Two-try hero sends Japan alert for Toony
Rory Hutchinson fired a World Cup message to boss Gregor Townsend as he and Scotland thrashed Georgia.
Toony will reveal his tournament squad for Japan on Tuesday and Hutchinson picked the perfect moment to showcase his skills with two tries.
The Northampton Saints centre was the star of the show on his first start in Tbilisi against a Georgia side who were miles behind the Scots.
Townsend said: “It was a focussed performance with a lot of aggression.
“We chipped away at the scoreboard through penalties and when the game opened up a little bit I thought that some of our attack play and support play was excellent.
“We knew we’d be tested in defence around the ruck area, our line-out maul and the scrum and while there are areas to improve there, I felt that was a big step up.
“Our attack game got going but I still believe that we could be doing things a bit better.”
Scotland had made a promising start, making it clear they intended to keep the ball moving at every turn.
There was a scare, however, when a Finn Russell chip was charged down at point-blank range.
The ball skidded across the try-line but luck was on the side of Russell as it trundled out of play before any opposition chaser could get near it.
The Scots shook off the jitters to earn their first chance of points through an offside ruling against the Georgians.
Greig Laidlaw confidently found the target from close range. Georgia continued to give away pressure penalties in their own territory and Laidlaw struck again to double his tally in the 12th minute.
The Scots maintained the momentum to deservedly streak further ahead with a superb try.
Russell wrong-footed the defence before setting Matt Fagerson clear. Laidlaw acted as the link before lock Ben Toolis cruised to the line.
The conversion from Laidlaw was again spot on to widen the gap to 13.
Even better was to come midway through the hal f as Hutchinson marked his first Test start with another stunning touchdown.
Russell was again the creator as the home defence was ripped apart by the flying Scots and Laidlaw confidently added the extras. A high challenge by Allan Dell gave the Georgians the chance to break their duck nine minutes before the interval.
Full-back Soso Matiashvili’s strike from 40 metres was straight and true.
Scotland ended the half with another attacking flourish but Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham were both blocked short of the line.
There was still time for Laidlaw to slot another simple penalty and restore the 20-point advantage.
The hosts should have snatched a try immediately after the restart following a spilled Scottish pass in midfield.
But with the two- man overlap, Georgia contrived to squander their golden opportunity.
At the other end, Graham was again muscled out in the corner as he looked sure to score.
Seconds later, Hutchinson underlined ned his pace and power by scything through to complete his try double.
The immaculate Laidlaw maintained his 100 per cent record with the boot as he stroked home the conversion.
Georgia then enjoyed their most promising spell of the contest as both sides made a spate of bench changes to disrupt the game’s flow.
From a scrum close to the line, substitute Karlen Asieshvili burrowed his way over with Tedo Abzhandadze adding the extras.
But any prospect of a meaningful fightback was dashed when Graham dived on a pinpoint Russell chip for a clever try.
Russel l fol lowed up with the conversion from the widest possible angle to stretch the gap even further before lock Scott Cummings bulldozed over for his first Scotland score.