Scotland probed the Fijian defence with some smart running in the opening minutes, and after hammering away at the Fijian line, the ball zipped out for what seemed a sure try – but for a deliberate knock-on by Frank Lomani, which led to a yellow card for the scrum-half.
Frustratingly for Fiji, Lomani was less than a minute away from returning from his spell in the sin bin when outside centre Apisalome Vota received a yellow card of his own, temporarily leaving them with 13 men on the pitch.
The home side were initially unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage after opting for a lineout and losing possession, easing the pressure on Fiji. Scotland appeared to be rewarded for all this early pressure as hooker Ewan Ashman was driven over for a try, only for the TMO to call it back for an infringement.
However, moments later it was nimble fullback Kyle Rowe touching down (legitimately, this time) with footwork that flummoxed the Fijian defence. Fly-half Adam Hastings added the easy two points.
A smart move off the back of a lineout served to confuse the Fijian defence, with openside Rory Darge peeling off the back of the maul. The ball made its way to Ashman who burst up the wing, before releasing the returning Darcy Graham – who missed two campaigns for his country this year through injury - for Scotland’s second try. Hastings converted from out wide to make it 14-0 inside the opening quarter.
The clock wasn’t even up to 20 minutes when a Hastings cross-field kick found Graham, whose effort to grubber kick the ball was confirmed by the TMO to have grazed his boot and thus not considered a knock-on. So when the Fijian fullback attempted to tackle the right wing and slid off his man, Graham was free to regather the ball and score his second. Hastings was unable to convert: 19-0.
A shell-shocked Fiji momentarily lost all shape in attack, conceding an intercept try just moments later when centre Huw Jones snaffled their ball to race in for Scotland’s fourth try, which Hastings converted. Scotland now held a more-than-healthy 26-point lead with just over a quarter of the match gone.
Ashman, so unlucky not have notched up his fifth Test try of the year earlier in the match, then got shown a yellow card. Almost instantly, Fiji showed their dangerous selves, shipping the ball wide and contriving to send fullback Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula over for their first points of the match.
Hastings kicked another successful penalty, leaving the scores at 29-5 to the hosts going into the second half, but not before Glasgow Warriors fullback Tom Jordan replaced try-scorer Rowe for his Test debut – and there was still time for one final flourish.
Lomani atoned for his earlier yellow card when, with the clock deep in the red on 44 minutes, he fed blindside Meli Derenalagi the ball to dive through the Scottish defenders and score their second try (like the first, unconverted). At 29-10, there was a sliver of hope for the visitors going into the next 40 minutes.
That hope wasn’t unfounded when, ten minutes into the second half, the Scots were caught napping at the front of the lineout as hooker Tevita Ikanivere threw a quick one-two and set off up the left wing for a wonderfully opportunist try, converted by Armstrong-Ravula to narrow the deficit to 12 points.
Darcy Graham was well and truly making up for lost time when he took a flat ball off Huw Jones in the Fijian 22 and raced away for a well-deserved hat-trick. A fourth successful conversion from Hastings burnished the Scots’ lead: 36-17.
Fiji almost struck back in less than a minute when a risky grubber from number eight Jack Dempsey from the restart proved just that, as the visitors gained possession and, but for some desperate Scottish defence by the flag, would have scored in the corner through winger Vuate Karawalevu.
After an hour, Scotland had been reinvigorated by some replacements, one of whom, scrum-half Jamie Dobie set Graham up for a significant try: one that took him level with teammate Duhan van der Merwe as his country’s top try-scorer. Hastings, enjoying a pleasing night with the boot, was on song with the conversion.
Van der Merwe, up until then somewhat quiet by his own lofty standards, soon reclaimed his record when a sumptuous backdoor pass from Hastings allowed Jones to find space in the Fijian 22, the centre throwing a long pass to the winger to score. With six minutes to go, Scotland could enjoy an insurmountable 50-17 lead.
The night become even more of a record-breaking one when Hastings - his tail very much up by this point - produced yet another accurate cross-field kick for Jones to pluck from the air and run in his second try, and in the process break Scotland's points record for a match against Fiji. Hastings' good night continued when he converted for a 17-point personal haul.
There was still time for Van der Merwe to produce a trademark scything run for yet another try, before the TMO called it back for a foot in touch by Jones, but Scotland would have been good for it, such was their dominant form after an admittedly shaky opening.
Fiji will benefit from the return of their European-based players next weekend against Wales, and likewise Scotland, who on tonight's showing will be buoyed heading into a huge encounter with reigning world champions South Africa - with all matches live on TNT Sports - with some big-name players such as Finn Russell also in contention.
