Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw was delighted with the win over Fiji yesterday as a superb second-half performance saw the Scots run in 33 unanswered points in securing a 54-17 victory.
However, Laidlaw felt the Scots' task should have been made easier in a hard-fought first half that saw two Fijians yellow-carded, rather than the Scots being awarded a penalty score as Fiji desperately defended their line against a dominant Scottish driving maul.
“It was a question I asked of the referee. Rather than going to yellow cards, would it be an option for the penalty try?” Laidlaw revealed.
“Because I felt our forwards were fairly dominant and we had them under a bit of pressure and they were fairly illegal, coming in from the side on occasions. But we were just happy to score the try before the half.”
And Laidlaw was full of admiration for the Scottish pack, and how the Scots in general handled a tough first half.
“We scored just before half-time and nobody panicked.
"We scored a nice try out to the right and it gave us a lead going to half-time and I thought we were really clinical in the second half.
“I think if we look back we might have panicked a little bit in certain aspects and stayed in that close tussle we had in the first half. But what was really pleasing was we stepped it up in the second half and from the start we really pulled away.
“Our forwards are tremendous and we have some real strength. Jonny (Gray) was on the bench today and Sam Skinner played excellent.
"We are developing a brand of rugby where all the forwards can play and that showed as well at the end of the game, in terms of shifting the ball.
"But holding the ball was certainly one of the deciding factors in the end and our forwards did a tremendous job in tiring them out and holding on to the ball. We talked about that, and going to a driving game when it was needed. So that was really pleasing.
“There are no easy games and the way we analysed Fiji ... they are tremendous at offloading and their ability to play the game of rugby. But our defence really fired today and, because of the way we played, it gave us the chance to turn over ball and we took a few opportunities.”
The re-forming of his partnership at half-back with Finn Russell was something Laidlaw was keen to highlight, particularly the contribution that came from the Racing 92 stand-off.
“Finn is easy to play with now,” said Laidlaw after winning his 63 cap. “He understands what rugby’s about at this level. He knows when to flatten up, and when to push the boundaries.”
Laidlaw, however, knows he and his team face an even bigger test next weekend when South Africa visit Murrayfield.
“We’ll need to defend very well against the Springboks, against one of the best teams in the world.
“We won’t want to give South Africa 17 points if we can help it. It will all start with our defence and they are a very big team, with their physicality, and they always pride themselves on that.
"Maybe games I’ve been involved with in the past we’ve lost that.”
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