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Darcy Graham scores four as Scotland inflict record defeat on Fiji

By PA
Scotland's wing Darcy Graham celebrates with his man of the match medal during the Autumn Nations Series International rugby union test match between Scotland and Fiji at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on November 2, 2024. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)

Darcy Graham notched four times to briefly move joint top of Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list, only for his fellow Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe to climb back ahead of him with a late touchdown of his own in a comfortable 57-17 victory over Fiji at Murrayfield.

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Glasgow centre Sione Tuipulotu kicked off his captaincy of Gregor Townsend’s team, but it was talismanic wing Graham who stole the show in his first Test outing since the World Cup defeat by Ireland in Paris 13 months ago.

The 27-year-old’s haul took him from joint third at the start of the match to level with Van der Merwe on the 28-try mark before the South Africa-born back reclaimed his place at the top of the pile with his 72nd-minute score.

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Kyle Rowe opened the scoring and Huw Jones added a double as the Scots overcome a wobble either side of half-time to put the Fijians to the sword ahead of their visit from world champions South Africa next Sunday.

Scotland enjoyed a sustained spell of early pressure and it brought a fourth-minute yellow card for scrum-half Frank Lomani who was penalised for a deliberate knock-on as he intercepted Adam Hastings’ pass.

Match Summary

1
Penalty Goals
0
8
Tries
3
7
Conversions
1
0
Drop Goals
0
126
Carries
141
12
Line Breaks
5
10
Turnovers Lost
11
6
Turnovers Won
5

The hosts thought they had gone ahead in the eighth minute when Ewan Ashman got himself in off the back of a maul and slammed the ball down over the line but it was ruled out after Pierre Schoeman was deemed to have impeded Ponipate Loganimasi as he tried to tackle the hooker.

The Scots only had to wait a further minute to open the scoring, however, as full-back Rowe finished off a flowing move just left of the posts after being fed by Hastings, who went on to add the extras.

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Fiji’s chastening start continued as they were temporarily reduced to 13 men in the 13th minute when Apisalome Vota was yellow carded as a result of his team’s persistent infringements.

The centre had to watch on helplessly from the sidelines as Scotland ran in three more tries during his time in the sin bin.

Graham notched his first international try since he scored four in the World Cup pool-stage rout of Romania in September 2023 after a one-two on the right with Ashman in the 15th minute.

Back in the scoring groove, Graham added his second of the match just three minutes later after fastening on to Hastings’ nicely-weighted kick out to the right. There was an element of fortune attached to it, however, with the ball just skimming the Edinburgh wing’s boot as his attempted grubber kick, which sent him free of the Fiji defence, almost went awry.

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Fiji’s calamitous start continued when Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula’s pass was intercepted by Jones, who bolted clear for Scotland’s fourth try in the opening quarter of the match. Hastings converted, giving the Scots a 26-0 lead.

Just as the visitors looked to be imploding, they summoned some resolve in the closing stages of the first half.

Scotland hooker Ashman was sent to the sin bin in the 33th minute for going off his feet while defending on the line and Fiji immediately took advantage as Armstrong-Ravula bulldozed over on the left. The try-scorer was off target with the conversion and Scotland seemed to have got themselves back on track with a Hastings penalty.

But after Rowe was forced off injured and replaced by debutant Glasgow back Tom Jordan, Fiji crossed the whitewash again in the last action of the half as back-rower Ratu Derenalagi got away from Tuipulotu. Armstrong-Ravula again missed the conversion as the Scots went in with a 29-10 interval lead.

Scotland’s advantage was reduced further in the 49th minute when Fiji hooker Tevita Ikanivere scored from a lineout, with Armstrong-Ravula converting.

Graham then dotted over twice either side of the hour mark and left the field to rapturous applause in the 66th minute as Scotland’s joint-leading scorer. Van der Merwe swiftly altered that scenario when he bolted clear, and Jones sealed the victory with the home side’s eighth try a minute from the end.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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