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Scotland recovered from a poor first half to beat Fiji 33-17 in Round 3 of the Nations Championship at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, keeping themselves third in the northern pool.
For a good part of the afternoon this looked like it might go the way of last summer, when Fiji beat Scotland 29-14 in Suva. Instead, Fiji ran out of steam after the break and Scotland's forwards and bench eventually took control of a game they had spent 40 minutes chasing.
T. Ikanivere (15'), S. Ravutaumada (18'), E. Canakaivata (33')
Tries
J. Gray (13'), P. Schoeman (53'), J. Dobie (60', 75'), S. Cummings (73')
I. Armstrong-Ravula (34')
Conversions
G. Horne (13'), F. Burke (54', 60', 73')
Scotland started well enough. Jonny Gray crashed over in the 13th minute and George Horne converted for a 7-0 lead. From there, though, the game turned on its head. Fiji hit back through Tevita Ikanivere on 15 minutes and Selestino Ravutaumada three minutes later, and Scotland could not find a way to slow them down.
Even a yellow card for Lekima Tagitagivalu on 25 minutes failed to shift the momentum. Fiji made the most of their spell and Elia Canakaivata forced his way over on 33 minutes, with Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula converting a minute later to make it 17-7 at the break. It was a scoreline that reflected Fiji's carrying threat and Scotland's inability to turn possession into points.
The pattern was clear even then. Fiji were living off scraps in terms of the ball, but doing plenty of damage with it. Their front-foot carrying and offloading kept Scotland's defence stretched, and they led despite seeing far less possession.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Scotland changed the picture early in the second half and the contest shifted. Pierre Schoeman, on from the bench, scored on 53 minutes and Fergus Burke converted to make it 17-14. Fiji had no reply on the scoreboard, and their earlier tempo drained away as the Scottish forwards began to win the collisions.
The decisive spell came just past the hour. Replacement scrum-half Jamie Dobie darted over on 60 minutes, and Burke's conversion nudged Scotland in front for the first time since the opening exchanges. From there Fiji's resistance faded. Scott Cummings added a try on 73 minutes and Dobie grabbed his second on 75, with Burke converting both as Scotland closed it out.
Territory and possession told the story. Scotland had 67% of the ball and made 187 carries to Fiji's 87. That volume of work eventually wore Fiji down, particularly once the fresh legs arrived.
Dobie's cameo was the obvious talking point, with two tries from the bench, but the win was built elsewhere.
Duhan van der Merwe was Scotland's biggest threat out wide, making 124 metres from 10 carries with three clean breaks.
Tom Jordan was busy from full-back, carrying 16 times for 64 metres and producing five offloads.
Josh Bayliss did the hard yards up front, topping the carry count with 18 for 51 metres and beating six defenders.
Ollie Smith added 65 metres and three defenders beaten from seven carries.
The bench impact was the difference. Schoeman, Cummings and Dobie all crossed after coming on, and Scotland's reinforcements gave them the extra edge in the contact area they had lacked before the break.
Fiji will be frustrated. They played the more eye-catching rugby in the first half and led by 10 at the interval, but they could not sustain it. Once Scotland got in front, Fiji struggled to build pressure and their discipline slipped, conceding 12 penalties to Scotland's four.
There was still plenty to admire. Canakaivata was outstanding, carrying 14 times for 50 metres and making 23 tackles alongside his try. Ravutaumada made 69 metres from the wing, and Josua Tuisova was his usual handful in midfield with three defenders beaten. The problem was volume: with only 33% possession, Fiji spent long spells defending, making 246 tackles across the side, and eventually the effort caught up with them. Their 36 missed tackles underlined how hard they were worked.
This was a better showing than the 73-8 hammering by England in Round 2, but Fiji remain bottom of the southern pool without a win.
Scotland stay third in the northern standings on six points after two matches. Fiji are still searching for their first win of the campaign and remain bottom of the southern pool. Scotland will know they left themselves too much to do, but they found the answers when it mattered.
A win is a win, and this one was earned through a far stronger second half after a first 40 minutes that gave the coaches plenty to ponder.
