To say that Scotland put USA to the sword on Saturday would be an understatement. The Eagles were nowhere to be found at Murrayfield, punished from start to finish by their opponents who ran in 13 tries en route to a record 85-0 score. While acknowledging they were absent a handful of European pros, it was a poor result for a side that lost by a 35-point margin a year ago against a stronger Scottish outfit.
Four tries were up on the board by the 20-minute mark. Dylan Richardson opened the scores five minutes in from close range, followed almost instantly by Duhan van der Merwe on the end of a Liam McConnell line break. Darcy Graham was next on the end of simple hands from the backline, and the winger returned the favor by sending Jamie Dobie in under the sticks after regathering Dobie’s chip into space.
van der Merwe got his double when he bounced off Toby Fricker en route to the corner. His teammates were keen to follow suit. Dobie’s brace came on a breakaway after Stafford McDowall had stepped through the midfield. Before halftime Graham had his second of the day, sauntering over after a stolen lineout on a USA throw-in deep in their own end.
Graham claimed his hat trick early in the second half. The Eagles kicked downfield but the chase was completely disorganized, and the counter-attack saw virtually no opposition as the half-century came up on the board. Replacements streamed into the match and Scotland’s rhythm was thrown off somewhat until Kyle Rowe sped clear just before the hour mark.
The sole moment of excitement for USA fans came when Tavite Lopeti delivered a behind-the-back offload to Mitch Wilson, but the potentially try-scoring pass to Vili Helu didn’t go to hand. Tries from McDowall, George Horne, a third from Dobie, and finally Ollie Smith on the stroke of full-time put an end to a miserable day at the office for the visitors.
Next stop for the Eagles on their tour is Batumi, where they will face Georgia next Saturday. Scotland will be parked in Edinburgh for the entirety of the autumn series, with New Zealand the next arrivers at Murrayfield followed by Los Pumas on November 16.
SCOTLAND 85
Tries (13) – D. RIchardson (5′), D. van der Merwe 2 (7′, 25′), D. Graham 3 (10′, 36′, 44′), J. Dobie 3 (19′, 27′, 77′), K. Rowe (57′), S. McDowall (70′), G. Horne (73′), O. Smith (80′)
Cons (9) – A. Hastings 5/7 (6′, 8′, 11′, 20′, 28′), R. Thompson 0/1, G. Horne 4/4 (58′, 71′, 74′, 78′, 80’+1′)
USA 0
SCOTLAND
1 Rory Sutherland (17 Nathan McBeth HT), 2 Patrick Harrison (16 Harri Morris 62′), 3 D’Arcy Rae (18 Murphy Walker HT), 4 Scott Cummings (19 Alex Samuel HT), 5 Marshall Sykes (20 Max Williamson 50′), 6 Liam McConnell, 7 Dylan Richardson, 8 Jack Dempsey (21 Magnus Bradbury HT), 9 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings (23 Ross Thompson HT), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 12 Stafford McDowall (capt.), 13 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham (22 George Horne 50′), 15 Kyle Rowe
USA
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 Payton Telea-Ilalio 46′), 2 Kaleb Geiger (16 Sean McNulty 33′), 3 Pono Davis (18 Maliu Niuafe 56′), 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Vili Helu (19 Tevita Naqali 67′), 7 Cory Daniel (20 Makeen Alikhan 46′), 8 Paddy Ryan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck (23 Luke Carty 54′), 11 Toby Fricker, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Dom Besag (21 Ethan McVeigh 71′), 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Erich Storti (22 Tavite Lopeti 29′)
Date: Saturday, November 1
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kickoff: 17:40 local
Weather: sunny, 46°F (8°C), wind SW 13-19mph (21-31km/h)
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistants: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) & Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
