SCOTS GIVE TOWNSEND WINNING START
Gregor Townsend got off to a perfect start as Scotland’s head coach as his team easily beat Italy 34-13 Saturday in the first Test in Southeast Asia between two top-tier rugby-playing nations.
Despite missing several key players and losing flanker John Hardie to injury in the pre-game warm-up, the Scots produced some impressive rugby once they started to gel after a rusty start and outscored the Italians five tries to two at Singapore’s National Stadium.
“On one hand it was frustrating but we knew in our mind that especially in these conditions, at one point you’re just going to open up and just be able to score,” Scottish captain John Barclay said.
The teams were still tied at 3 after 35 minutes when Scotland burst into action, scoring four tries either side of halftime as Italy began to show signs of fatigue in Singapore’s draining humidity.
Scrumhalf Ali Price and winger Tim Visser both scored before the break to give Scotland a 13-3 lead at the interval.
Hooker Ross Ford crossed twice at the start of the second term, doubling the total tally of tries he had ?managed in his previous 107 test appearances.
“I think the opening five minutes was excellent and we created two really good opportunities,” Townsend said. “It’d be good if we had those tries, it’d be a nicer start, but I think it’s really good that the players believe in what they were doing.
“And even though Italy came back in the game, they had some pressure but we worked hard to get those two tries before halftime.”
Italy, which finished bottom of this year’s Six Nations after failing to win a single match, did not help its own cause. The Italians had two players sin-binned and gave up a stack of penalties that allowed the Scots to dominate possession.
Despite that, the young Italian side was rewarded for its tenacity when Michele Campagnaro and Angelo Esposito scored tries in the second half to give some respectability to the scoreline after winger Damian Hoyland scored Scotland’s final touchdown when replacement Abraham Steyn was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle.
“There’s no doubt we put a lot of pressure on ourselves with our bad discipline,” Italy coach Conor O’Shea said.
“I can’t fault the effort of the players in very difficult conditions, they fought to the end, but the penalty country and two yellow cards, you just can’t do that.
“The disappointing thing for is that we gave them energy. We know the road and the challenge for us is hard but we can’t make it harder for ourselves.”
Like most of the Six Nations teams, Scotland and Italy are using the offseason tour to experiment with new combinations and blood new players against the southern hemisphere’s best.
Both teams have got tests scheduled against Australia and Fiji in the next two weeks.
SOUTH AFRICA DEFEAT FRANCE
South Africa scored a season-opening 37-14 Test triumph over France in Pretoria on Saturday to regain some pride after a disastrous previous campaign.
The Springboks lost eight of 12 internationals last year and there has been media speculation that a series loss to France over three Tests would see coach Allister Coetzee sacked.
But after France trailed just 16-14 on 56 minutes, a penalty try was awarded against them, full-back Brice Dulin got a yellow card and they conceded two more tries.
It was an impressive no-frills win for South Africa, but France should be stronger next Saturday in Durban when seven stars rested after the domestic Top 14 final will be available.
France had the first opportunity to score, but a fifth-minute penalty attempt from fly-half Jules Plisson drifted across the posts and wide.
Rival playmaker Elton Jantjies got his first shot at goal six minutes later and made no mistake with a close-range penalty.
Jantjies, desperate to shine after a poor 2016 Test season, doubled the lead on 15 minutes with another successful penalty kick.
South Africa, displaying a spirit that was in short supply last year, were camped inside the French half for the first quarter of a tight tussle.
France finally reached the South Africa 22 after 26 minutes and threatened to score until loose forward Louis Picamoles failed to grasp the ball with the tryline in sight.
The first try of the match went to South Africa on 31 minutes with full-back Andires Coetzee the architect and centre Jesse Kriel the scorer.
Debutant Coetzee changed the course of a lateral attack by cutting inside and when tackled, released the ball and quickly regathered it to dart forward.
He passed to Malcolm Marx, who had an outstanding first half bar a few wayward lineout throws, and the hooker sent Kriel over for a score Jantjies converted.
The visitors hit back on 35 minutes when two South Africans and one French player missed a bouncing ball over the tryline before centre Henry Chavancy scored.
Plisson converted before Jantjies slotted his third penalty to leave the home team 16-7 ahead at half-time.
France cut the gap to just two points close to the hour with slick handling taking the ball close to the line and replacement scrum-half Baptiste Serin dummying before diving over.
Plisson converted, but French joy was short-lived as they conceded two tries within a minute soon after.
Dulin was sin-binned for holding back winger Courtnall Skosan in a try-scoring position and a seven-point penalty try was awarded.
Almost immediately, a clever lineout ploy saw skipper Warren Whiteley push a long throw back into the path of scrum-half Ross Cronje, who raced over and Jantjies converted.
A two-point advantage had been transformed into a 30-14 lead and South Africa were on their way to a desperately needed triumph.
Centre Jan Serfontein scored a try after a break from Coetzee and Jantjies completed the scoring by converting for a perfect six-from-six goal-kicking record.
JAPAN OVERPOWERS ROMANIA
Michael Leitch scored a second-half try as Japan beat Romania 33-21 at Kumamoto, Japan.
Romania had an early 6-0 lead with two long-range penalties from Florin Vlaicu, but Japan took control when Akihito Yamada sprinted over from 30 metres in the 12th minute and Kenki Fukuoka added another try 10 minutes later.
Jumpei Ogura converted both tries and added a penalty as the hosts took a comfortable 23-9 lead at halftime.
“The game played out as we expected,” Japan coach Jamie Joseph said. “On one side of the ledger you had big guys playing a set-piece-orientated game that put us under pressure. We were able to play our style and fortunately we came out on top.”
Leitch, Japan’s captain at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, gave Japan a 28-9 lead only 90 seconds after the break.
Mihai Macovei and Sione Fakaosilea scored second-half tries, converted by Vlaicu, as Romania fought back in the final 30 minutes.
Romania threatened to close the gap to just one score but Japan defended well.
“The heat and humidity was a big factor,” Romania coach Lynn Howells said. “The players found it very difficult in the first 30 minutes and our communication and defense suffered.”
AUSTRALIA OPEN SEASON WITH DOMINATING WIN OVER FIJI
Fullback Israel Folau ended a year-long scoring drought in Test matches with two tries as Australia beat Fiji 37-14 at Melbourne in the home side’s 2017 rugby season opener.
Australia have often had difficulty in season-opening matches, losing to Samoa in 2011 and Scotland in 2012 at home. But they made no mistakes in this match, dominating from the outset when Folau scored his first try in the third minute and winger Henry Speight added another seven minutes later – his first of two on the day – to give Australia an 18-0 lead at halftime.
Folau’s second try came in the 55th minute. Replacement hooker and regular captain Stephen Moore scored the other Wallabies try.
Vereniki Goneva and Timoci Nagusa scored second-half tries for Fiji.
The last time 28-year-old Folau crossed for a try for the Wallabies was last June against England.
Australia got off to a fast start with Folau scoring after Bernard Foley nailed a cross-field kick.
However, Australia lost their edge when Folau was yellow-carded for an accidental high shot on Fiji flanker Naulia Dawai in the 20th minute.
Australia prevented the Fijians from scoring but did not manage to cross themselves again until Folau’s second try 15 minutes into the second half.
Fiji created plenty of chances, with lock Leone Nakarawa, who was part of its gold medal-winning Rio Olympics sevens team, causing plenty of opportunities. But too often a pushed pass and some scrambling defense from the Wallabies saw an attacking raid fall short.
Moore’s try came after a Wallaby maul from a lineout five meters from the touchline, while Speight grabbed his second try after the full-time siren sounded.
“Really happy with the guys, the intent was really strong but it was a performance that was indicative of a six-day preparation,” Australia captain Michael Hooper said. “We probably left two or three [tries] out there. The Fijians’ offload game was pretty hard to deal with at times.
“I was really impressed with some of our defense in the first half, keeping them to zero was pleasing.”
Karmichael Hunt, who has played 11 rugby league tests for Australia and also two seasons in Australian Rules football, made his rugby debut for Australia.
Playing out of position at inside center, Hunt played strongly and his tackle count was second-best among the Wallabies on the night.
Australia next plays Scotland in Sydney next Saturday and Italy in Brisbane on June 24.
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