5th Dec 2021 Reading Time: 3 mins Share by Jack Lacey-Hatton Overall it was a positive Autumn Nations Series for Gregor Townsend’s Scotland. As well as giving world champions South Africa a real scare before eventually succumbing to defeat, they picked up a momentous 15-13 victory against an Australia team ranked second in the world coming into the series. Scotland also dismantled Tonga in a ten-try win, and bookended the series with victory against Japan which saw Stuart Hogg become the nation’s all-time leading try-scorer. Here are the five best tries of their campaign, including an electrifying debut and that piece of history. Rufus McLean v Tonga (2nd try) Debutant Rufus McLean scored two tries in the dominant 60-14 win over Tonga at Murrayfield. His second was the pick of the brace, as the Scots shifted the ball quickly through midfield across to the left-flank Mclean found himself with room to run. The winger shifted gears quickly to accelerate away from Tonga’s James Faiva to score with ease, much to the delight of the BT Murrayfield crowd. Stuart Hogg v South Africa (1st try) One of Scotland’s best team moves of the whole series came in the 34th minute of the win over South Africa. A cross-field kick was brilliant gathered by Duhan van der Merwe on the touchline who fed the ball back in field to Hogg. A series of clever offloads ended with Hogg gathering and diving over under the posts to help put his team in front against the Springboks going into half-time. READ: Bryan Habana’s Team of the Series Stuart Hogg v South Africa (2nd try) The Scotland captain’s second of the game arguably even managed to top his first. More brilliant work from Van der Merwe created the space. The 26-year-old gathered the ball after the Scots worked it from left to right following a line-out. He drew in two South Africans before producing an exquisite one-handed offload to give Hogg a chance he converted emphatically. Ewan Ashman v Australia Hooker Ewan Ashman scored the first try of his international career in the 15-13 win over the Wallabies. It wasn’t’ exactly an easy score either. Fed the ball by Pierre Schoeman, Ashman somehow managed to ground the ball right in the corner, despite the close attention of two Australians. What gives this an extra edge was its significance to the overall outcome. It was the decisive third try after an extremely close Test match, the home side eventually edged by two points. Stuart Hogg v Japan We couldn’t leave this one out could we? Another entry from Hogg, but this time more about the significance, rather than the spectacle, of the try. The hosts had men over against the Japanese, and the skipper glided on the ball with perfect timing to dart through the defence and cross for his 25th try in a Scotland jersey. Hogg celebrated in front of the south stand at BT Murrayfield, leaping into the air with his fist clenched, knowing he had just assured his place in Scottish rugby history. Related News post 29th Oct 2023 Player of the Match Du Toit revels in World Cup drama Reading: 2 mins Previous Story Top 5 All Blacks tries from the Autumn Nations Series Next Story Argentina chargedown that shocked France More News video Highlights: England v South Africa 27th Nov 2022 video Highlights: Wales v Australia 27th Nov 2022 video Vote for Autumn Nations Series Try of Round 3 20th Nov 2022 More News