Week one of the Autumn Nations Series came in like a flaming bowling ball which was thrown by Thor as four of International Rugby’s top teams took to the pitch.
Notching yet another tight victory over England, Scott Robertson’s side hustled their way to a late victory having trailed by five points with five minutes to play.
Slipping by the England defence like an eel through a net, winger Mark Tele’a proved once again why he is one of the top three wingers in the world with a two-try performance. The second of these tries set up Damian McKenzie for the match-winning touchline conversion, which absolutely drilled through the uprights.
North of the border, the action would not be quite as close but still had several compelling storylines, namely the battle for the top spot on the Scottish all-time try scorers list as Darcy Graham pulled even with Duhan van der Merwe by scoring four tries on the evening. Getting the last word, van der Merwe scored one of his own to regain the lead in what will be a fun subplot to track.
Speaking of this match, Fiji certainly had their moments as they overcame an early two-score deficit to score three tries to create a level of jeopardy for their hosts.
Alas, as quickly as it came, the comeback fizzled out as Scotland went on to score four unanswered tries to break the half-century mark in what was a mighty display by Gregor Townsend’s men.
As expected, Graham’s four tries grabbed the headlines from the fixture, but one moment from the Fijians that has perhaps gone under the radar was a huge hit from Fijian lock Isoa Nasilasila.
Chasing a box kick, the 6’6″ and 118kg powerhouse bore down on Scotland fullback Kyle Rowe like an HGV free-wheeling downhill.
Getting his timing nailed to the millisecond, Nasilasila blitzed the Glasgow Warriors star with a perfect tackle which sent an audible ‘ooohhh’ around Murrayfield.
Nasilasila massive hit on Kyle Rowe
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Next up for the flying Fijians is a trip to Cardiff to face Wales in what on paper should be a tight contest between two sides who met at last year’s Rugby World Cup.
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