Scotland ran in five second-half tries to move to the top of Pool B with a 45-10 victory over Japan at the Rugby World Cup this afternoon.
After a tight first half, Scotland ran riot against a tiring Japan side who appeared to be suffering the effects of their famous win over South Africa on Saturday, claiming a bonus point along the way.
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Vern Cotter's side showed no signs of rust in the opening stages of their first game at the tournament, with captain Greig Laidlaw getting his side on the board inside two minutes with a penalty.
Japan, who in contrast had just four days to recover after pulling off arguably the biggest upset in the competition's history, found themselves on the back foot early on and soon fell six behind when Laidlaw added another kick.
However, the Brave Blossoms showed the first signs of their refusal to be remembered as a flash in the pan by getting the opening try of the contest when Amanaki Mafi touched down following a driving maul.
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The lineout was set up by Ayumu Goromaru's perfect kick to touch, and the full-back, scorer of 24 points against South Africa in their opening match, added the extras to give his side the lead.
It was Gloucester's Laidlaw who was proving to be the difference on his home club ground at Kingsholm, however, and two more penalties from the Scottish skipper ensured that his side would go into the break with a 12-7 lead.
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Japan did have chances to cut that deficit before the half-time whistle, with captain Michael Leitch turning down three points in favour of a kick for touch - the same tactic that proved so endearing, and more importantly successful, on the way to stunning the Springboks. This time it did not pay off, however, while Goromaru missed a kick moments later.
The full-back atoned for that error by making a try-saving tackle to deny Tommy Seymour right at the end of the half, and he added another three points early in the second half to reduce the deficit to two.
Scotland responded quickly, however, and registered their first try of the contest 10 minutes after the interval when John Hardie went over in the corner, although Laidlaw missed the conversion.
A second arrived soon after for Cotter's men as they began to take control of proceedings, Stuart Hogg's break paving the way for Mark Bennett to touch down underneath the posts.
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Japan went in search of a reply, but fatigue was perhaps beginning to creep in for Eddie Jones's side and they couldn't catch Seymour as the winger raced through having pinched the ball in front of Male Sa'u.
Bennett powered over for a fourth with a little over 10 minutes remaining, handing Scotland a crucial bonus point that puts them in pole position to reach the quarter-finals from Pool B.
Finn Russell then capped off the Scotland scoring with his side's fifth try on his 23rd birthday, before Cotter's side were able to hold firm against some late pressure to seal the convincing win.
Barney Corkhill
