Gregor Townsend has praised his Scotland side as they ran in eight tries in their record 54-17 victory against Fiji.
Tommy Seymour grabbed a hat-trick as Scotland showed they had too much for the Pacific Islanders at BT Murrayfield.
Allan Dell and Fraser Brown helped build the home sides’ lead in the first half, while Sean Maitland, Jamie Ritchie and Adam Hastings all registered tries after the break.
Scotland’s 37-point margin of victory was their largest ever against Fiji.
SECOND HALF SHUT OUT
Townsend was delighted with the second half performance, as they kept Fiji out for the entire period.
“I’m obviously delighted,” he said. “Fiji were always going to be a tough opponent and we saw with their tries in the first-half that they could score from anywhere.
“But we stuck to our task, got a grip of the game and kept to what we believed would work against Fiji – which was really pleasing to see.
“Defensively, we kept them to zero points in the second-half. Whilst I thought our set-piece was excellent too as we scrummed and mauled really well. It’s good that we got that improvement throughout the game.”
Townsend lauded the way his side stayed in the match during a back-and-forth first half and the way they took advantage of two yellow cards for the visitors.
Townsend said: “We kept up our detailed approach in around set-piece, which narrowed the pitch allowing guys like Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland to get their tries out wide.”
SKINNER DELIGHTS ON DEBUT
Despite Seymour’s three tries, it was debutant Sam Skinner who took home the man of the match award.
The second-rower from Exeter Chiefs was outstanding throughout and Townsend piled on the praise at the full-time whistle.
Townsend said: “It’s great that his [Skinner] first game was a winning performance and I thought he did really well. “The way he plays for his club and his style of play suits what we’re trying to do. He’s a decision maker, whilst he can really get around the park which obviously helps.”
Scotland will now begin preparations to face a star-studded South African side at BT Murrayfield next Saturday evening.
