Scotland dispatch Fiji-bound Italy
Scotland continued their stranglehold on Six Nations rivals Italy with a 34-13 victory at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday. (Both teams play in Fiji this month, Italy this Saturday)
Tries from Ali Price, Tim Visser, Damien Hoyland and a brace from Ross Ford proved too much for Italy, who scored through tries from Michele Campagnaro and Angelo Esposito. The Scots have now won eight of the nine previous meetings between these sides with that solitary loss only coming by a three-point margin. Following up their 29-0 trouncing of the Azzurri in the Six Nations in March, the Scots asserted their dominance over the Italians here once again.
It was a convincing performance in Gregor Townsend’s first match in charge of the Scottish national team. What will please him the most is their creativity on attack and Finn Russell’s excellent display at fly-half. Despite the Scots dominating the territory and possession stakes, they were unable to turn this dominance into points for the majority of the first-half. Much of this had to with the Italians’ dogged defence and conservative gameplan. The Azzurri seemed to be more focused on not conceding points than scoring any of their own. Their attack lacked in imagination and was largely blunt and route one, preferring to take it up through the forwards on the fringes of the ruck as opposed to going wide.
The first half was largely devoid of any try-scoring opportunities with the fly-halves exchanging penalties. It was a stop-start 40 minutes in which both sides struggled for continuity on attack until the Scots came to life with five minutes to go. who led at half-time thanks to tries from Emiliano Boffelli and Tomás Lavanini, plus a Nicolás Sánchez penalty, with Marland Yarde crossing for England as the score stood at 1713.
George Ford’s firing boot and a try from Jonny May put England ahead before the lead changed hands again in San Juan, two quick tries from Jerónimo de la Fuente and Joaquín Tuculet giving Argentina a 31-23 cushion with a pair of sensational finishes.
Ford tied things up with a penalty on try, building up to a tense conclusion, before Juan Martín Hernández slotted over a drop goal that looked to have to won an enthralling contest. Up stepped Solomona, at fault for two of Argentina’s tries, to race clear for a sensational solo score with two minutes left, winning the game as a result.
Sánchez’s early attempt to open the scoring was unsuccessful, after Nathan Hughes was penalised at the scrum, with his effort from a long way out missing the posts.
Argentina started far better and were rightly rewarded through a try for Boffelli on debut, the hard carrying from the Argentine pack making the space down the blindside. The grubber from Sánchez was spot on, with Boffelli winning the race and rightly celebrating with plenty of enthusiasm.
England needed to settle, a youthful team showing their nerves, and after Lucas Noguera Paz was penalised around the breakdown Ford stepped up to make it 7-3.
As time wore on however England’s confidence
Cape Town:
Springboks coach Allister Coetzee was pleased with the 37-14 win over France at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the first of three Tests between the nations, but warned that the team cannot rest on their laurels with encounters in Durban and Johannesburg remaining.
The Boks scored four tries to two and led 16-7 at the break. Jesse Kriel, Ross Cronje and Jan Serfontein crossed the try-line for South Africa, while they were also awarded a penalty try. Elton Jantjies delivered a flawless kicking performance by slotting three penalty goals and three conversions.
“We certainly did take a step in the right direction today,” said Coetzee.
“This was the first of 13 Test matches for the season and at least we started with a positive performance and for that I am pretty pleased. We have closed the chapter on 2016 and this year we need to keep improving as a team. I have selected the best available team out there