Scots' ton takes Williams by surprise

Scotland coach Matt Williams praised his players for their durability after they ran up a cricket score against under-strength Japan.

Chris Paterson grabbed a hat-trick of tries as Scotland steamrollered hapless Japan 100-8 in a 15-try extravaganza at McDiarmid Park.

"I didn't expect it, especially after the first 20 minutes," Williams said. "I was hoping for five tries at best, so the players deserve huge credit for it.

"What was really pleasing for me was that the senior players kept the momentum, kept the skills going and didn't back off. They had an excuse to back off at any point in the game, but they didn't.

"The big plus for us was the confidence it gave the team. It's a team that needs growing and nurturing and learning, and one of the big things you have to learn is how to win.

"There was possibly a 15-minute patch in the first half where we tried to score with every touch, but we recovered ourselves and got our composure. Once we got up to 30 points at half-time the game was won.

"There were positives right through the side and we now have competition for places. We want dilemmas for selection."

Williams also acknowledged that the Scottish line-out remained a vulnerable area, but overall insisted his side was heading in the right direction.

He added: "There were mistakes out there that we weren't pleased with, but we also scored two great tries off set plays in the line-out, so there were pluses and minuses. We're pushing for perfection all the time and it's obviously something we've got to work on.

"There were aspects that the boys weren't happy with on the pitch, but the players said what needed to be said at half-time. The fact that the senior players took control of that was a big plus."

The coach rejected suggestions that Japan's weakened side made the fixture meaningless as a contest.

"We played a side who weren't as high up in the world rankings and the greatest respect we can show them is to play flat out for 80 minutes. We scored almost all our tries in the last hour of the game," he said.

Cherry Blossoms coach Mitsutake Hagimoto acknowledged his players were a poor shadow of the side which ran the Scots close in losing 32-11 in last year's World Cup.

"We have to pay respect to this wonderful Scottish team," he said. "We had a good image from the World Cup in Australia and we tried to play in defence, but the Scottish team was too good."