Rugby World Cup 2023: 12-try Scotland thrash sorry Romania to set up winner-takes-all Pool B decider against Ireland
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Updated 30/09/2023 at 22:07 GMT
Scotland cantered to a huge bonus-point win over Romania to set up a mouthwatering Pool B closer against Ireland. The Scots knew they needed a full five points to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, and they did so with aplomb by scoring 12 tries. Scotland can reach the last eight if they beat the Irish with a four-point advantage.
Scotland's wing Darcy Graham dives across the line to score a try during the France 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Scotland and Romania at Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq near Lille, northern France, on September 30, 2023.
Image credit: Getty Images
Darcy Graham ran in four of Scotland's 12 tries as they recorded a resounding 84-0 win over Romania in Lille to set up a mouthwatering Pool B decider against Ireland next weekend.
A much-changed Scottish side got the bonus-point win they required to move up to 10 points, four behind group leaders Ireland going into their clash at the Stade de France.
South Africa face Tonga on Sunday and a bonus-point win for the defending champions would put them on 15 points and in pole position to reach the quarter-finals.
Scotland fly-half Ben Healy was perfect from the tee on his Rugby World Cup debut as he nailed 11 conversions, with the remaining score converted by George Horne.
Hamish Watson opened the scoring in the ninth minute as he dived over in the corner after Cameron Redpath set him up perfectly after he made a break.
Ali Price scored the second, and was given the ball by Graham after a slick move from the set piece that saw a pass go from Redpath to Healy in the build up. The scrum-half raced away to score after Graham made the initial break.
After he set up the second, Graham then scored the third, and the fourth, and the sixth, all before half time as the bonus point was safely secured.
His first score saw him sprint away after he received a pass from Price. He expertly read the game to dodge the defenders that lay in his path on the way to the line in the 20th minute.
His second came from excellent build up play from Harris, who gave the winger a well-timed pass to allow him to score out wide.
In the 29th minute Robert Irimescu was sent off for contact to Healy’s head in a tackle, and he was joined in the sin bin by Florian Rosu a minute later for his disruption to the maul.
Before Graham was able to secure his hat-trick, Matt Fagerson joined the scoring party. He got over the line after he spotted a gap and received a pass from Price at the breakdown to dive over.
Romania got a hat-trick of yellow cards in the space of nine minutes as Marius Simionescu was then sent off for head contact in a tackle on Ollie Smith.
Graham then got his third try just before half-time. Harris and Price were instrumental in the lead up once again. The centre made a initial break before he passed to Price who then released the winger to score again.
Healy converted again, and seconds later it was the end of the half. Scotland went into the changing rooms with a 42-0 lead.
Harris got over the line himself five minutes into the second half. Redpath collected a crossfield kick from Healy’s left boot, and he then gave Harris the one-handed offload as he held off the defence with his other hand.
Graham nearly notched a fourth, but an important cover tackle from fullback Marius Simionescu denied him the score.
Smith scored Scotland’s eighth after he sprinted from behind the halfway line to within metres. He was tackled, but put the ball down and picked it back up again to then get himself over the whitewash.
After his perfect performance from the tee, Healy then got a try of his own. He linked up with Graham who made a break to set the fly-half free for their ninth try.
On the night of both his Scotland and Rugby World Cup debuts, Johnny Matthews scored the tenth try for Gregor Townsend’s side. Blair Kinghorn made the initial break before he passed to Horne, who then allowed Matthews to make the run to score under the sticks.
Matthews looked to be on the way to his second only minutes later, but he gave the pass to Rory Darge as the two picked apart the gaping holes in the defence.
Graham then eventually got his fourth and Scotland’s 12th. He too spotted space left open behind the defence and popped up in the perfect place to score the final try of the match under the posts.
- - -
Talking point - Scotland set up crunch clash with Ireland
Scotland score 12 tries in Lille, four contributed by Darcy Graham. Ben Healy was perfect from the tee to slot every conversion he took and became just the second male player to make more than ten conversions in a single men's RWC match without missing one. Leon MacDonald slotted 12 past Tonga in 2003 and is the only person to have kicked more than Healy, pretty impressive for the fly-half's RWC debut!
Scotland’s RWC future comes down to the result of their match against Ireland next weekend in Paris.
Player of the match - Darcy Graham
Darcy Graham was electrifying on the wing and appeared at all the right moments to not only score four tries of his own but also set others up to score their own, and made 211 metres. He's only the second male Scottish player to score four tries in a single RWC match after Gavin Hastings in 1995.
Player ratings
Scotland XV: Ollie Smith 9, Darcy Graham 10, Chris Harris 9, Cameron Redpath 9, Kyle Steyn 8, Ben Healy 10, Ali Price 9, Jamie Bhatti 9, Ewan Ashman 8, Javan Sebastian 8, Sam Skinner 8, Grant Gilchrist (capt.) 8, Luke Crosbie 8, Hamish Watson 9, Matt Fagerson 9
Replacements: Johnny Matthews 9, Rory Sutherland 8, WP Nel 8, Scott Cummings 8, Rory Darge 9, George Horne 9, Blair Kinghorn 9, Huw Jones 8
Romania XV: Marius Simionescu 2, Sioeli Lama 3, Jason Tomane 3, Fonovai Tangimana 4, Taliauli Sikuea 4, Alin Conache 4, Gabriel Rupanu, Alexandru Savin 4, Robert Irimescu 2, Gheorghe Gajion 3, Adrian Motoc 3, Stefan Iancu 3, Florian Rosu 2, Dragos Ser 4, Cristian Chirica (capt.) 3
Replacements: Florin Bardasu 3, Iulian Hartig 3, Costel Burtila 3, Marius Iftimiciuc 3, Damian Stratila 3, Florin Surugiu 3, Tudor Boldor3, Nicholas Onutu 3
Match highlights
21', 34', 40', 77' - Darcy Graham scores first-half hat-trick and 12th and final try of the match
10', 18', 22', 35', 39', 40', 47', 55', 59', 71', 78 - Ben Healy provides 11 perfect conversions on his RWC debut
9' - Hamish Watson opens the scoring on his appearance at RWC2023
17' - Ali Price scores Scotland’s second
38’ - Matt Fagerson
45' - Chris Harris opens the scoring in the second half
53' - Ollie Smith scores Scotland’s ninth try
58' - Ben Healy takes the try tally to double figures
71' - Johnny Matthews scores on his Scotland (and RWC) debut
73' - Rory Darge links up with Matthews to score the 11th
73’ - George Horne adds the converison
Key stats
- Top points scorer – Ben Healy (Scotland, 27)
- Top tackler - Dragos Ser (Romania, 16)
- Top metres made - Darcy Graham (Scotland, 211)
- Top offloads - Cameron Redpath (Scotland, 5)
- Top carries across the gainline - Darcy Graham (Scotland, 17)
- Territory - Scotland 60%, Romania 40%
- Metres carried - Scotland 1148, Romania 273
- Carries over the gainline - Scotland 127, Romania 37
- Scrums won - Scotland 50% (2/4), Romania 100% (7/7)
- Lineouts won - Scotland 93.3% (14/15), Romania 81.8% (9/11)
- Tackles made - Scotland 130, Romania 159
- Tackles missed - Scotland 11, Romania 71
---
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
Scan me
Share this article