SEYMOUR’S HAT-TRICK IS THE PERFECT SPUR AS SCOTS STROLL AGAINST FIJI
SCOTLAND 54 FIJI 17
Gregor Townsend last night pronounced himself “delighted” with Scotland’s eight-try victory over Fiji.
The coach said: “Fiji were always going to be a tough opponent and we saw they can score from anywhere.
“But we stuck to our task, got a grip of the game and the players built throughout the game.”
Scotland spent the first half in Cardiff coughing up needless penalties. Ryan Wilson obviously hadn’t learned the lesson as he gave Ben Volavola an easy three points in only the second minute.
But Scotland looked up for it and from a penalty lineout they mauled their way to the Fijian whitewash with Allan Dell finally muscling his way over for his first Test try.
Scotland’s gameplan was based on offloading and keeping the ball alive, and after a sustained spell of doing just that Fraser Brown forced his way over for the second score,
though Peter Horne had appeared to dot the ball down over the line moments before.
Greig Laidlaw converted both, but the Scots then gifted Fiji a score when Brown overthrew a lineout and Edinburgh star Bill Mata barrelled over.
Wales’ two tries last week came from missed tackles and yet another, this time from Dell, let centre Semi Radradra cut through the midfield and Volavola’s conversion gave Fiji a 17-14 lead on the half-hour.
Stung, Scotland roared back up the paddock and after Tevita Cavubati was sinbinned for collapsing the maul, Brown thought he’d notched his second close-range try of the half. But as Laidlaw lined up the conversion the TMO flagged up obstruction by Ritchie and the score was chalked off.
However, the Scots’ driving maul was working well and when former Glasgow ace Leone Nakarawa joined his secondrow partner in the bin for collapsing another one, the ball was eventually flung wide for Tommy Seymour to dive over and Laidlaw’s conversion made it 21-17 at half-time.
Scotland roared out of the traps after the interval, Sean Maitland dotting down less than two minutes after the restart, and Seymour bagged his brace when he came off his wing looking for work and cut a great line to take Laidlaw’s scoring pop pass.
And Seymour, looking much more like his old self, completed his hat-trick when he crashed over in the corner from Chris Harris’s pass.
But it was back to close-range scores for Scotland’s seventh try of the afternoon when Jamie Ritchie rounded off a concerted assault on Fiji’s line.
Adam Hastings brought up the half-century when he cantered over to finish off Finn Russell’s break. Scotland – Hogg; Seymour, Dunbar (Harris 49), P. Horne (Hastings 71), Maitland; Russell, Laidlaw (Capt.)(G. Horne 61); Dell (Allan 55), Brown (McInally 52), Nel (Berghan 55), Skinner, Gilchrist, Wilson (Gray 61), Ritchie, Fagerson (Strauss 29). Fiji – Tuicuvu (Vasiteri 23); Talebula (Veitokani 64), Radradra, Vatabua, Goneva; Volavola, Lomani (Seniloli 61); Maafu (Mawi 58), Matavesi (Dolokoto 60), Saulo (Tawake 50), Cavubati (Tuisue 69), Nakarawa, Waqaniburotu (Capt.), Yato (Kunatani 64), Mata.