GLOUCESTER and Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw was pleased to see his side overcome Japan in a "tough" encounter but concedes there are things the Dark Blues need to improve on.

The Scots ran out 26-13 winners in Toyota City, taking advantage of a period either side of half-time when Japan were down to 13 men following a brace of yellow cards to score 14 points.

That proved crucial in the end as Scotland opened their summer account with a victory, but Laidlaw wants them to do better in next Saturday's second and final Test against the 2019 World Cup hosts.

Laidlaw, who finished with 16 points from four penalties and two conversions, said on BBC2 Scotland: "It was good, it was a good win for us. We were pleased to win and we probably need to just tighten up a little more and be a little bit more accurate.

"At times in the second half we just gave the ball away and maybe let Japan off the hook. But it was a tough Test match and credit to Japan."

Scotland thrashed Japan 45-10 in last year's World Cup - the only defeat the Brave Blossoms suffered in the tournament - but it was a much less one-sided result on Saturday.

Asked about the difference in the two games, Laidlaw said: "The scoreline was closer and they are improving all the time, and that's a credit to the players and the coaches.

"They're a good team but also for us as well, we've not played together for a long time, and we will also look to improve for next week."