Seymour scores hat-trick as Scots gear up for Springboks
GREGOR Townsend knows his side will have to step up a gear to compete with South Africa next weekend, but he was delighted with his team’s showing in the win over Fiji.
Winger Tommy Seymour scored a hat-trick as Scotland weathered an early storm to blow Fiji away at Murrayfield.
Allan Dell, Fraser Brown and Seymour touched down as Scotland edged to a 17-14 lead at the interval.
Tries from Viliame Mata and Semi Radradra had Fiji in front briefly but they had no answer to the hosts’ composure, fitness and control.
Seymour plunged over twice in a second-half rout, with Sean Maitland, Jamie Ritchie and Adam Hastings also scoring.“I thought the game management was really good and we did not panic when we were 17-14 down heading into halftime,” Townsend said.
“In the second half the game opened up and we played with great accuracy. This gives us a good platform, but we know what a challenge South Africa will pose next Saturday.”
Fiji took an early lead through a Ben Volavola penalty but Scotland hit back in the 13th minute when, after some good phases and patience, loosehead Allan Dell burrowed over from close range. Skipper Greig Laidlaw converted for 7-3.
That score gave the Scots confidence and they began to play a wider game to try and stretch the Fijians. Centre Pete Horne burst through and went close to a try before, a couple of phases later, hooker Fraser Brown went over. Laidlaw again converted but an overthrown Scotland lineout in the 23rd minute set-up Fiji for their first try.
Good hands fed the ball to rampaging No.8 Viliame Mata, the Edinburgh man, who barged his way under the posts from 20m.
Volavola converted and just before the half hour mark he added a second after centre Semi Radradra had gone over.
This end-to-end affair just kept on giving and, with Scotland attacking quickly in the 32nd minute, Fiji second-row Tevita Cavubati was yellow carded for collapsing a maul.
Scotland thought they had scored two minutes later, but TMO Ben Skeen ruled out Brown’s second ‘try’ after backrow Jamie Ritchie was deemed to have obstructed the opposition.
The Scots kept knocking on the door for try number three and in the 38th minute Fiji were down to 13 men when lock Leone Nakarawa was carded for collapsing a maul. With a two man advantage, Scotland grabbed another try before the interval, a wide looping pass from Finn Russell seeing Seymour in for the try. Laidlaw converted and it was 21-17 at half-time.
Sean Maitland struck just after the restart to put Fiji well and truly on the ropes and Seymour virtually knocked them out just before the hour after being slipped in by Laidlaw.
The scores kept coming. Seymour’s hat-trick score was a beauty, a counterattack off a loose Fiji kick involving Horne, Russell and Chris Harris.
Scotland were rampant. Ritchie went over from close-range with two minutes left and Hasting took it beyond 50 points a few moments later.