Winger Duhan van der Merwe Sets All-Time Scoring Record while the Scottish Team Dominate the Tongan Side in One-Sided Triumph.
Duhan van der Merwe moved ahead of Darcy Graham as he became the Scottish national team's top try-scorer in history during a dominant eight-try 56-0 victory over the Tongan side in Edinburgh.
Challenging Autumn Campaign Ends Positively
Scotland's international fixtures were largely defined by their performances against the All Blacks and the Pumas, meaning two straight losses against those opponents resulted in this encounter as largely irrelevant overall – unless a further loss occurred.
That scenario never looked likely once the home side – fielding a heavily rotated lineup from the Argentina match – eased into a 21-0 halftime advantage.
Strong Start
The Tongan team started on the defensive and any chance of building into the game took a hit after Semisi Paea was shown a sin-binning just minutes in for an illegal clearout.
Following a review, the offense resulted to an expulsion, forcing Tonga a man down for most of the first half.
- The home side took full advantage with tries from their forward pack during his absence.
- Jamie Ritchie barged over past two Tongans to open the scoring during the first quarter.
- The hooker then marked his 50th cap with a touchdown after charging into space close to the uprights.
- Max Williamson got the third try in the 23rd minute from short distance.
Historic Try
Tonga faced further discipline issues with three other players shown yellow cards as the match progressed.
Then Duhan van der Merwe scored his 35th Test try in the second half, moving him back ahead of fellow wing Graham historically.
Late Flourish
The substitutes Ewan Ashman and George Horne proceeded to add two touchdowns each during the last 20 minutes to polish the scoreline on the scoreboard.
A beleaguered Tonga simply fell apart toward the end, powerless to stop the Scots adding several more tries.
Autumn Series Recap
Scotland were conscious after having led 21-0 a week previously before falling apart in a loss.
But, any prospect of a revival from the visitors was effectively killed due to their ill-discipline.
