Scotland vs Fiji LIVE rugby: Final score and result from autumn international
Gregor Townsend’s side were looking to bounce back at Murrayfield from a narrow defeat to Australia last week
Scotland overcame a first-half scare to beat Fiji 28-12 at Murrayfield on Saturday, outscoring their visitors by four tries to two in a tough, physical contest.
George Turner, Adam Hastings, Duhan van der Merwe and Ben White dotted down for the home team with Hastings adding two conversions and his replacement Blair Kinghorn the other pair.
Fiji’s points all came in an impressive first-half showing, from Setariki Tuicuvu and debutant lock Ratu Leone Rotuisolia with a solitary conversion from Vilimoni Botitu.
Scotland’s superior organisation and fitness proved decisive but they had to weather an early onslaught that suggested with more preparation Fiji might have come closer to an upset. They had just days to prepare after only assembling at the start of the week.
Scotland 0-0 Fiji, 1 minute
Stuart Hogg’s kick off drops into the hands of Kini Murimurivalu, who beats the first defender, but is handled shortly thereafter. Darcy Graham claims Frank Lomani’s first skyward hoist, and Fiji then infringe at a midfield ruck.
Quick tap! An injection of tempo immediately from Ali Price, and Fiji fail to retreat the required ten before making a tackle.
Yellow card! Blimey - 80 seconds into Ratu Leone Rotuisolia’s international debut and the lock is off for ten minutes on the naughty step. “It’s cynical,” says referee Nic Berry - Scotland opt to kick to the corner with Fiji’s pack down to seven.
Off we go
Right, Scotland to kick everything off. There’s the peep of Nic Berry’s whistle...
The Cibi
The rest of the Fijian squad form a semi-circle around Levani Botia, who leads the Cibi, marching forward in fighting stance and laying down the gauntlet. They’ll fancy this, Fiji - can they deepen Scotland’s worries?
Anthems
Waisea looks to the heavens, eyes closed, as he sings “Meda Dau Doka”. Api Ratuniyarawa clasps his great right fist across his heart.
The piper on the roof leads Murrayfield into “Flower of Scotland”, Jamie Ritchie sending a kiss to the stands after the final line.
Match Officials
Australia’s Nic Berry has the whistle this afternoon, by the way, with compatriot Brett Cronan ready to assist as the TMO. There has been plenty said in the build-up to this autumn about the importance of managing the referee - officials have been urged to prioritise “safety, space and pace” during November.
Here come the teams
Waisea Nayacalevu, who has preferred to be know by his first name during his time in France, heads the Fijian line opposite Jamie Ritchie, who leads Scotland out of the tunnel. A wet morning in Edinburgh means that Murrayfield has been slightly slow to fill, but the fans are streaming in now.
Princess Anne has made her way safely in, clad in a deep-blue double-breasted coat - she’ll share pleasantries with both sides ahead of kick-off. More Scottish royalty - the brass band launch into a cherry rendition of a song by The Proclaimers.
Scotland vs Fiji
The Scottish players have disappeared down the tunnel, ready to strap on the last bits of tape and steel themselves for the contest. Fiji follow them in, breaking into a half-jog. Vern Cotter is hoping that his side can improve within structure to allow themselves to play the unstructured stuff at which they excel. The Fijian Drua developed as the Super Rugby season went on, and there are plenty in Cotter’s pack with high-level European experience. Let’s see how they go - kick-off isn’t far away at all...
Gregor Townsend speaks to Amazon Prime
“You work on things that you need to improve from the previous week but it is a new group. We have focussed on ourselves.
On his returnees: “They are very keen to play, they missed out last week. Some of them are very experienced like Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris, some like Cameron Redpath, it’s his first game at Murrayfield. We are excited to watch them play.
“They have picked more of a running team. We have to create errors in their game through our defence, squeeze them into their half at times. When we have the ball, we have to be accurate - they are the best team in the world with turnover ball.”
The return of Vern
For those who enjoy win percentages, defeat to Australia last week dropped Gregor Townsend’s to 52.54% - below the record mark for a Scottish coach of 52.78% achieved by his predecessor, who is back at Murrayfield this afternoon.
Vern Cotter deserves plenty of credit for stabilising Scottish rugby during his time in charge, and there are plenty who feel his departure might have been a touch premature.
“We need to approach the game with a lot of humility,” Cotter said this week. “We are a tier 2 team playing a tier 1 team that had a game already in their bag. “We are slowly getting together but we want to get learnings from this plus we have the Rugby World Cup next year so it is really important that we put ourselves up against a very good team and I’m sure from we will come away with individual and collective improvements to be made.”
Scotland’s backline replenished
Adam Hastings, Scotland’s own new number ten, has been going rather well for Gloucester, of course. You’d suggest Gregor Townsend will be hoping his fly-half can take control of the game, forcing Fiji to play in dangerous areas and strike when Scotland have their chances. While there are a couple from the starting side last week unfortunate to miss out this, Ollie Smith particularly, the England-based quartet should solidify Townsend’s backline, and it’s nice to see Cameron Redpath fit for international duty - if Scotland are to press ahead without Finn Russell, the Bath playmaker may have to emerge as a key figure.
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