Kangaroos do enough in crushing keen Scots

AUSTRALIA’S opening FourNations match against Scotland went to script with the Kangaroos beating the tournament minnows 54-12.

The Kangaroos were scrappy at times in their 10 tries-totwo victory against a Scotland side who showed they could compete in parts in front of 5337 people in Hull.

Debutants James Maloney and Matt Moylan, the man of the match, were among Australia’s best, laying on five tries between them while Tyson Frizell continued his good form for the Kangaroos. Cooper Cronk and Josh Mansour both crossed for two tries.

A head clash between Scotland’s Luke Douglas and the Kangaroos’ Josh Dugan forced both from the field midway through the second half. Neither returned.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said Dugan was “giddy” but OK.

“We started the game extremely well,” Meninga said. “That’s one of our focuses. But they put on a bit of pressure and (we) made a few errors.

“Those sort of games get scrappy. Once you stick to your plan, points flow.”

Australia scored four tries in the opening 15 minutes and continued to “beat” the game clock up until the 30-minute mark. Despite their blistering start, the Kangaroos failed to find their groove in the second half, restricted to just one try in the opening 15 minutes after halftime.

Australia were gifted a golden opportunity to score early in the game after a Danny Brough fumble put Australia on the attack from a scrum 10 metres from Scotland’s tryline. Blake Ferguson used some space, drifting from the right wing to the left side of the field to score the first try.

Captain Cameron Smith, who was replaced at halftime by Jake Friend, laid on the next try when he faked to kick on the open side, but instead fired a kick behind the ruck, fooling Scottish fullback Lachlan Coote for Cronk pounce.

Cronk played a part in the next try when he threw an inside ball for Moylan to breeze through the defence before a simple draw and pass gave Maloney a try to give Australia a 16-0 lead after 12 minutes.