Scotland player ratings vs Wales - Six Nations Super Saturday
Scotland made four changes to their starting line-up for Saturday’s Six Nations finale against Wales in Llanelli, with Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell among those restored to the XV following last weekend’s Murrayfield win over Georgia.
The game was always going to be a significantly bigger task than their thumping of Georgia, but this was maybe the strongest Scotland team that head coach Gregor Townsend has ever had the opportunity to select from.
Yet Scotland won for just the second time on Welsh soil in the history of the Six Nations.
SCOTLAND PLAYER RATINGS
15. STUART HOGG (CAPTAIN) – 7
The windy conditions made kicking a lottery and Hogg was hardly immune. Continues to be Scotland’s premier attacking weapon with ball in hand, seemingly beating Wales’ defenders at will.
14. DARCY GRAHAM – 5.5
An early fumble from a poor pass was an innocuous start for the Edinburgh flyer. Biggar appeared to be targetting him with the high ball, and his case wasn’t helped playing into the sun in the first half – but he survived. Smashed through the tackle of Rhys Patchell in the second half. Four turnovers conceded blotted his copybook.
13. CHRIS HARRIS – 6
Not a highlight-reel performance but he carried well throughout and was a defensive brick wall in the midfield.
12. JAMES LANG – 5
Truth be told the Harlequin struggled to make a mark in his first Six Nations start and looked like a player a little too eager not to make a mistake.
11 BLAIR KINGHORN – 6
Largely kept in check by Wales’ press defence. An unconverted half-chance in the first half maybe summed up a game in which the rangey winger failed to ignite.
10 FINN RUSSELL – 6
Something of a mixed bag for Finn. Opted for and missed an early kick at posts in blustery conditions but made plenty of opportunities for those around him, although sometimes said teammates struggled to keep with the Racing 92 man’s schemes. Hobbled off, worryingly for Scotland.
9. ALI PRICE – 7.5
A tidy service from the Glasgow Warriors man. His box kicking was sharp but you would have liked to see a few more of the breaks that littered his early Scotland career.
1 RORY SUTHERLAND – 6.5
Pinged early for collapsing, with referee Andrew Brace clearly eager to stamp his authority on the set-piece. His explosiveness with ball in hand saw him bag 18 metres from 3 carries in the first 40 minutes, a fine return for a loosehead.
Scotland win in Wales #SixNations #England #Wales pic.twitter.com/70cQ73cVUx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 31, 2020
2 FRASER BROWN – 5
Lineouts were a nightmare for both sides. Victim of an awful ‘no arms’ tackle decision against him, but overall a rather error-ridden performance for the hooker.
3 ZANDER FAGERSON – 6.5
Popping Rhys Carré in the 25th minute was a highlight at set-piece. Made 18 metres from 4 carries in the first half, which spoke to his increasingly prominent role as go-to metre maker in traffic.
4 SCOTT CUMMINGS – 6.5
Was one of a number of Scottish forwards who struggled to make inroads despite having the lion’s share of possession in the first half. Did a fine job at the lineout.
5 JONNY GRAY – 6
The Exeter Chief had a relatively quiet outing by his own high standards. No doubt central to a dogged Scottish fightback.
6. JAMIE RITCHIE – 7.5
Pretty anonymous opening 36 minutes given his growing reputation as Test blindside, that is before making a trademark, telling turnover in front of his own try line to relieve pressure. Grew into the match in the second half and won the BBC Man of the Match.
7. HAMISH WATSON – 7
One of the few Scottish forwards that did make a dent in the red wall. Played his part in a meaty Scottish performance.
8. BLADE THOMSON – 6
The Scarlet will have been eager to make an impression on his home ground. Seemed to injure himself putting in a massive defensive hit in the 52nd minute. He’s an excellent lineout option but he’s yet to prove he’s Scotland’s answer at No.8.
SUBSTITUTES:
16 STUART MCINALLY – 7.5
A slimmed-down McInally definitely brought plenty of kinetic energy to the contest. The benefactor from an unstoppable maul on the 61st minute.
17 OLI KEBBLE – 6.5
The giant South African made his Six Nations debut in the 53rd minute. Used his mass to help win a massive scrum in the 70th minute.
18 SIMON BERGHAN – 6
Scotland’s scrum seemed to benefit from the full front row swap. Berghan can take some of that credit.
19. BEN TOOLIS
NA
20. CORNELL DU PREEZ – 6
Came on for Blade Thomson in the 53rd minute but didn’t improve on the New Zealander’s innings.
21. SCOTT STEELE – 7
Came on for a debut on the right-wing. A big ask for the young man but he delivered.
22. ADAM HASTINGS – 7.5
Insisted on kicking despite the conditions making it a tricky skill. Picked up a shoulder knock in defence early in the second half but he found holes in the Welsh defence that weren’t there in the first half.
23. DUHAN VAN DER MERWE -7.5
Did enough to spook Leigh Halfpenny into a rare knock-on and the big man carried hard in his cameo.
Comments on RugbyPass
No surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to comments