'Like nothing I've ever experienced' - Scotland debutant reflects on emotional Murrayfield day after record USA victory
Gregor Townsend gave two Edinburgh stars their debut for the USA rout.
The Scots defeated the USA 85-0 in their biggest ever win at the National Stadium.
Darcy Graham and Jamie Dobie both scored three times, while Duhan Van Der Merwe notched a brace on his 50th Scotland appearance. Dylan Richardson, Kyle Rowe, Stafford McDowall, George Horne and Ollie Smith all got in on the act to complete the whitewash.
It was a historic day for every player, coach and fan inside Murrayfield who witnessed the record win, however the match will be particularly special to Harri Morris and Liam McConnell, who were both given their first Scotland cap.
McConnell started the match at flanker and showcased some fancy handling abilities for Van Der Merwe’s opening score. Edinburgh hooker, Morris started on the bench, having not featured so far for his club this season. Following the win, the 24-year old admitted he was surprised by the call-up from Townsend, but hopes this is the first of many Scotland appearances.
Scotland debut a pleasant ‘surprise’ - Morris
Regarding his debut, Morris said: “The feeling was amazing. Walking out, it was like nothing I've ever experienced. It's such a cool game to be a part of, and class to make my debut, so yeah, really happy. It was definitely a surprise but I can only thank Gregor for taking a chance on me, and believing that I'm good enough to play at this level. So, a surprise, but I'm obviously delighted.
“We were pretty ruthless. When I got on in the second half, the job was quite easy. It was probably done at that point. But credit to the boys for playing so well. They came out of the blocks firing. We wanted to keep that zero, the nil scoreline, which is a credit to our defence.
“I'm sure they got a rocket from their coaches at half-time but credit to us, we kept the foot in the throat, and yeah, the scoreline speaks for itself. it was an amazing feeling going out there and I hope I can do that again, but time will tell.”
Physicality of Morris ‘suited to test level’ - Townsend
Morris, who was delivered his first cap by fellow hooker, Ewan Ashman, was also praised by his coach after the USA win. Townsend believes despite Morris being older than his fellow debutant, he still has a future in the Scotland first team set-up.
“I thought he was very good. He was controlled in his actions and was still able to bring that physicality that we know is a big strength of his. He had a couple of really good lineout throws and caught a high ball. So just having that belief to say ‘this is in my area, I'm going up for it’.
‘Right at the end, his off the ball running line created a hole for Ollie Smith to go through and Ollie did very well to finish. To come on and deliver that performance and get your running lines right, get your set piece right, shows how well he prepared. He's another one with a big future. He's a bit older than Liam. But whenever we've seen him play, he's delivered that level of physicality. It’s suited to Test level. But also he's really grown as a hooker.”