Scotland thrashes US 85-0 as Graham ties try-scoring record

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EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Darcy Graham's hat trick equaled teammate Duhan van der Merwe's Scotland try-scoring record as the United States was thrashed 85-0 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Scotland scored 13 tries and 10 conversions in its highest ever score at its century-old home stadium and third highest overall.

Graham and man-of-the-match scrumhalf Jamie Dobie bagged three tries each, Van der Merwe got a double, and there were also scores for Dylan Richardson, Kyle Rowe, captain Stafford McDowall, Ollie Smith and George Horne, who tallied 15 points.

Graham and Van der Merwe were tied on 34 tries each for Scotland.

The U.S. qualified in September for the 2027 Rugby World Cup but missed nearly 40 tackles in its first visit to Murrayfield in 25 years.

Van der Merwe, on the occasion of his 50th test, scored the game's second try from a lob pass by debutant flanker Liam McConnell.

Graham followed three minutes later with his first in the game after a huge miss-out pass by flyhalf Adam Hastings.

Van der Merwe smashed past two defenders for his second try with nearly an hour left. He lifted his career tally to 34 tries but couldn't add to it despite playing all 80 minutes.

Graham added his second just before halftime, thanks to a nice flick by fullback Rowe, and tied Van der Merwe on 34 tries straight after halftime.

But Graham couldn't add to his fourth career hat trick when he was replaced by Horne in the 51st.

“When I came off I thought he (Van der Merwe) was going to have a chance to go ahead again,” Graham joked. “No, it was good fun.”

Because the game was outside the international window, Scotland will have back the likes of foreign-based stars Finn Russell, regular captain Sione Tuipulotu, Blair Kinghorn, Pierre Schoeman, Zander Fagerson, and Jamie Ritchie for next weekend's visit by New Zealand.

"The guys will be up for it (the New Zealand game) and have the belief they can do it,” Scotland coach Gregor Townsend told broadcaster TNT Sports. "We know next week will be a much bigger challenge and the team will be much-changed, too.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby