Scotland v Tonga: Five takeaways as Gregor Townsend’s men dispatch ‘undercooked’ opposition but is it enough to save his job?
Scotland backs George Horne and an inset of head coach Gregor Townsend.
Following Scotland’s 56-0 mauling of Tonga at Murrayfield Stadium, here are our five takeaways from the Quilter Nations Series fixture.
Top line
One-way traffic in Edinburgh as Scotland closed the year out on a mild high in their final Test match of the year as Gregor Townsend’s charges gave the Murrayfield faithful something to smile about after a rollercoaster November international window.
Fronting up against a Tongan outfit lacking cohesion and match minutes under their belt, the Scots made light work of the Pacific Islanders, crossing the whitewash three times in a dominant first half, adding five to their tally in the second.
George Turner marked his 50th appearance for his country with a try in the 12th minute, the second try of the match after Jamie Ritchie opened the home team’s account. Max Williamson added his name to the scoresheet in the 22nd minute, with Fergus Burke knocking over all three conversion attempts.
The Tongans’ ill-discipline proved costly with three yellow cards and one red card, thwarting any chance of really challenging the Scots, whose five second-half tries come via the likes of Duhan van der Merwe, Ewan Ashman and George Horne, the latter duo both crossing twice.
Tonga were brave but undercooked
The last time Tonga played was in the Pacific Nations Cup back in September, and it showed. The ‘Ikale Tahi secured their best finish since 2018 by beating Canada 35-24 in the third-place play-off, but today was a much tougher task against a tier one, Six Nations outfit.
The mistakes that they made were the kind of errors that teams make when they have not played together recently and have a short preparation time for a fixture.
Three yellow cards and one red is a further indication of just that and hints at a lack of Test match rugby fitness that is usually achieved by actually playing in those kinds of games.
Still, there were signs of classic Tongan rugby littered throughout this game as they formed a red wall in defence and left Scottish bodies splattered across the turf. There was certainly no lack of effort from the Pacific Islanders, with the likes of Lotu Inisi, John Tapueluelu, and Siua Maile racking up massive tackle counts while Big Ben Tameifuna emptied the tank too.
Inisi was the pick of the Tongans as he racked up a team-high of 42 running metres to go with his 24 tackles, while Tapueluelu clinched two turnovers. While this was by no means a poor Tongan side it was an understrength and undercooked one. We will see better come the 2027 World Cup.
Scotland’s first-half dominance
The fact that Tonga trailed by just 21 points at half-time was a credit to the Pacific Islanders’ love for heavy hitting and their never-give-up attitude.
Scotland spent 67% of the first half inside the Tongan half of the pitch and had 73% possession. The opening 40 minutes was something of a tribute to Barcelona’s Tiki Taka of days gone by as they set up camp and just waited for the visitors to make mistakes, which they did.
Ritchie, Turner, and Williamson all found away over the line before the break as the Scots eventually made the pressure count, forcing the Tongans into making 140 tackles in the first half.
After 15 minutes, the visitors had made just two carries, and that number only grew to seven by the 30th minute.
While Scotland were excellent in their ability to retain the ball and not make mistakes during this period, Tonga did make it rather easy for them as they opted to cover the pitch and not throw numbers into the breakdown.
Their defensive lineout didn’t really threaten Scotland’s throw, while their clearance kicks failed to find touch or significant distance.
Flat period
One of the biggest work-ons for Scotland before the start of the Six Nations next year will be their ability to sustain the pressure that they put teams under.
Against the All Blacks, they were slow starters and finishers, allowing Scott Robertson’s men to race into a massive lead before fighting back, only to let the game slip at the end. Versus Argentina, they dominated the first half, like they did today, went into a 21-point lead, but outgassed themselves and rolled over in the second half as the Pumas surged to victory.
Today, Townsend’s men enjoyed a fruitful 20-minute start but struggled to turn pressure into points after Williamson crossed in the 22nd minute. They failed to add to their tally for the remainder of the half and almost the first full quarter of the second. Perhaps simply taking a shot at goal to kick the scoreboard ticking and providing a bump in confidence is the simple answer, but Scotland seem to be running themselves off their feet and Townsend’s reluctance to use his bench effectively in big matches is costing them.
Where does this leave Gregor Townsend?
It’s been a tough old week for the Scotland head coach with newspaper columns littered with calls for the sack, and he got a real grilling after the team announcement. To his credit, he stood his ground and defended his position despite the pressing nature of the questions that he fielded.
Unfortunately for Gregor Townsend, a victory of any kind would not relieve any of the pressure he is under, as he hopes that the board backs him and gives him the 2026 Six Nations to turn things around.
It was pretty much one-way traffic at Murrayfield, and the vibe was a hell of a lot better at the final whistle compared to last week, when the fans booed the side that surrendered a 21-point lead to Argentina off the pitch.
A defeat to Tonga would have surely seen the axe fall on Townsend, but a win means that he will survive for now. But how long that will last is anyone’s guess.
Rugby Pass reports that sources state that “nobody would be surprised if Townsend wasn’t ousted from Edinburgh and installed at Kingston Park before the start of the Six Nations.”
Frankly, the only reason it would be a shock is the fact that the Scottish Rugby Union actually pulled the trigger. The question then is, can they afford to buy him out of his contract? Does Franco Smith then take over? Does the Glasgow boss actually want the gig? And if not him, then who? It might just be a busy Christmas for the bigwigs.
