering over to once again move ahead of Darcy Graham in the try-scoring pecking order.

Graham would still be an influential part of the win, however, as his searing break was finished off by Bayliss.

Scotland were now rampant and a fourth try was soon forthcoming as Huw Jones combined with Blair Kinghorn to send Russell across the whitewash.

That sealed the win and ended Australia’s hopes, despite Potter getting a score back for the visitors late on.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Billy Pollard, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Referee:  Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Second string Scots put 50 past Os Lobos as Darcy Graham equals all-time try-scoring record

Hot-stepping wing Darcy Graham equalled Duhan van der Merwe’s all-time try-scoring record for Scotland as they triumphed over Portugal 59-21 on Saturday.

The much-changed Scottish side had a strong afternoon, running in eight tries through Will Hurd, Stafford McDowall, Graham, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Arron Reed (2), Jamie Dobie and a penalty try while Adam Hastings kicked five conversions and Tom Jordan one.

Portugal may have been on the wrong end of the result but still scored the most points against a home nation in their history through three tries from Luka Begic, Raffaele Storti and Samuel Marques, who also kicked both conversions.

It did not take long for the scoreboard to be active with Hurd opening the scoring with an unconverted try in the third minute.

Momentum stayed firmly with the hosts as McDowall snapped up a loose ball to score a try on his first game captaining his country.  Hastings was on hand to kick the extras on this occasion.

The hosts continued to play with swagger and, although Portugal’s defence grew into the game, Scotland were handed a penalty try for an illegally collapsed maul on Os Lobos’ line in the 27th minute.

The misery continued as sustained Scottish pressure resulted in Graham skipping through for his record-equalling try six minutes later with Hastings adding the extras, as he did for Bayliss’ try just four minutes after that.  However, Portugal had the final say with Begic’s converted score.

Scotland started the second period as they did the first with an early try, this time through Bhatti ― his first in Test rugby.  Hastings would miss the kick and next on the scoreboard was Portuguese talisman Marques who scampered over for a try he converted himself in the 54th minute.

Reed then suddenly decided to announce himself in the game with a three-minute double around the hour mark, both of which were converted by Hastings.

Portugal scored their last points of the game through a converted Storti try, but it was Scotland who had the final word with Dobie scoring his try, with man of the match Jordan kicking the conversion.

Teams

Scotland:  15 Tom Jordan, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Arron Reed, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Ben Muncaster, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Patrick Harrison, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Matt Currie, 23 Kyle Rowe

Portugal:  15 Simao Bento, 14 Raffaele Storti, 13 Jose Lima, 12 Tomas Appleton, 11 Lucas Martins, 10 Domingos Cabral, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Frederico Couto, 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 Andre da Cunha, 5 Duarte Torgal, 4 Jose Madeira, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 David Costa
Replacements:  16 Abel da Cunha, 17 Pedro Vicente, 18 Antonio Prim, 19 Antonio Rebelo de Andrade, 20 Vasco Baptista, 21 Antonio Campos, 22 Hugo Aubry, 23 Manuel Cardoso Pinto

Referee:  Takehito Namekawa (JRFU)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (RFU), Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Springboks blow Scotland away to kickstart their November tour with flattering win

The Springboks got the job done but were made to work hard for their 32-15 Autumn Nations Series victory against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Although the world champions outscored Scotland by four tries to none, the home side were competitive for long periods and delivered a spirited performance throughout.

However, the Springboks’ proved too strong in the end with Makazole Mapimpi (2), Thomas du Toit and Jasper Wiese crossing the whitewash while Handre Pollard succeeded with three conversions and a couple of penalties.

Scotland’s points came courtesy of five penalties from Finn Russell.

South Africa made a terrific start as they opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Mapimpi crossed for the opening try.  This, after Pollard caught Scotland’s defence napping with a perfectly weighted cross-field kick which Mapimpi gathered before diving over in the left-hand corner.

Pollard was off target with his conversion attempt but the home side suffered another setback in the 10th minute when Scott Cummings was yellow-carded for a dangerous cleanout on Franco Mostert which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card by the TMO Bunker after a review.

Despite losing Cummings, Scotland did not panic and they held a 6-5 lead midway through the opening half after Russell slotted two penalties in quick succession.

However, the visitors struck back when Thomas du Toit crossed for their second five-pointer on the half-hour-mark.  This after Mostert failed to gather a lineout on Scotland’s five-metre line.  Du Toit was quickest to react and gathered the ball at the back of the set-piece before crossing for his first Test try.

Pollard added the extras but Scotland reduced the deficit in the 33rd minute when he succeeded with his third three-pointer off the kicking tee.

The Boks still held an edge, however, and shortly afterwards Mapimpi was rewarded with his second try, after gathering a delightful chip kick from Willie le Roux inside the home side’s 22.

Scotland responded when their captain Sione Tuipulotu put Tom Jordan in the clear with a deft offload and the full-back offloaded to Ben White, who dotted down.

However, the score was disallowed due to a knock-on from Huw Jones in the build-up which meant the teams changed sides at half-time with the world champions holding a 19-9 lead.

Four tries without reply as the #Springboks kick off the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour with a big win in Edinburgh 👏#ForeverGreenForeverGold #SCOvRSA pic.twitter.com/fVlU4jpVO1

― Springboks (@Springboks) November 10, 2024

Scotland drew first blood after the restart courtesy of a Russell penalty in the 44th minute and shortly afterwards Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus unloaded his much-vaunted Bomb Squad with six of his forward replacements ― Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese ― joining the fray at the same time after the seventh one ― RG Snyman ― had come at the start of the half.

Those changes did not have the desired effect as Scotland held the upper hand during the next 10 minutes and the Springboks suffered a setback when Mapimpi was yellow carded for a professional foul on defence in the 58th minute.

Soon after, Russell added his fifth penalty which meant the Boks were holding a slender four-point lead but that was the only points they would concede during Mapimpi’s stint in the sin bin.

Pollard slotted two more penalties, which gave the Boks some breathing space, and in the game’s dying moments Wiese secured the result for the visitors when he crossed for his five-pointer after a powerful run off the back of a scrum on Scotland’s five-metre line.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Tom Jordan, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams

Referee:  Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (England)

Darcy Graham scores FOUR as Scotland seal dominant victory over Fiji

Darcy Graham shone on his return to Scotland duty as they opened their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a 57-17 thrashing of Fiji at Murrayfield.

Gregor Townsend’s men were rampant early on, with Graham starring in his first Test since last year’s Rugby World Cup.  Kyle Rowe might have opened the scoring but it was his back three partner’s brace which was the first-half highlight.

Huw Jones also crossed the whitewash as the Scots went 26-0 up at the end of the first quarter before the visitors finally woke up.

The Flying Fijians hit back through Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula and Meli Derenalagi to give them hope before they further ate into the lead when Tevita Ikanivere touched down early in the second period.

But any concerns were eased via Graham, who brilliantly finished twice more to go level with Duhan van der Merwe on 28 at the top of the try-scoring chart.  However, he was then surpassed once more as Van der Merwe crossed the whitewash to take his record back.

With the match taking place outside the international window, Fiji were without their overseas stars and it showed, especially early on, as Scotland dominated.

Townsend’s slick team were impressive in the opening quarter while the Pacific Islanders were ill-disciplined.

Frank Lomani was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and the hosts took advantage when Rowe crossed the whitewash from close range.

Fiji got back to 15 men only to see Apisalome Vota yellow carded and, from the resultant opportunity, Graham combined with Ewan Ashman to score his first of the evening.

It wasn’t long before the speedster was over for his second as he latched on to Adam Hastings’ cross-field kick to finish in the right-hand corner.

The Flying Fijians were imploding and another mistake allowed Jones to intercept to take Scotland 26-0 in front.

To the tourists’ credit, they showed some spirit and put some pressure on the Scottish rearguard.  As a result, the hosts began to infringe and it eventually resulted in Ashman being yellow carded for a series of penalties on their own line.

With the hooker off the field, Armstrong-Ravula went over before Derenalagi followed him after Ashman had returned from the naughty step.

And when Ikanivere crossed the whitewash at the start of the second period, Murrayfield started to get nervous.

Graham was on hand to ease their tension, though, and after the flyer had completed his hat-trick, the hosts relaxed.

The 27-year-old crossed the whitewash for a fourth time to equal Van der Merwe’s try-scoring record before his back three partner once again took it outright when he benefited from Hastings’ genius.

Fiji’s spirit had well and truly been broken and Scotland rounded off the win when Jones touched down.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Stafford McDowall

Fiji:  15 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 14 Vuate Karawalevu, 13 Apisalome Vota, 12 Inia Tabuavou, 11 Ponipate Loganimasi, 10 Caleb Muntz, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Ratu Meli Derenalagi, 5 Ratu Leone Rotuisolia, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Samuela Tawake, 2 Tevita Ikanivere (c), 1 Haereiti Hetet
Replacements:  16 Mesulame Dolokoto, 17 Livai Natave, 18 Jone Koroiduadua, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simi Kuruvoli, 22 Kemueli Valetini, 23 Waqa Nalaga

Referee:  Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referees:  Christophe Ridley (RFU), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)

Duhan van der Merwe breaks Stuart Hogg’s try record in Scotland victory

Duhan van der Merwe became Scotland men’s record try-scorer after he touched down in their tight 31-19 victory over Uruguay.

The 29-year-old scored Scotland’s third try after 26 minutes on Saturday, which was the 28th time he has crossed the whitewash at Test level.

Van der Merwe duly surpassed the tally of Stuart Hogg, who went over on 27 occasions for Scotland between 2012 and 2023.

When the powerhouse scored, the visitors were 19-0 in front with Ewan Ashman and Luke Crosbie also touching down, but they then suffered a fright.

A spirited Uruguay outfit levelled matters with a quarter of the match to go thanks to tries from Santiago Alvarez, Felipe Etcheverry and Manuel Diana.

Los Teros sensed that an upset was on the cards but Patrick Harrison and Pierre Schoeman re-established Scotland’s dominance and secured the victory for Gregor Townsend’s men.

There was a late change to Townsend’s team with Scott Cummings dropping out with a foot injury.  Gregor Brown came in and Ewan Johnson was promoted into the 23-man squad, which was entirely composed of Glasgow and Edinburgh players given the game fell outside the international calendar.

Uruguay had the early pressure and their forwards drove within metres of the try line before failing to make the most of two penalties, one which they kicked to the corner and another which Etcheverry kicked wide of the posts.  It would not be the last time Scotland were grateful for the Uruguayan fly-half’s wayward kicking.

The momentum shifted with an incredible kick from Ben Healy, who found touch near Uruguay’s 22-metre line from deep within his own.

Scotland soon won a penalty and Ashman forced himself over for his fourth try of the tour in the 12th minute after the hooker followed up his own lineout to drive over at the back of a maul.

There was a scrappy spell of kicking before Matt Fagerson’s interception put Scotland on the front foot, and he ultimately fed Crosbie to cross for his first Scotland try after Diego Arbelo had been shown a yellow card for halting George Horne illegally after a kick-and-go penalty.

Van der Merwe was handed his memorable moment thanks to an unselfish pass from Kyle Rowe.  At 29, the Edinburgh winger could go on to set a final tally that will be very difficult to surpass.

The historic moment was nearly followed by a turnaround that would have been talked about for years.

Scrum-half Alvarez got Uruguay off the mark after intercepting Healy’s pass in front of the posts.  Etcheverry then went over from close range before taking his tally to nine points.

The fly-half somehow hit the post with a straightforward kick early in the second half after Brown was penalised for a high tackle but his deft kick forward led to the maul which saw Diana go over just after the hour mark.

Etcheverry was well wide with the conversion attempt that could have put the hosts ahead and the introduction of Adam Hastings and Jamie Dobie in the half-back positions brought some urgency to the visitors.

Harrison went over from a maul and Schoeman crossed inside four minutes before another substitute, Kyle Steyn, saw a late try disallowed.

The teams

Uruguay:  15 Ignacio Álvarez, 14 Juan Bautista Hontou, 13 Juan Manuel Alonso, 12 Tomás Inciarte, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 1 Ignacio Peculo
Replacements:  16 Joaquín Myszka, 17 Mateo Sanguinetti, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Manuel Diana, 22 Santiago Gini, 23 Joaquín Suárez

Scotland:  15 Harry Paterson, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (c), 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Gregor Brown, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Kyle Steyn

Referee:  Damian Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO:  Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Scotland weather Chile physicality to claim eight-try victory in Santiago

Scotland picked up their third straight triumph on their Americas tour after they overcame a physical Chile side 52-11 in Santiago on Saturday.

Josh Bayliss, Kyle Rowe (2), Jamie Dobie (2), Matthew Currie, Dylan Richardson and Kyle Steyn all crossed the whitewash while Ben Healy and Adam Hastings added extras.

A combative Chile outfit managed to cross just once, through replacement Diego Escobar, but they defended superbly throughout, especially at the ruck to frustrate Scotland.

Forwards Ewan Johnson, Nathan McBeth and Will Hurd were all handed their first Scotland starts, while leadership trio Jamie Ritchie, Sione Tuipulotu and Steyn ― who shifted from his usual position on the wing to play at centre ― were the only players to start the game who had more than 10 caps to their name.

The tourists struggled in the early stages and were behind at the end of the first quarter after Santiago Videla’s penalty got the passionate Chileans up and running in the 11th minute.

Scotland gradually began to feel their way into the match, however, and they claimed the lead in the 22nd minute when back-rower Bayliss showed good feet to push his way over from close range, with Healy adding the extras.

The hosts reduced the deficit to one point shortly afterwards with a penalty from Tomas Salas but the Scots started to exert their authority in the closing stages of the half.

Just before the half-hour, Rowe waltzed in off the left to score his first Scotland try, but the visitors could consider themselves fortunate that the officials did not deem Tuipulotu’s pass in the build-up to have gone forward. Healy converted.

Dobie ― playing on the wing instead of his usual scrum-half berth ― then finished off the Scots’ third try of the evening in the 35th minute following an exquisite pass out to the right from Healy, who was on point once more from the tee.

Hooker Richardson almost added another in the 39th minute but was held up on the line.

Dobie enjoyed another easy finish five minutes after the break when, following a lineout on the left, the Scots worked the ball clinically through hands to the right, with Rowe laying it on a plate for his Glasgow colleague to bound over. Healy was off target with his conversion from wide on the right.

Chile got one back in the 50th minute when replacement hooker Escobar bulldozed his way through Gus Warr and Arron Reed off the back of a maul, although Salas’ conversion attempt drifted just wide.

Edinburgh back Currie raced away for his first Scotland try in the 58th minute, with fellow substitute Hastings converting.

Rowe then scurried over for his second of the evening in the 65th minute after another slick Scottish move from left to right while Escobar was in the sin-bin following some cynical play.

Richardson pushed over in the 73rd minute before Steyn darted clear to seal an ultimately comfortable eight-try victory in virtually the last action of the match.

The teams

Chile:  15 Diego Warnken, 14 Cristobal Game, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Santiago Videla, 11 Matias Garafulic, 10 Tomas Salas, 9 Lucas Berti, 8 Alfonso Escobar Alvarez, 7 Raimundo Martinez, 6 Martin Sigren, 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Javier Carrasco Albornoz
Replacements:  16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Inaki Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero Poduje, 20 Joaquin Milesi, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Benjamin Videla, 23 José Larenas

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 James Ritchie, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Ewan Johnson, 4 Alexander Craig, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements:  16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Rory Darge, 21 Adam Hastings, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Matthew Currie

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (IRFU), Gonzalo De Achaval (UAR)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

Ewan Ashman grabs first-half hat-trick as Scotland see off USA

Ewan Ashman scored a first-half hat-trick as Scotland made it two victories from two on their Americas tour, easing past the USA 42-7 at Audi Field in Washington DC.

Wing Duhan van der Merwe opened the visitors’ try account in the sixth minute before hooker Ashman’s treble sent Gregor Townsend’s troops in 28-7 ahead at the interval.

The second half dipped in quality as both teams struggled in the wet weather, with George Horne and Matt Fagerson claiming a further two crossings for Scotland.

Former Italy international centre Tommaso Boni scored the USA’s only try of the game with 32 minutes on the clock, as they came off second best to the Six Nations outfit.

As mentioned, Van der Merwe was quick off the mark to equal Stuart Hogg’s record of 27 tries for Scotland, timing his run to take Adam Hastings’ popped pass and coasting over.

Hastings converted and added the extras for each of Ashman’s treble ― all of which came at the back of rolling mauls from lineouts as they opened a healthy lead at the break.

The USA grabbed a try of their own in the midst of Ashman’s scoring spell, centre Boni going over despite prop David Ainu’u being in the sin bin for a breakdown offence just moments after the hosts had been warned for repeat infringements.

Bristol fly-half AJ MacGinty converted, but was off target with two penalty attempts.

Scotland stretched their advantage 10 minutes into the second half, scrum-half Horne racing in after getting on the end of Kyle Rowe’s break. Hastings added the conversion.

Stubborn home defence and increasing scrappiness in the testing conditions halted the scoring until Fagerson touched down six minutes from time at the back of a dominant Scottish scrum, Ross Thompson completing the scoring with the conversion.

The teams

USA:  15 Luke Carty, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 13 Tavite Lopeti, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Nate Augspurger, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 JP Smith, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 7 Paddy Ryan, 6 Sam Golla, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Viliami Helu, 3 David Ainu’u, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 1 Jack Iscaro
Replacements:  16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Saia Uhila, 20 Ben Bonasso, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Bryce Campbell, 23 Mitch Wilson

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (cc), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Robbie Smith, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Matt Currie

Referee:  Jordan Way
Assistant Referees:  Adam Leal, Robin Kaluzniak
TMO:  Chris Assmus

Scotland ease past Canada as Sale Sharks duo grab try doubles

A second-string Scotland side got their mid-year tour off to a winning start as they comfortably dispatched Canada 73-12 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa on Saturday.

Missing the majority of their Six Nations regulars, head coach Gregor Townsend is using this Americas tour to look at fringe players who are pushing for regular places.

Josh Bayliss, Dylan Richardson (2), Aaron Reed (2), Gus Warr (2), Harry Paterson, Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall and Kyle Steyn all crossed the whitewash in an 11-try result.

Lucas Rumball scored for Canada early on and Kyle Baillie after the break but it was a stroll in the end for Scotland as they claimed The Douglas JL Horn Memorial Trophy.

The hosts were camped inside the Scotland 22 in the opening exchanges and were duly rewarded after eight minutes when captain Rumball burst over following a driving maul.

Spurred into action, Scotland hit back four minutes later with their first real attack as Paterson punctured the defensive line and offloaded to Matt Currie on the left wing, his pass back inside allowing Bayliss to go over unopposed.

Richardson had his first try after a quarter of an hour having collected an offload from Ross Thompson, who converted both of Scotland’s opening scores to put them 14-5 ahead.

Thompson failed to split the posts when Richardson dotted down from a surging maul and was again wayward with his kick when Reed marked his international bow with a try before half-time, Paterson the architect of the move with an offload out the back of his hand which freed the debutant to score.

Warr reinforced Scotland’s lead after the break, first dancing through the line and while Canada briefly held out, the scrum-half collected the ball again and dived over the ruck for a debut try.

Baillie’s converted try gave Canada respite from the Scotland onslaught, but the impressive Paterson and Warr combined for the latter to shrug off a couple of challenges and touch down.

Scotland looked a threat every time they pushed forward and Reed grabbed his second of the match after barrelling down the left wing, barging past a couple of defenders, before going over.

Scotland breached the 50-point barrier just after the hour mark when Paterson deservedly got on the scoreboard following some excellent interplay, while Dobie touched down underneath the posts after being teed up by Reed.

McDowall also went over underneath the posts after some deft footwork to evade several challenges while Steyn gratefully accepted Healy’s offload to round off the scoring.

Next up for Scotland is a clash with USA on Friday in Washington before facing Chile in Santiago (Saturday, July 20) and then Uruguay in Montevideo (Saturday, July 27).

The teams

Canada:  15 Cooper Coats, 14 Andrew Coe, 13 Mitch Richardson, 12 Ben LeSage, 11 Nic Benn, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Jason Higgins, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Mason Flesch, 5 Kyle Baillie, 4 Conor Keys, 3 Conor Young, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 1 Liam Murray
Replacements:  16 Jesse MacKail, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Cole Keith, 19 James Stockwood, 20 Sion Parry, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Talon McMullin, 23 Takoda McMullin

Scotland:  15 Harry Paterson, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Glen Young, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Elliot Millar-Mills, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Robbie Smith, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Ben Healy, 22 Kyle Steyn, 23 Ross McCann

Referee:  Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Kat Roche (USA), Kahlil Harrison (USA)
TMO:  Austin Reed (USA)

Ireland seal back-to-back Six Nations titles after victory over Scotland

Ireland made it back-to-back Six Nations title triumphs after securing a hard-fought 17-13 victory over a rugged Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Coming into the game on the back of a shock loss to England, the Irish regrouped and ground out the win thanks to tries from front-row duo Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter.

Jack Crowley added seven points off the kicking tee against a steely Scotland side who while struggled with ball in hand, put in a formidable defensive showing on the road.

Scotland’s only try of the match came late on through Huw Jones, with Finn Russell kicking a conversion and two penalties as they finish with three defeats and two wins.

Andy Farrell’s hosts were well below their free-flowing best in Dublin but avoided any major ‘Super Saturday’ drama to retain the championship title.

Underdogs Scotland crossed the Irish Sea with a slender chance of snatching the title but realistically seeking to secure a first Triple Crown since 1990 following a chastening round-four loss to Italy.

Their mission to rip up the script began in positive fashion thanks to an early Russell penalty before Sheehan was gifted his fifth try of the tournament by George Turner’s overthrown lineout.

The fortunate 13th-minute score, converted by Crowley, did little to settle Irish nerves and the fired-up Scots kept up the pressure with another three points from Russell’s boot.

Farrell’s men were struggling to gain meaningful territory during a cagey opening period punctuated with errors and frequent kicking exchanges amid a subdued atmosphere.

Crowley squandered a long-range penalty to stretch the slender advantage as resolute Scotland remained relatively untroubled, while offering a threat on the counter attack.

Ireland, who had been forced to replace injured full-back Hugo Keenan with Jordan Larmour just before kick-off, trudged down the tunnel leading by only a single point and with major room for improvement.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend acknowledged pre-match that his side needed to produce “something special” to spoil the Irish party and bounce back from a dismal display in Rome.

Crowley made their uphill task slightly harder with a straightforward penalty before the visitors received a major reprieve when Tadhg Furlong’s apparent touch down was chalked off following a lengthy review as referee Matthew Carley deemed the ball had been dislodged.

Heroic last-ditch defending was the only thing preventing a rampant home side showing renewed purpose from fully taking control of the contest.

Scotland flanker Andy Christie superbly halted the weaving Calvin Nash with the try-line in touching distance before rusty Ireland replacement Garry Ringrose inexplicably fumbled.

Ringrose, making his first appearance of the tournament following a shoulder injury, atoned with a lung-busting intercept run which led to Ireland’s crucial second try.

Robbie Henshaw was adjudged to have been held up on the line in the immediate aftermath before Porter subsequently powered over from a tap-and-go penalty following a yellow card for Ewan Ashman.

Supporters responded with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry, fully believing the job was done.

However, home fans were forced to endure a nervy final couple of minutes after replacement fly-half Harry Byrne was sin binned for a head-on-head challenge on Russell and Scotland centre Jones broke clear to touch down.

Ireland duly avoided any further issues to jubilantly celebrate a fifth Six Nations title in 11 years ― and sixth overall ― to underline their status as the northern hemisphere’s leading nation.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Garry Ringrose

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Kyle Rowe

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Italy end long wait for Rome win as Scotland's Six Nations hopes dented

Italy scored 21 unanswered points in a stunning comeback to secure a 31-29 victory over Scotland, which severely dents Gregor Townsend’s men’s Six Nations hopes.

Juan Ignacio Brex, Louis Lynagh and Stephen Varney tries helped the Azzurri to a famous victory, with Paolo Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo adding points off the tee.

Zander Fagerson, Kyle Steyn, Pierre Schoeman and Sam Skinner went over for Scotland as they claimed two points from a shock defeat in Rome that could end their title push.

This chastening Six Nations defeat in the Eternal City is sure to crank up the heat on head coach Townsend five months after exiting the World Cup at the group-stage.

Italy got the chance to get the scoreboard ticking over just seconds into the match when Scotland were penalised on their own 22 immediately from the kick-off. Garbisi saw the ball fall off the tee while the clock was running but the fly-half kept his composure to re-tee and send his kick between the posts.

Scotland soon gained a foothold, however, and they got themselves in front in the sixth minute when Fagerson powered his way over from close range after a sustained spell of pressure inside the Italian 22. Finn Russell converted.

The visitors crossed the whitewash again five minutes later when they worked the ball out to the right and Blair Kinghorn fed Steyn, who bundled his way past two Italians to cross the line. Russell converted again.

The Azzurri summoned a swift response as scrum-half Page-Relo lobbed a clever kick over the top and centre Brex ran gleefully over just to the left of the posts in the 15th minute. Garbisi converted.

Shortly after Russell kicked a close-range penalty, Scotland scored their third try of the match in the 28th minute as Schoeman finished things off after being fed by George Turner in a driving maul. Russell’s conversion drifted wide.

Italy finished the first half strongly and reduced their interval deficit to 22-16 with a couple of penalties kicked by Garbisi and then Page-Relo, who was on target from close to the half-way line.

Scotland t―ought they had extended their advantage two minutes into the second period when scrum-half George Horne ― on his first start since the 2019 World Cup ― bolted over after excellent play by Huw Jones to release him but it was subsequently chalked off after Schoeman was adjudged to have committed a foul in the build-up.

The prop’s needless indiscretion was to prove hugely pivotal. Just two minutes later, Italy closed to within a point when debutant Lynagh ― son of former Australia international Michael ― ran on to Garbisi’s kick-through and darted over the line. Garbisi ― with the chance to edge his team in front ― saw his conversion attempt come back off the post.

The Scots found themselves in trouble in the 57th minute when the Italians got themselves in front as replacement scrum-half Varney found a gap between Andy Christie and Jack Dempsey to nudge his way over. This time Garbisi was on target.

Garbisi then scored a huge penalty from distance to put the hosts nine points ahead with seven minutes to play, placing the Scots in a state of desperation.

Replacement lock Skinner ― denied a match-winning try against France a month previously – pushed over with two minutes left and Russell converted to bring the Scots back to within two points and set up a tense finish.

Townsend’s team were unable to find another score, however, and ― as the Azzurri celebrated a rare and deserved victory ― the Scotland players slumped to their knees in abject despair as a campaign had that promised so much was reduced to rubble in Rome.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Spanish Mirco, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Lorenzo Cannone, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Federico Mori

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Ali Price, 23 Kyle Rowe

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Duhan van der Merwe fires Scotland to Calcutta Cup victory over England

A Duhan van der Merwe hat-trick helped Scotland keep their hands on the Calcutta Cup as they beat rivals England 30-21 in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The powerful finisher scored twice against the Red Rose in last year’s match but went one better in 2024 as Scotland bounced back from the loss to France in Round Two.

England‘s two tries on the day came via George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as they suffer a first loss of this Six Nations campaign in a major dent to their title hopes.

Remarkably, the Red Rose have now won only one of the last seven meetings with Scotland.

Led into battle by courageous captain Jamie George just over a week after he lost his mother to cancer, England made a strong start.

Having forced the Scots back from the outset, the Red Rose got themselves ahead in the fifth minute when Northampton full-back Furbank ― making his first start in almost two years ― bounded over gleefully from close range after being played in by Elliot Daly at the end of a brilliant move.

Scotland suffered a further setback moments later when Zander Fagerson had to go off for an HIA, although the influential prop was able to return to the fray in the 18th minute.

By that point, England had opened up a 10-0 lead, with Ford kicking a penalty in the 15th minute.

Scotland had been in a state of disarray for most of the opening quarter, but they suddenly sparked into life and got themselves back into the game in the 20th minute.

Huw Jones made a dash for the line on the right and after being dragged to the ground, the centre flipped the ball up into the path of Van der Merwe, who produced a superb piece of skill to find a gap and bolt over.

The early wind had been removed from England’s sails and Van der Merwe edged the Scots in front on the half-hour mark with a breathtaking score from his own half.

As the visitors mounted an attack, Ford’s heavy pass bounced off the face of Furbank and into the hands of Jones, who instantly offloaded to Van der Merwe 60 metres out.

The wing put on the after-burners and raced clear up the left, leaving a trail of white jerseys in his slipstream. Finn Russell added the extras before stretching the hosts’ advantage to 17-10 with a penalty shortly afterwards.

England were wobbling, but Ford kept his cool to reduce their interval deficit to four points with an opportunist drop goal from 35 yards out.

Scotland suffered what appeared to be a blow within seconds of the second half kicking off when Sione Tuipulotu limped off to be replaced by Cam Redpath.

However, the substitute centre was instrumental in the hosts going further ahead in the 45th minute when he burst through a gap on the halfway line.

A ruck ensued as Redpath was halted in his tracks, and Russell produced one of his trademark cross-field kicks out to the left for Van der Merwe, who burst over for his hat-trick and his 26th try for Scotland.

Ford reduced the deficit to 24-16 with a penalty in the 50th minute, but Russell put the home side firmly back in command with a couple of penalties either side of the hour mark.

England ― having offered little since the opening quarter ― gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 67th minute when replacement wing Feyi-Waboso bolted over on the left.

Fin Smith ― with the chance to bring his side within a converted try of victory ― hit the post with the conversion, leaving the Scots nine points ahead and able to see out the remainder of the match in relatively comfortable fashion.

Not even a yellow card in the closing moments for a tip tackle could take the shine off Van der Merwe’s day.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Drama filled controversial finish as Scotland come up short against France

There was a controversial finish at Murrayfield as Scotland were adjudged to have been held up over the line, meaning France claimed a 20-16 win in the Six Nations.

Les Bleus looked in danger of starting the championship with back-to-back defeats as they trailed for most of the match after Ben White’s seventh-minute try for Scotland.

However, a moment of Louis Bielle-Biarrey brilliance in the 70th minute allowed France ― who had scored in the first half through Gael Fickou ― to move themselves ahead.

Scotland, who were looking to make it back-to-back Six Nations wins after their triumph over Wales last weekend, staged a late rally and thought they had claimed the victory when they forced their way over the try-line after the 80-minute mark, but following a lengthy TMO review, it was deemed they had not grounded the ball on the whitewash.

Scotland ― already missing key back-three members Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham through injury ― were forced into a late change in the back division when wing Kyle Steyn withdrew after his wife went into labour.  The uncapped Harry Paterson, who was not in the initial 23, was enlisted to start at full-back, with Kyle Rowe shifting to wing.

The Scots went ahead with a superbly worked try in the seventh minute, with some quick passing from Duhan van der Merwe, Paterson and Huw Jones on the right paving the way for Toulon scrum-half White, who did well to avoid dropping the ball before holding off the attention of two Frenchmen trying to grapple him as he slid gleefully over the line.  Finn Russell converted.

The visitors got their first points in the 12th minute through a Thomas Ramos penalty.  And they looked certain to get themselves in front three minutes later when Fickou saw a gap on the left and went for it, but Van der Merwe got back to made a vital challenge just before the line, which was deemed by the officials to be legal, much to the frustration of Les Bleus.

The Scots generally looked the more assured of the two sides, however, and a couple of Russell penalties in the 22nd minute and then just before the half hour, nudged them 10 points clear.

A stark reminder of the French threat came in the 31st minute when they worked an opening on the right for Fickou who forced his way over the line despite the best efforts of Jones to halt him.  Ramos converted, bringing his team within three points of their hosts.

The French ― who played the majority of the Ireland game with 14 men last weekend ― suffered a blow two minutes before the interval when Uini Atonio was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Matt Fagerson.

The Scots were camped in front of the French line for the closing minutes of the first half but were unable to reward themselves with further points as they went in at the interval with a slender 13-10 lead.

Fagerson ― who had been in the wars in the first half ― was replaced by Saracens back-rower for the start of the second period.

Following his indiscipline, Atonio would have been hugely relieved to return to the fray with no further scoreline damage incurred by his side.

There was a sense that the failure to take advantage of the prop’s time in the sin bin might come back to bite them, but another penalty from Russell in the 59th minute opened up a six-point advantage and eased some of the tension among the home support.

Just as the hosts looked to have a good level of control, France turned the game in their favour in the 70th minute when Bielle-Biarrey raced on to his own kick over the top and touched down on the left.  Ramos converted to put Les Bleus a point ahead.

The full-back then added a penalty in the 77th minute, ensuring the Scots would need a try to won the game.  They momentarily thought they had it in the dying moments before the officials cut short their celebrations.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Harry Paterson, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchard, 17 Sébastien Taofifenua, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Yoram Moefana

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Scotland survive almighty Six Nations scare against Wales to end hoodoo

Scotland survived an almighty scare as they almost threw away a 27-0 lead against Wales before holding on to win 27-26 in a thrilling Six Nations match on Saturday.

This is Scotland’s first victory against Wales in Cardiff in 22 years and it was a strange game of two halves, with Gregor Townsend’s charges coming out on top in the end.

A brace from Duhan van der Merwe was added to by an early Pierre Schoeman try while Finn Russell kicked 12 points off the tee in a classy first-half showing from the fly-half.

But then James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and Alex Mann scored for Wales as they pick up two points from the defeat via a losing bonus and a try bonus-point.

Scotland found themselves on the rack after hooker George Turner and centre Sione Tuipulotu were sin-binned during the second period, yet they successfully closed the game out and left Wales wondering what might have been.

Both teams started brightly under the stadium’s closed roof and Scotland struck first when Russell kicked an angled 20-metre penalty, before quick lineout ball gave Tuipulotu a chance that Wales managed to defend.

Wales, though, could not stop wave after wave of attacks that led to the game’s opening try after 11 minutes.

Russell created initial space and after a strong run by wing Kyle Steyn, Scotland’s forwards took over and Schoeman crossed from close range. Russell’s conversion made it 10-0.

Scotland enjoyed scrum and lineout dominance and they controlled the opening quarter, even if Wales established promising attacking positions at times.

Russell extended Scotland’s lead with a second penalty ― Wales wing Josh Adams was punished for throwing the ball away and denying Scotland a quick lineout throw ― and alarm bells were beginning to ring for Warren Gatland’s team.

Inevitably, Russell was at the heart of everything good about Scotland’s magic and he weaved his magic to devastating effect 10 minutes before half-time.

Scotland set up a strong position inside Wales’ 22 and the rest was all about Russell, who ghosted into space, threw a half-dummy pass, then delivered a try on a plate for Van der Merwe.

There appeared no way back for Wales, with their problems showing no sign of abating as fly-half Sam Costelow went off for a head injury assessment as Scotland led 20-0 at the interval.

It got even worse for Wales just two minutes into the second period when Van der Merwe carved them open from deep to claim a blistering solo touchdown, and Russell’s conversion put further daylight between the teams.

Costelow failed his HIA and Gatland made three half-time changes, sending on scrum-half Tomos Williams, hooker Elliot Dee and prop Keiron Assiratti, and Wales opened their account when Botham crashed over.

Turner was sin-binned for an offence in the build-up to Botham’s try and Wales struck again, this time through Dyer, with Ioan Lloyd’s conversion cutting the gap suddenly and unexpectedly to 15 points.

It was panic stations for Scotland when Tuipulotu went into the sin bin and Wales punished them immediately as Wainwright touched down for a third try in 13 minutes, with Lloyd converting.

The capacity crowd could scarcely believe what they were witnessing, but it was Williams’s influence off the bench that proved key as he injected pace and purpose into Wales’ game.

And when Mann claimed a 68th-minute try, again converted by Lloyd, the improbable dream edged closer, with Scotland looking bewildered and devoid of answers.

But they somehow held out, Wales left with the consolation of two Six Nations losing bonus points.

The teams

Wales:  15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 James Botham, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (c), 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Ireland enhance Rugby World Cup credentials as they knock out Scotland

Ireland further enhanced their Rugby World Cup title credentials after they dominated Scotland in their final pool fixture, winning 36-14 on Saturday.

It was a ruthless performance from the top ranked team in global rugby as Ireland ran in four tries in the first period and two more after the interval.

James Lowe, Hugo Keenan (two), Iain Henderson, Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose crossed the whitewash while Johnny Sexton kicked six points.

Scotland were shell-shocked by that opening 40 minutes and only late scores from Ewan Ashman and Ali Price came as consolation as they bow out.

Gregor Townsend's men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.

But the Irish emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.

Lowe's early try settled any nerves before Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.

Sheehan and Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ashman and Price claimed quickfire consolations.

Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.

Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.

Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.

The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world's number one team.

Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.

A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.

Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.

But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.

Ireland's defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.

Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.

☘️ Hugo Keenan finishing a wonderful Ireland try. #IREvSCO #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/fPTrUWpNzy

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.

Ireland's well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Sexton set up Keenan's second and then sent over his third successful conversion.

Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith's off-the-ball trip on Sexton.

Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.

Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland's fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.

Jack Crowley's fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.

Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.

Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Luke Crosbie, 22 George Horne, 23 Ollie Smith

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Scotland hammer Romania to set up decisive World Cup clash with Ireland

Scotland emphatically did their job in Lille on Saturday as they thrashed Romania 84-0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Darcy Graham was no doubt the standout player, lighting up the game with four tries and a number of other thrilling surges during the match.

Three of his scores came in the first period as Gregor Townsend's men went into the interval 42-0 in front.  Hamish Watson, Ali Price and Matt Fagerson also crossed the whitewash before the break as the Scots threatened to put a century of points on the Oaks.

And when Chris Harris, Ollie Smith and Ben Healy touched down, it very much looked on, but they got a bit loose in the final quarter to prevent them from reaching that milestone.

However, Scotland finished with a flourish thanks to tries from Johnny Matthews, Rory Darge and Graham to give them a confidence boost heading into their big match against Ireland, which will ultimately decide their World Cup fate.

The Scots were so confident of getting the result they required at Stade Pierre-Mauroy that they made 13 changes from the side that started against Tonga the previous Sunday, preserving most of their A-listers for the Ireland match in Paris which they must win with a bonus point or by denying their opponents one in order to reach the quarter-finals.

There was no danger of the decision to field so many fringe men backfiring from the moment Watson got the Scots off and running with the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The experienced Edinburgh flanker ― who has lost the number seven jersey to the burgeoning Darge this year ― marked his return to the starting line-up by bounding over on the right after Cam Redpath offloaded into his path as he was thwarted on his own charge towards the line.

Price ― like Watson, another 2021 British and Irish Lions squad member who has become a peripheral player for the national team this year ― got the second in the 17th minute after being played in by Graham.

It was Graham's turn to get on the scoresheet just four minutes later when he touched down following a brilliant individual run, bringing him level with his Edinburgh team-mate Van der Merwe, one of those given the night off.

Romania ― already bang up against it ― completely imploded in the closing 10 minutes of the first half when they had three players sin-binned and conceded a further three tries.

Hooker Robert Irimescu was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Healy and just a couple of minutes later they were reduced to 13, when back-rower Florian Rosu was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul.

Scotland took full advantage as Graham scored his second of the evening to move ahead of Duhan van der Merwe and level with Chris Paterson in the country's try-scoring charts.

💨 Darcy Graham is RAPID!!#RWC2023 #SCOvROMpic.twitter.com/zM29Guvsqg

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 30, 2023

Fagerson bulldozed his way over for the fifth, but only after Ollie Smith had been the victim of a nasty high tackle in the build-up from Marius Simionescu, who became the third Romanian to be sin-binned before the break.

There was still time before the interval for Graham to complete his hat-trick as the Edinburgh wing moved ahead of Paterson and into fourth place on his own.  All six first-half tries were converted by Healy as the Scots went in 42-0 to the good at half-time.

The scores kept coming after the break, with Harris, Smith, Healy, Matthews ― shortly after coming on for his debut ― and Darge all touching down.

Graham then raced over for his fourth of the night as the Scots ran up their second-highest win at a World Cup, finishing just five points shy of the 89-0 victory they enjoyed against Ivory Coast in 1995.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Rory Darge, 21 George Horne, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Huw Jones

Romania:  15 Marius Simionescu, 14 Sioeli Lama, 13 Jason Tomane, 12 Fonovai Tangimana, 11 Taliauli Sikuea, 10 Alin Conache, 9 Gabriel Rupanu, 8 Cristian Chirica (c), 7 Dragos Ser, 6 Florian Rosu, 5 Stefan Iancu, 4 Adrian Motoc, 3 Gheorghe Gajion, 2 Robert Irimescu, 1 Alexandru Savin
Replacements:  16 Florin Bardasu, 17 Iulian Hartig, 18 Costel Burtila, 19 Marius Iftimiciuc, 20 Damian Stratila, 21 Florin Surugiu, 22 Tudor Boldor, 23 Nicholas Onutu

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)