LONDON – Scotland have blown away a tired Japan side 45-10 at Kingsholm in Gloucester in the first match on Wednesday.
Five tries in the final 30 minutes ended the contest as a fresh Scotland capitalised on mistakes from a lazy Japan. However it didn’t always look like going their way as their game as they often struggled to keep pace with the fast Japanese offence. But while at times struggling against Japan’s well drilled attack, they kicked as often as they could and took every bit of yardage that they were gifted from the Japanese.
Their set piece was solid without being spectacular and they would have been happy with their defensive structure after being forved to make 180 tackles against a very quick Japan. Unfortunately for coach Vern Cotter, his team’s tendency to fade out at times was portrayed with Scotland allowing Japan into the match in the first half.
As for the Brave Blossoms, as brave as they were, there was the nagging aspect that they weren’t as fresh as they could have been with just a four day turn around before facing an invigorated Scotland. They lacked the finish and the polish in their set plays and struggled to retain the ball as they ran out of juice in the second half.