It’s as easy as 123!

A strong start to our World Rugby U20 Trophy campaign at Hive Stadium.

Thanks for following the match centre today, we’ll be back on Sunday as we take on Hong Kong China.

Gavin Parry gets the ball back after throwing it in and carries three defenders over the line with him. Hocking converts.

Scotland 123-15 Samoa

We’re struggling with kick offs, but perhaps with 19 tries on the board that can be forgiven.

Samoa get the scrum just outside our 22.

Very unselfish from Yule on the right to find Hocking to get the try. No conversion.

Scotland 116-15 Samoa.

Captain McConnell’s turn!

A turnover in midfield as Samoa attempt to play from deep. We go left and McLean tries to sneak into the left corner before being poleaxed by about 30 Samoan defenders, but McConnell goes over the phase after. McLean converts.

Scotland 111-15 Samoa

Another mess at the kick off, another Samoa penalty. It’s tapped quickly.

Auvaa gets his second from the tap and go. Niulevaea converts.

Scotland 104-15 Samoa.

A free kick is booted to the skies by Hocking and is knocked into touch by Samoa. Our lineout on their 22.

Messy from Scotland at the kick off, and we concede a penalty five metres out.

From the maul, it’s Callum Norrie who gets to ground the ball and get us into triple digits. McLean converts.

Scotland 104-8 Samoa.

Lovely 50:22 from Patterson, and Scotland get the lineout five metres out.

Connor McAlpine and Findlay Thomson are replaced by Hector Patterson and Kerr Yule.

Samoa charge down an attempted box kick and hit the left corner, but a last-ditch tackle from Hocking keeps them out! The ball spills forward in the tackle and we’ll have the scrum on our own 5m line.

The scrum leads to a penalty, which is kicked out by McLean just inside our 10m on the right.

Good work from Ben White who comes charging onto the ball like an angry bull in midfield. Then Watson gets the ball on the left, and works his way into an infield gap and over for his third. McLean converts.

Scotland 97-8 Samoa.

A lovely move from the lineout and Douglas breaks down the left. We then back out to McConnell on the right, before going all the way back to the left where Watson gets his second in the corner. No conversion this time.

Scotland 90-8 Samoa.

Some possession and territory for Samoa after they gathered their own kick off, but it goes forward around 30m out from our line. We’ll scrum down there.

Totoa Auvaa wrestles over from close range.

Scotland 78-8 Samoa.

Samoa exit, and then an excellent carry in midfield from Douglas. Samoa stray offside, and we kick to the left corner.

Offside, and Scotland are penalised again. Then the ball is ripped when the tackle was complete and Samoa get a third penalty in quick succession, only five metres out.

The maul is stopped just short, but one phase later substitute Hart can’t be brought down short and he crashes over. McLean converts.

Scotland 85-8 Samoa.

McLean’s penalty is actually kept in play, but Scotland soon break through again. McLean finds McConnell, who flings it out the Doyle on the right, and he dances infield and over for his hat-trick.

McAlpine converts.

Samoa intercept a loose pass and kick downfield. Doyle collects and is brought down, but gets back to his feet illegally. Samoa go quickly.

44 minutes and 14 seconds, if anyone was betting on how long it would take Freddy Douglas to get his first ruck turnover of the tournament.

We kick into the right corner.

Robbie Deans, Jerry and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and Euan McVie all depart. On come Ben White, Gavin Parry, Callum Norrie and Ruaridh Hart.

At half time, Gwynn was replaced by Jack Hocking.

COME ON SCOTLAND!

A penalty quick from kick off, which is kicked to the right corner and Jerry Blyth-Lafferty gets a second.

Scotland 71-3 Samoa.

Again, we’re straight through and over. This time it’s a lengthy charge from prop Robbie Deans for our 10th try, which is converted by McLean.

Scotland 66-3 Samoa.

Solid. 10 tries in 40 minutes, and we got into the tunnel 66-3 up.

Straight up the left for another. The last pass goes loose, but it doesn’t matter as Watson gathers and goes over. McLean converts.

Scotland 59-3 Samoa.

Over 50 points.

The scrum is turned over by Scotland and we go left to right. Doyle is nearly in for the hat-trick, but he hurls it inside to McAlpine who in turn finds Ventisei on his outside. No conversion this time.

Scotland 52-3 Samoa.

Scotland pour forward down the left, but the pass to Watson goes forward. Samoa scrum just inside their 10m line.

We’re over again!

The break came down the right from Burke and Ventesei, and Doyle through the dummy and raced through the hole and over from 40 metres.

Scotland 47-3 Samoa.

Samoa’s longest possession of the game, but Scotland hold firm. A couple of attempts to create a maul, and eventually one is successful and we get the scrum on halfway.

…but this time it’s Ollie on debut!

Out to the left wing we go from the scrum, and then the 18-year-old powered through the middle and over.

Scotland 40-3 Samoa

Quick reply from Scotland. Samoa boot the restart clear, and we go up through the middle. Freddy Douglas makes a half-break, then its shipped right to Doyle who outpaces his man and hits the corner. McLean converts.

Scotland 33-3 Samoa.

Scotland penalised for not rolling on our 22. Samoa will go for poles.

We kick over the top from kick off, and Samoa return it. McLean spills it forward and Samoa get the scrum, about five metres outside our 22.

Panaua Niulevaea makes no mistake from the tee and Samoa are on the board.

Samoa’s lineout isn’t straight, and we opt for a lineout of our own.

Some intricate handling in midfield and McLean goes through, steps the full back and dives over. The former Robert Gordon’s College pupil converts his own try.

Scotland 26-0 Samoa

Scotland running everything here. This time from our own 22 we go down the left through Johnny Ventesei and Fergus Watson, and then McLean sees space and kicks over the top.

Samoan lineout just outside their 22.

Scotland have the lead!

The driving maul post-throw in gets us close, and phases working infield from the forwards get us closer. Eventually it’s Ryan Burke who burrows over, with the conversion drifting wide.

Scotland 5-0 Samoa

We’re over again!

Building the phases from kick off, the big gains come down the right wing through Finlay Doyle.

Connor McAlpine then darts through a gap at the side of a ruck close to the line to make the final metres. McLean converts.

Scotland 17-0 Samoa

We kick clear from the restart, then McConnell steals the Samoan lineout on halfway.

Scotland break up the left through Fergus Watson and Geordie Gwynn, and then we get the penalty and kick it into the left corner.

A second try!

This time the maul can’t be stopped, and Jerry Blyth-Lafferty is at the back with the ball to ground it.

McLean converts.

Scotland 12-0 Samoa

Scotland have had several scrums so far, but not much action to write home about.

Samoa now have the put in just inside their half after McAlpine knocked on at the base of a ruck.

Scotland’s pack have dominated these early scrums. There’s another one around 30m from Samoa’s line, and this time we get the penalty.

McLean nudges the ball into the right corner.

Lots to come before kick off here, as we have the national anthems, Samoa’s Siva Tau and a moment’s silence.

COME ON SCOTLAND!

Welcome to our match centre coverage of Scotland U20’s opening 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy match against Samoa U20 at Hive Stadium.

Kick off is less than 25 minutes away!

Earlier today in the competition, Japan were 105-20 winners over Hong Kong China, and Uruguay defeated Kenya 25-7.