Gregor Townsend hails Scotland for showing ‘true identity’ in victory over Samoa

Gregor Townsend praised his Scotland players for showing their “true identity” after they bounced back from defeat to round off their Pacific Tour with an emphatic victory over Samoa.

Seven different Scotland players scored tries as the tourists won 41-12 at Eden Park in Auckland.

Scotland opened their tour with victory over the Maori All Blacks in New Zealand but were on the end of an ill-disciplined 29-14 defeat by Fiji in Suva last weekend.

That result was a major blow for Scotland’s aspirations of breaking into the top seeds ahead of the World Cup draw in December, but Townsend’s side reacted in the best way possible to finish the season on a high.

“It was hugely important,” Townsend said. “You rise to a challenge and you show your true identity when you’ve got that challenge of backing up a defeat and the players showed that.

“The way they came together during the week with just a six-day turnaround and one training session, they were really aligned and focused on delivering a better performance and they did that.”

Scotland quickly got on top through tries from Lions-bound Ewan Ashman and Rory Hutchinson in the opening 13 minutes and were always in control of the game.

Arron Reed, Kyle Steyn, Grant Gilchrist, Kyle Rowe and George Turner all crossed with the Samoans grabbing two second-half tries of their own.

Townsend said: “We had to defend really well at the beginning of the game. I thought Samoa brought a lot from their attack. They were direct, they were physical and they moved the ball well to the wide channels.

“So that set us up really well for us to move the ball when we had it. I thought we were really clinical in the 22, through our forwards mainly, with the mall, but also the direct carrying.

“And then just some really good skills to score tries and give us that cushion going into half-time.

“That would be close to how well the team played against the Maori. This game was more physical.

“It’s been a really enjoyable tour, so it’s important we finish with a top performance.”

Townsend hailed scrum-half Jamie Dobie, who was involved in the build-up to several tries, but was stopped just short of the line himself and delivered some important defensive interventions.

“Jamie was great,” he added. “He was battling with cramp near the end, but for him to go from nine to wing and play equally as well….

“I thought Gregor Brown was outstanding, came back from injury and then getting another injury in our first game on tour. Grant Gilchrist going 80 minutes again and Fin Richardson in his first cap, showing real energy.

“And it was really pleasing to see our scrum and our line-up maul being dominant. It’s something we’ve spent a lot of time working on. The players have really worked hard and we have had our rewards in that area on this tour.”