Scotland pummel Portugal as Mr Darcy makes Murrayfield swoon amid nine-try walloping

Darcy Graham moved level with Duhan Van Der Merwe at the top of Scotland's all-time try-scoring charts with a magnificent first-half effort in a nine-try 59-21 win over Portugal.

Given the gulf in status between the two nations, Gregor Townsend took the opportunity to make 14 changes to the team that started the defeat by world champions South Africa at Murrayfield last weekend. Several less established internationals took advantage of their opportunity to impress by crossing the whitewash, including Leicester prop Will Hurd and Sale wing Arron Reed, who added a second-half double.

But it was the talismanic Graham who had another bumper Murrayfield crowd in raptures when he produced a delightful piece of skill to score his 29th Scotland try and move level with Edinburgh colleague Van Der Merwe. The hosts required just four minutes to get themselves up and running when tighthead Hurd marked his first appearance at Murrayfield by pushing over for the first try of his career. Adam Hastings missed the conversion.

Stafford McDowall - captain for the day - added the Scots' second of the match when he seized on a loose pass from Portugal wing Raffaele Storti and raced clear from the halfway line to place the ball down beneath the posts, while Hastings converted. Portugal's difficult start to proceedings continued when they conceded a penalty try in the 27th minute after Duarte Torgal was penalised for deliberately collapsing a maul. The second-rower was sent to the sin-bin.

Scotland capitalised by scoring two further tries in Torgal's absence. Graham got his score in the 34th minute as he waltzed effortlessly past three Portuguese to move level with Van Der Merwe before Hastings converted. Josh Bayliss then breezed over on the