Duhan van der Merwe scored as Scotland beat Italy 28-17, while England thrashed Georgia and Ireland cruised past Wales in round one of the Autumn Nations Cup.

Italy put up a brave fight against the Scots, and were in fact on top for the majority of their clash. But Scotland absorbed all that pressure for the best part of the opening 60 minutes before firing in the last quarter to end Italy’s challenge and seal the win.

The Azzurri were full value for their 11-7 lead at half time, thanks to an unconverted try and two penalties. Van der Merwe accounted for Scotland’s try in the first half.

The hosts extended their advantage to 19-14 around the hour mark, but Scotland upped the ante and ran in two unanswered tries in the last 15 minutes to clinch the victory.

Elsewhere, hooker Jamie George bagged a hat-trick as England trashed Georgia 40-0 at Twickenham, while Ireland were just too strong for the underperforming Wales, with the former comfortably beating the latter 24-14 in Dublin.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s fixture between France and Fiji has been cancelled after several Fijian players had tested positive for the coronavirus.

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