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Duhan van der Merwe equals Scotland try-scoring record in win over USA – BBC Sport
Image source, Getty Images
- Author, George O’Neill
- Role, BBC Sport Scotland
Try: Van der Merwe, Ashman (3), Horne, M Fagerson Con: Hastings (5), Thompson
Scotland made it two wins from two on their summer tour with a comfortable victory over USA in Washington DC.
Duhan van der Merwe opened the scoring for Gregor Townsend’s side with his 27th international try, equalling Stuart Hogg’s Scottish record.
Hooker Ewan Ashman then took centre stage, scoring a first-half hat-trick at the back of a dominant Scotland maul, while Tommaso Boni capitalised on Matt Fagerson’s error for the hosts’ only try.
Further tries from George Horne and Matt Fagerson in the second half took Scotland past the 40-point mark and helped them build on last week’s comprehensive win over Canada.
The Scots now head for South America, where they play two further Tests against Chile (20 July) and Uruguay (27 July).
Townsend made 15 changes to the side that crushed Canada last time out, recalling the more experienced members of his squad, as he looked to avoid a repeat of the 2018 loss to the US in Houston.
The opening six minutes saw Scotland stamp their authority on the contest, as they dominated both territory and possession before breaching the US defence.
Van der Merwe came off his wing, ran an excellent line and punched through a hole before coasting under the posts. It is now only a matter of time before he stands alone as Scotland’s greatest try scorer.
From there, Scotland’s pack took charge. Ashman dotted down twice after the visitors’ maul marched unchecked over the try-line.
After David Ainu’u was sin-binned for the hosts, the one-way traffic seemed likely to continue, but AJ MacGinty pounced on Fagerson’s handling error and Boni crashed over from close range to give the locals something to cheer.
Any home optimism was diminished soon after though. Another lineout in the American 22 saw Ashman break away for his third try and sent Scotland into half-time with a 21-point lead.
Substitutions on both sides disrupted the flow of the game in the second half, and Scotland struggled to make inroads as frequently as they did before the break, with a fair few players flagging in energy-sapping conditions.
Still, the impressive Kyle Rowe found space down the right-hand side before releasing Horne to score Scotland’s fifth try under the posts, and another show of strength from the visiting pack saw Fagerson add a sixth in the closing stages.
Line-ups
USA: Carty, Mooneyham, Lopeti, Boni, Augspurger; MacGinty, Smith; Iscaro, Fawsitt, Ainu’u, Helu, Peterson (c), Golla, Ryan, Fa’anana-Schultz.
Replacements: Pifeleti, Turnbull, Mullen, Uhila, Bonasso, McVeigh, Campbell, Wilson.
Scotland: Rowe, Steyn, Jones, Tuipulotu (cc), Van der Merwe, Hastings, Horne; Schoeman, Ashman, Walker, Cummings, Craig, Ritchie, Darge (cc), M Fagerson.
Replacements: Smith, Sutherland, Millar Mills, Williamson, Crosbie, Dobie, Thompson, Currie.
Referee: Jordan Way (Australia).
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