Scotland secured an emphatic 61-0 win over Russia to set up a huge showdown with hosts Japan for a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Scotland 61-0 Russia
Scotland tries: Hastings 3, G Horne 3, Turner, Seymour, Barclay, McInally
Scotland conversions: Hasting (8)
Russia tries:
Highlights
Match report
It was a second successive shutout for the Scots who also kept Samoa scoreless in the previous game, and it was the bonus-point victory they needed to set up a mouth-watering final poll game against Japan on Sunday.
It now means that Scotland need to beat hosts Japan, and stop them earning a bonus point, in order to make the last eight of the World Cup.
Gregor Townsend trusted his second string to do the job against Russia with only Darcy Graham retained from that win over Samoa, but there were a few eye-catching performances that pressed claims to make an appearance in the do-or-die showdown with Japan.
Scotland needed maximum points in Shizuoka to give themselves the best possible chance of making the quarter-finals, and they did just that thanks to a stunning nine-try demolition job.
George Horne became the first Scottish scrum-half to score a hat-trick after Adam Hastings put the Dark Blues ahead with a quick-fire early double.
George Turner, Tommy Seymour, John Barclay and Stuart McInally also scored in a resounding win that now leaves Scotland needing victory over the hosts in Yokohama in four days' time to seal their place in the last eight.
Reaction
Congratulations to @Mastercard Player of the Match Adam Hastings. The stats say it all.
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 9, 2019
87 metres made (2nd)
Two clean breaks (1st)
26 points scored (6th most in Scottish history)#StartSomethingPriceless #POTM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/CipkgxmE9A
Scotland international George Horne claims he was hard done by after being denied a record-equalling fourth try against Russia.
The 24-year-old became the first ever Scottish scrum-half to register a Test hat-trick as he helped the Dark Blues to a 61-0 mauling of Lyn Jones' Bears in Shizuoka.
But he also thought he had equalled the four-try haul Gavin Hastings recorded against the Ivory Coast back in 1995 as he got over the line again.
"I'd need to look back at it but I think it was a bit harsh," said Horne. "When you put a spin on the ball it's always going to look a bit forward but we got the job done so it's not too bad.
"That's the first hat-trick I've scored since I was probably back at school. I haven't scored one for Glasgow so it would be a few years ago since my last.
"It was (my happiest day in rugby). Getting the opportunity to start was really special for me. I was absolutely buzzing going into the game and to score three tries and get a good victory was really fun. I really enjoyed it.
"It's hard to describe how I'm feeling. Coming into the match it was a weird feeling because we know we were expected to win. We had two games left and needed to get a bonus point.
"To do what we did in the way that we did was surreal but I'm just buzzing.
"Now we just need to focus on the Japan game on Sunday. If we can perform the way we know we can then hopefully we'll get the win."
