Scotland produced a blistering opening 40 minutes at Murrayfield, running in seven tries to leave the USA shell-shocked and effectively end the contest before the break.
The tone was set early when Scotland’s pack demolished the American scrum, earning a penalty and opting to go again. From the reset, Dylan Richardson powered over from close range to open the scoring, with Adam Hastings adding the conversion. Moments later, Liam McConnell sparked a sweeping counterattack down the left, offloading brilliantly to Duhan van der Merwe, who marked his 50th cap with a trademark finish.
Darcy Graham soon joined the party, capitalising on a turnover deep in USA territory to glide over in the corner. Hastings’ boot kept ticking the scoreboard, and Scotland’s ambition was clear as they struck again through Jamie Dobie. The scrum-half chipped ahead from the base of a ruck, Graham gathered at pace, and Dobie finished under the posts for Scotland’s fourth.
Van der Merwe wasn’t done, bulldozing through a defender for his second try, before Dobie doubled up following a slick break from Stafford McDowall. The half ended with Graham claiming his second after a stolen line-out and rapid hands across the backline, sealing a record-breaking first-half tally of 45 unanswered points.
If the first half was dominant, the second was historic. Scotland continued their relentless assault at Murrayfield, adding six more tries to seal an emphatic their third-biggest win of all time and the largest margin at this venue in a century.
Darcy Graham struck first after the restart, completing his hat-trick with a slick exchange down the right involving Kyle Rowe and Ollie Smith. That took Scotland past the 50-point mark and underlined their intent to keep the scoreboard moving.
Kyle Rowe then crossed for his first try following sharp handling from Ross Thompson and Jamie Dobie, with George Horne converting. The bench made a big impact, with Harri Morris earning his debut and Stafford McDowall powering over soon after thanks to a perfectly timed flat pass from Thompson.
The floodgates stayed open. Duhan van der Merwe tore through the USA defence to set up Rowe, who in turn fed Horne for Scotland’s 11th try. Jamie Dobie then completed his hat-trick after another Van der Merwe break, before Ollie Smith capped the rout with a late score under the posts.
Scotland’s defensive coach Lee Radford will be as pleased as the attack-minded Gregor Townsend: the USA failed to register a single clean break, and the Scots kept their line intact throughout. This was a complete performance: power up front, precision out wide, and a bench that added real bite.
Final score: Scotland 85–0 USA. A record rewritten at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, and with the All Blacks looming next week, confidence could hardly be higher.
⭐️ PLAYER OF THE MATCH: JAMIE DOBIE (SCO)
💬 Delighted to get off to a start like that in the campaign. It's been a quick week ... we've only really had two days training together, so to be able to put a performance like that and score 13 tries and put that many points on the board is really pleasing. [Not conceding any points is] probably the most pleasing thing from the whole game. I just love being back out here - we all do. For a good number of us to get on the scoresheet, that's a really good feeling, especially with family and friends here.
Scotland: Kyle Rowe; Darcy Graham; Ollie Smith, Stafford McDowall (capt), Duhan van der Merwe; Adam Hastings, Jamie Dobie (vc); Rory Sutherland, Patrick Harrison, D’Arcy Rae; Scott Cummings (vc), Marshall Sykes; Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Harri Morris, Nathan McBeth, Murphy Walker, Alex Samuel, Max Williamson, Magnus Bradbury, George Horne, Ross Thompson.
USA: Erich Storti; Mitch Wilson; Dominic Besag, Tommaso Boni; Toby Fricker; Chris Hilsenbeck, Ruben de Haas; Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Kaleb Geiger, Pono Davis; Marno Redelinghuys, Jason Damm (C); Viliami Helu, Cory Daniel, Paddy Ryan.
Replacements: Sean McNulty, Payton Telea-Ilalio, Maliu Niuafe, Tevita Naqali, Makeen Alikhan, Ethan McVeigh, Tavite Lopeti, Luke Carty.