Scotland is going for the clean sweep as they aim to secure a 2-nil Test series victory over Japan tonight. Join The Roar for live scores from 8:20pm AEST.
Despite being under pressure for the majority of the first half, Scotland toiled hard en route to a solid 26-13 victory over fancied Japan.
Japan at home would have been confident of securing the win against a Scottish team that didn’t impress too much during the Six Nations. Scotland however dug deep and once again won the arm-wrestle against a Japanese side still lacking the definitive cutting edge.
Despite the win, Scotland is counting the cost of their victory in the first Test of their summer tour to Japan.
Alasdair Dickinson is out of Saturday’s second and final match after damaging a hamstring in the third minute of last week’s victory in Toyota while John Barclay (shoulder), Willem Nel (knee), Duncan Taylor (hamstring) and Ryan Wilson (knee) are all doubtful for the match at Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium.
Gordon Reid, of Glasgow Warriors, will join the squad in Tokyo today as replacement for Edinburgh prop Dickinson.
Japan meanwhile will be looking to improve their play when playing from in front. They managed to score early against Scotland last week and had the momentum to score more points against their European opposition but failed to do so.
The Japanese also must avoid giving away cheap penalties close to their posts. Greig Laidlaw is one of the finest goal kickers in world rugby and will continually post three points for Scotland if given the opportunity to do so.
Despite last week’s defeat, Japan should be favoured to improve on their efforts en route to securing a good win at home.
Japan by 6
Join The Roar for live scores from 8:20pm AEST.
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