Match Report: Scotland 56-0 Tonga

In what was to represent a portal into future Tongan ill-discipline, blindside Semisi Paea was retrospectively penalised for a croc roll on Andy Onyeama-Christie, referee Luc Ramos and his team deciding that a yellow card was necessary.

Stand-off Fergus Burke kicked Scotland to their first attacking set of the afternoon but from little over five metres out, the defence wasn’t breached. Two offside calls made it four such transgressions in the opening 10 minutes and for all the world, the wall had to be breached.

That appeared to be the case when Sione Tuipulotu wriggled over but the Scotland skipper was called for a double movement.

The breakthrough came soon after, though, as Jamie Ritchie barged his way over in the wake of some clearly tiring Tongan defenders. After Duhan van der Merwe’s initial line break, Ben White and then Onyeama-Christie made yards. Against a scrambling opposition, Ritchie scored only his second international try, with Fergus Burke converting (7-0, 11 mins).

With Paea’s yellow card being upgraded to a 20-minute red, the blow of going behind was exacerbated.

That in itself was immediately compounded when George Turner, on the occasion of his 50^th Scotland cap, then went over after some slick ground made by van der Merwe and Magnus Bradbury. Burke added the two (14-0, 14 mins).

Tonga were game – far too game in the end – and when Siua Maile escaped another card for a horrible no-arms tackle on Turner, it merely delayed another score, this time for Max Williamson who celebrated his first points for Scotland with a clever close-range finish. Burke clipped over the extras (21-0, 22 mins).

It took until the 28^th minute for Tonga to enter the Scottish half, full-back William Havili landing a sumptuous 50:22, but the hosts repelled the threat by turning off the line-out that ensued and winning a scrum for holding up the maul.

Despite a bumper 60,000 crowd – the previous best for this fixture was 32,000 in 2021 – there was an end-of-term feel to the late knockings of the first half, highlighted when Tongan stand-off Patrick Pellegrini kicked an easy penalty touch-finder dead.

Such profligacy came to hurt Tonga as, soon after, second row Veikoso Poloniati cynically stopped a certain try with a deliberate knock-on on the line. There was another yellow card but Scotland were frustratingly held up on the line to bring to an end the opening 40.

Half-time: Scotland 21-0 Tonga

Much like the end-of November temperature once the sun had left, things were in dire need of heating up after the break. It was Tonga who had the early territory but after winning a penalty for a Ritchie foul on the deck, they imploded in first being turned over from the attacking line-out, then being administered a third yellow of the day for another deliberate knock-on; this time the culprit was winger Taniela Filimone.

Remarkably, Tonga were thrown another yellow card – their fourth – when centre Fine Inisi was sent to the bin for, you guessed it, a deliberate knock-on.

Scotland capitalised instantly through their record try scorer when, after winning their attacking penalty line-out, George Horne popped van der Merwe through a pocket and the winger motored home for his 35^th international try, with Burke converting (28-0, 59 mins).

A fifth home try arrived with 15 minutes left, coming in familiar style with replacement hooker Ewan Ashman finishing off a textbook line-out maul for a baker’s dozen in Scotland colours. Burke converted once more (35-0, 65 mins).

Scottish Gas Murrayfield was in full voice and the home side amplified the feel good factor with a sixth try when Horne, who would convert, scampered away following excellent work from the Kyles, Steyn and Rowe (42-0, 68 mins).

There was time to threaten a half century of points when Horne went over from the edge of the 22 for his second, after a gorgeous offload by Ritchie (49-0, 74 mins).

And that threat became a reality when Ashman bided his time before stretching out to add his own second, in that familiar style from the back of the line-out maul. Horne kept Scotland’s conversion record blemish-free with another tidy kick (56-0, 79 mins).

Tonga mustered up one more attack in a bid to trouble the scorers, but Scotland held out to close the calendar year with a routine win.

Full-time: Scotland 56-0 Tonga

Scotland: Tom Jordan (Bristol Bears), Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Sione Tuipulotu (captain) (all Glasgow Warriors), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby); Fergus Burke (Saracens), Ben White (Toulon); Rory Sutherland (Glasgow Warriors), George Turner (Harlequins), Zander Fagerson, Alex Samuel, Max Williamson (all Glasgow Warriors), Andy Onyeama-Christie (Saracens), Jamie Ritchie (Perpignan), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh Rugby).

Replacements: Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby) (for Turner, 47 mins), Nathan McBeth (Glasgow Warriors) (for Sutherland, 47 mins), Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers) (for Fagerson, 47 mins), Marshall Sykes (Edinburgh Rugby) (for Williamson, 54 mins), Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby) (for Onyeama-Christie, 60 mins), George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) (for White, 54 mins), Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors) (for Tuipulotu, 54 mins), Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) (for Burke 66 mins).

Tonga: William Havili, Taniela Filimone, Fine Inisi, Solomone Kata, John Tapueluelu, Patrick Pellegrini, Sonatane Takulua; Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, Siua Maile, Ben Tameifuna (captain) Harison Mataele, Veikoso Poloniati, Semisi Paea, Siosiua Moala, Lotu Inisi.

Replacements: Sam Moli, Fatongia Paea, Phil Kite, Sitaleki Timani, Fotu Lokotui, Aisea Halo, Lotima Fainga’anuku, Anzelo Tuitavuki.

Referee: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Evan Urruzmendi and Benoît Rousselet (both FFR)
TMO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
FPRO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Attendance: 60,374

Quilter Player of the Match: Magnus Bradbury