Duhan van der Merwe breaks Scotland try record in win over Uruguay to end Americas tour - 'An amazing achievement'
Published 28/07/2024 at 11:02 GMT+1
Duhan van der Merwe took the headlines in an otherwise underwhelming 31-19 win for Scotland against Uruguay in Montevideo. Gregor Townsend reflected on the impressive exploits of Van der Merwe, and also praised his team's resilience as a whole after grinding out a hard-fought victory over the South American nation.
‘He will punish you’ – Van der Merwe bursts through gap to open scoring for Scotland
Video credit: TNT Sports
Duhan van der Merwe became Scotland's record try scorer after crossing the line for a 28th time in a 31-19 win against Uruguay.
Van der Merwe achieved the historic feat with 26 minutes on the clock, in what was undoubtedly the highlight in an otherwise unconvincing victory.
The 29-year-old was rested in the 52-11 win over Chile in Santiago, but was reintroduced into the line-up here.
This win rounded off a four-match tour of the Americas for Townsend's side and came after wins over Canada, the USA and Chile respectively.
Gregor Townsend's side had to overcome a spirited Uruguayan revival after Van der Merwe's try gave Scotland a 19-0 lead, following earlier tries from Ewan Ashman and Luke Crosbie.
The South Americans went against the script though, as tries from Santiago Alvarez, Filipe Etcheverry and Manuel Diana, wiped out their lead.
A surprise defeat looked to be on the cards until Patrick Harrison and Pierre Schoeman crossed over to secure a hard-fought win.
Reflecting on Van der Merwe’s achievement, Townsend said: "We're all delighted for him, and it's an amazing achievement in such a short space of time, and now he can kick on and score more tries in the future.
"It was a real challenge for us. Uruguay came with a lot of physicality, and they were winning penalties and put us under pressure.
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"But I felt the team responded well in the first half and then responded well again in the second half. But the bits between, we were put under pressure and Uruguay deserved their points on the board.
"Look, this has been our biggest test and that's one of the reasons we came here - to see how this team reacts when they're under pressure, and they came through, so we're very proud of them."
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