Scots progress to Churchill Cup Final
Canada unable to topple gutsy visitors
Scotland 'A' booked their place in the final of the Churchill Cup courtesy of a hard-fought 15-10 victory over Canada at Twin Elm Park in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The result means that Scotland, making their debut in the Churchill Cup, have scuppered England's plans of defending the trophy. The men in white fell foul of the Scots on Saturday and now, after just one game, must contend themselves with a shot at third place in this six-team tournament.
Scotland's win over the Canucks was sealed with a late drop-goal from Edinburgh Gunners fly-half Phil Godman after Canada had hit back from 12-0 down.
Borders Reivers wing Nikki Walker opened the scoring after seven minutes with a burst up the middle before Simon Danielli extended Scotland's lead with a superb individual try.
Danielli launched an arcing run from 30 metres out on the right flank, cut through the Canadian centres and scored in the left corner.
But Canada hit back just five minutes later with a try from fullback Mike Pyke, who plys his trade in Scotland, and a James Pritchard penalty hauled the Canucks to within two points at the interval.
Scotland batted down the hatches after the interval as they looked to dig out the win that was secured with Godman's impromptu shoe.
The Scots can now enjoy a 10-day break before the Final at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada; they are likely to face either Ireland 'A' or the New Zealand Maori.
The scorers:
For Scotland:
Tries: Walker, Danielli
Con: Godman
Drop: Godman
For Canada:
Try: Pyke
Con: Pritchard
Pen: Pritchard
The teams:
Canada: 15 Mike Pyke, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Ryan Smith (captain), 12 Chris Pack, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Derek Daypuck, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Stan McKeen, 6 Sean-Michael Stephen, 5 Josh Jackson, 4 Luke Tait, 3 Mike Pletch, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Dan Pletch.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Abrams, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Matt Phinney, 19 David Biddle, 20 Matt Weingart, 21 Adam Kleeberger, 22 David Spicer.
Scotland 'A': 15 Calum MacRae, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Graeme Morrison, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Rory Lawson (captain), 8 Jon Dunbar, 7 Andy Miller, 6 Scott Gray, 5 Craig Hamilton, 4 Andy Hall, 3 Colin Noon, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Mark Rennie, 19 Ross Beattie, 20 Alasdair Strokosch, 21 Colin Gregor, 22 Rory Lamont.
Referee: Kevin McCaslin (USA)
Touch judges: Gary Wise (New Zealand), Olan Trevor (Ireland)