Van der Merwe sets new Scotland try record in win over Uruguay

MONTEVIDEO : Duhan van der Merwe set a new try scoring record for Scotland as they concluded their month-long tour of the Americas with a hard-fought 31-19 win over Uruguay at Estadio Charrua on Saturday.

Van der Merwe went over in the first half for his 28th try for Scotland, breaking Stuart Hogg's record, as the tourists built up a 19-0 lead after 26 minutes.

The Scots, who also beat Canada, the United States and Chile on their mid-year tour, out scored their hosts five tries to three.

They romped into the lead after a trio of tries from Ewan Ashman, Luke Crosbie and Van der Merwe in the opening exchanges.

But Uruguay hit back to level as they scored three unanswered tries through Santiago Alvarez, Felipe Etcheverry and substitute forward Manuel Diana to level the score at 19-19 in the 61st minute.

Scotland, however, then proved stronger in the forward exchanges and made sure of victory as Patrick Harrison and Pierre Schoeman each went over for a score within the space of four minutes.