For the second time in three weeks, Scotland scored a bucketload of tries and coasted to victory against sub-standard opposition.
As was the case against Fiji’s reserves a fortnight ago, Gregor Townsend’s side scored in excess of 50 points in what was little more than a glorified training match.
All in all, they scored 17 tries in total across both of those matches — eight against the Fijians and then another nine in this rout of a Portugal side who are part-time and sit 15th in the world rankings.
Against South Africa, they didn’t score any at all. With one game left to play, it has been an autumn campaign where Scotland have lurched from feast to famine.
It has been a fragmented few weeks for Townsend and his players, who are still searching for any genuine momentum heading into next weekend’s series finale against Australia.
Darcy Graham is back scoring tries again and, after being ravaged by injuries over these past couple of years, that’s undoubtedly a huge positive for Scotland.
Graham cut through the Portugal defence in typically lethal fashion to score his try on Saturday, which moved him level with Duhan van der Merwe on 29 in Scotland’s all-time standings.
Tom Jordan was excellent once again at full-back. He has been a shining light for Scotland across the three games so far, taking to Test rugby like a duck to water.
However, there are still some concerns for Scotland which can’t be ignored. Frailties which have been exposed even against such limited opposition.
Defensively they have been poor. They conceded three tries against Fiji and another three against Portugal. On another day, Portugal could well have scored four or five.
Against South Africa, Scotland shipped four tries. That’s ten tries across three matches, two of which have been against poor teams.
The lineout continues to be a huge worry. Portugal stole Scotland lineout ball on three occasions on Saturday.
Whether it was a problem with Patrick Harrison’s throwing or a problem with the calls and the lifters, it never looked even remotely convincing.
Ewan Ashman will come back in to face the Wallabies this week but, beyond him, Scotland really don’t have a huge amount of depth at hooker any more.
Over the past year, they have lost stalwarts like Stuart McInally and Fraser Brown. George Turner, first-choice at last year’s World Cup, now plays his rugby in Japan.
Richie Gray, who was a towering figure in Scotland’s lineout and led it superbly well, has moved on now as well.
Given how Scotland love to attack off first and second-phase ball, a solid set-piece is an absolutely necessity. Lineout wobbles and a porous defence are two of the key concerns they need to address if they are to beat Australia and make it a successful campaign.
It all hinges on that game now, as Townsend admitted himself. Even against an Australia team apparently rejuvenated under Joe Schmidt, it’s a game Scotland should be winning.
The key selection call is likely to be around what Townsend chooses to do in the back three, with Blair Kinghorn and Van der Merwe coming back into the fold.
For all that Jordan has excelled over these past few weeks — with his versatility a huge asset — the expectation is that Townsend will still opt for a back three of Graham, Van der Merwe and Kinghorn.
‘I think Blair Kinghorn has been our starting full-back now since the World Cup and has played really well and has played very well at club level,’ said Townsend.
‘He wasn’t available against Fiji and we played him on the wing against South Africa because of the injuries we picked up in that position.
‘But we’ll be considering Blair very strongly as full-back and hopefully giving him the opportunity to start there and build on the great season he’s had at Toulouse and obviously the end of last season.
‘Tom definitely comes into the mix and I think his versatility puts him in a strong position to be in our squad. Whether we go 5-3 or 6-2, he’ll be competing with Adam (Hastings) for that spot on the bench if he doesn’t make the team.
‘We’ve probably seen his versatility more at 10 and centre, with the ability to play full-back, and now he’s a player who can play all three positions.
‘I think you’ve got to have competition to make the players in the team know that they’ll have to play well.
‘But it’s a great thing that Tom is pushing them hard — and opportunities come in different forms.
‘He grabbed that opportunity against Fiji because there was an injury. Would we have started him at full-back against South Africa if he hadn’t had that opportunity? Probably not.
‘We might have looked at doing something different, but now he’s a genuine option for us at full-back and will be competing with Blair and Kyle Rowe for that position. We haven’t seen him as much at 10 but we know he can play 10 and he’s done that most of the season (with Glasgow).’
Given that Townsend made 14 changes to his team for the clash with Portugal, it was a chance for some fringe players to put their hand up and show what they can do.
In that respect, Arron Reed was probably the pick of the bunch. He looked really lively any time he found space out wide.
The Sale Sharks winger thoroughly deserved his two tries in the second half, his blistering pace burning the Portugal defence on several other occasions.
Scotland’s other scores came from Will Hurd, Stafford McDowall, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti and Jamie Dobie, as well as a penalty try. At one stage, they were ticking along at a point a minute.
Professional sport relies on jeopardy. At its best, it enthrals us with its drama. This game didn’t really have any of that. It didn’t ever properly ignite as a contest, although Portugal can be proud of the way they caused Scotland some problems and scored three tries.
For Townsend and his players, their entire autumn campaign now boils down to one showdown with the Wallabies at Murrayfield on Sunday.
It’s a huge match. Not only in the context of this series, but also in terms of generating momentum heading into the Six Nations early next year.
Win and Scotland will have a bounce in their step. Lose and it would put the tin-lid on what has been a disappointing and underwhelming year at Test level.
