Scotland bench sparks comeback to beat Fiji 33-17 at Murrayfield

Scotland was energized by its bench to overcome a 10-point deficit and beat Fiji 33-17 in Nations Championship rugby at Murrayfield on Saturday, [AP News](https://apnews.com/article/scotland-fiji-nations-fa62e8b987d81f78c3fb3a011d52f2d7) reports.

After a draining defeat to South Africa in Pretoria last weekend, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend made 14 changes and unleashed his experienced reserves from the 48th minute. The injection of more than 260 caps of experience from forwards Pierre Schoeman, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Magnus Bradbury and backs Jamie Dobie and regular skipper Sione Tuipulotu — four of them British and Irish Lions — made a huge impact.

Scotland scored four consecutive tries, all by replacements, to overturn a 17-7 deficit. A barrelling Schoeman finished an initial break by match captain Stafford McDowall, then Dobie burrowed over beside the posts in the 61st minute to put Scotland in front for the first time in 40 minutes. Cummings and Dobie added two more tries in the last six minutes to send home a crowd of 55,000 happy.

"I thought our bench did really well," Townsend told the BBC. "Something I've learned over the last 12 months the bench can help you change momentum. The players can come up with solutions themselves but the bench can give you energy and solutions but also bravery. We're a team that will back our decisions and that put real pressure on Fiji."

Sources

• AP News — Scotland's bench sparks comeback to beat Fiji 33-17 at Murrayfield: https://apnews.com/article/scotland-fiji-nations-fa62e8b987d81f78c3fb3a011d52f2d7