Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

Scotland 60 Tonga 14 as Kyle Steyn runs riot and Rufus McLean enjoys dream Scotland debut

A delighted Murrayfield crowd watched Scotland kick off their Autumn internationals in style with a thumping win over Tonga.

Gregor Townsend had warned of the Tongans' physicality and Scotland certainly felt that early on as Glasgow Warriors wing Walter Fifita threatened early on.

But it was his club team-mate Rufus McLean who drew first blood when he took advantage of Jamie Ritchie's fumble to charge through the back-line for an early try.

It was the start of dreams for McLean's Scotland career but James Faiva reminded them they were in a game with a converted penalty kick that cut the deficit to four.

But McLean had a point to prove in his first run-out for Scotland and he had his second try when he took a wonderful pass from Blair Kinghorn and danced past Faiva for his second of the game.

Scotland were racking up a commanding lead now and despite another Tonga penalty threatening to keep the game alive, McLean's Glasgow teammate Kyle Steyn muscled in on the act in style.

The South African-born wing dove over the line after Scotland flooded the right hand side and from there it was only going one way.

There was a third debut try to be had when Darcy Graham's footwork cleared the way for Pierre Schoeman to get in on the act.

But the flying Steyn wasn't to be upstaged as he added not one but TWO tries before half-time as it got truly ugly for Tonga.

Kinghorn, playing 10 for the first time, was pulling all the strings and he had a role to play in Steyn's second, before cutting the Tongan defence open with a kick that set him on his way for the hat-trick.

By half-time the score sat at 36-9 and it was clear there was going to be no repeat of Pittodrie in 2012.

(SNS Group)

Scotland might have been without captain Stuart Hogg and fly-half Finn Russell but their four debutants showed real promise. McLean was joined by Schoeman as well as Sione Tuipulotu and Jamie Hodgson who experienced Murrayfield for the first time.

The Scots took their foot off the gas after the break but another try wasn't long in coming. This time it was George Turner who forced his way through a tired Tongan defence to stretch the lead.

It had been a long time coming but Tonga had their first try of the match when David Lolohea overpowered the Scotland defence and forced one over.

(PA)

But Townsend's team weren't to be denied a big win and after co-captain Jamie Ritchie's long pass caused all sorts of issues, Nick Haining got another try over the line to make it 46-14.

Scotland were revving up for a big finish and cleared 50 points when Oli Kebble made it nine tries.

And then Steyn, in the form of his life, added his fourth to make it Scotland 60 Tonga 14.

After a promising Six Nations campaign, it was another exciting step forward for the Scots.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.