Scotland A 38 - 7 Tonga : Greig Laidlaw enjoys a Gala day as Scots crush Tongans

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 10:20

EDINBURGH scrum half Greig Laidlaw was today reflecting on an outstanding contribution to the stylish 38-7 win posted by Scotland A over Tonga.

The 24-year-old livewire was elevated to the starting line up after Rory Lawson's promotion to the full side as a replacement for injury victim Mike Blair.

And he seized the opportunity, forming a solid half back partnership with his former Edinburgh team mate Hugo Southwell.

His efforts were rewarded with the man of the match award and offered confirmation that he is ready to battle it out for recognition at a higher level.

Laidlaw, one of eight Edinburgh players in the starting XV – four more were on the bench – explained that his starting berth had not been a complete surprise.

He said: "We trained with Scotland on Tuesday then split into the A squad on Wednesday. It was about 90 per cent certain from Thursday because Mike has been struggling. I got the heads up pretty quickly."

And, while he is currently fourth in line for the full Scotland team behind Chris Cusiter, Blair and Lawson, the star of last night's show believes he is capable of rising up the pecking order.

"There are a lot of good scrum halves", he said. "But I've got in there and played well and that's what I need to keep doing. Here's hoping things will get better from now on."

Insisting that he had felt at ease running out in front of a 3976-strong crowd, Laidlaw said: "The less pressure I put on myself the better I play, I think. I just like to relax. I'm a Borders lad and I really enjoyed coming back. It was good to see so many people come and watch the game."

Any nerves he may have been suffering from were swiftly dispelled as Laidlaw set the Scots on their way when he darted over from close range after taking a pass from Jim Thompson, who then stroked over the conversion.

The same duo were involved in try number two with Laidlaw feeding Ben Cairns, who scythed through the Tongan defence before offloading to Thompson and the full back completed the task then again added the extra points.

Cairns, who had limped off during Edinburgh's defeat against Newport Gwent Dragons earlier this month, confirmed his recovery with a string of strong runs and several big hits against the powerful visitors.

However, although the Scots dominated the first half, they were unable to add to their tally and it was early in the second half before Thompson extended the lead with a penalty.

Cairns, who was also a contender for man of the match, then profited from an incisive run by Mark Robertson, who freed his Capital colleague for try number three. Thompson's final act was to slot the kick.

A personnel reshuffle saw Southwell move to full back and, although he had fared well in the playmaker role, he was clearly more at ease in his familiar position as he confirmed when Cairns sent him thundering over for a try converted by Colin Gregor.

Robertson then bagged try number five and Gregor again converted before the Scots surrendered ball inside the Tongan 22 and Alipate Fatafehi gathered and raced away for a score – converted by Kurt Morath with the final kick of the game – to blot the Scottish clean sheet.

"The guys were gutted about that," admitted Laidlaw, whose focus is likely to switch back to preparing for the resumption of Magners League duties with his club, unless injuries mean he is called up by Andy Robinson to prepare for next weekend's meeting with Argentina.

"It was good to get a win. The night turned out well and the rain stayed away," he added. "I'm now looking forward to my next game, probably for Edinburgh."

And beyond that, his mature performance last night means that it is not unrealistic for Laidlaw to harbour hopes of being involved when Robinson unveils his training squad for the RBS Six Nations. He said: "It's a bit away but I've just got to keep playing well and, if I get a chance and I play like that, we'll see what happens."

Scorers:

Scotland A: Tries: Laidlaw, Thompson, Cairns, Southwell, Robertson; Conversions: Thompson (3), Gregor (2); Penalty: Thompson.

Tonga: Try: Fatafehi; Conversion: Morath.

Teams

Scotland A: J Thompson (C Gregor 70), T Evans, B Cairns, J Houston, N Walker (M Robertson 40), H Southwell, G Laidlaw (M McMillan 66), J Welsh (E Kalman 62), S Lawson (A Kelly 49), G Cross, S MacLeod, R Gray (C Hamilton 70), K Brown (R Grant 56), A MacDonald, A Hogg.

Tonga: V Lilo, P Hola, S Hufanga, S Vaka (S Satui 70), M Ahotaeiloa (A Fatafehi 31), K Morath, K Fanoupo, P Taula (P Fakalelu 60), W Hafu (O Fonua 76), M Moala, P Hehea, E Kauhenga (L Faaoso 67), S Filo, U Fono (S Vaiomounga 60), S Vahafolau.