6N: Scotland v Wales: Scotland player ratings
03/08/2025 07:02 PM
15. Blair Kinghorn – 9
You know what they say, a good big Blair beats a good little Blair, and that's what we saw. That's the level of performance Blair Kinghorn should be hitting regularly because he can be that damn good. Solid in the air, great early finish, a very clever kick when the score was 14-3 just to keep pressure on rather than go for the Hollywood-score, virtual try-saving tackle in first half, was constantly threatening and probing. [Blair Murray – 7]
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14. Darcy Graham – 8
The only change from the last starting XV, ‘Duracel’l Darcy went looking for work early. Carried on his flank before being on the opposite side to assist the first try, before cutting in off his wing to score himself. Belies his size to compete strongly in the air, he won a turnover penalty too. [Tom Rogers/Joe Roberts – 7]
13. Huw Jones – 8
It should maybe be a 7.5 but some people round here disapprove of half-points. Always in amongst it when Scotland score, and he was solid in defence today against a Wales team looking to stretch proceedings. Not on the scoresheet but played last pass for TJ's first, wriggled and powered through contact in the devastating first half performance. [Max Llewellyn – 6]
12. Tom Jordan – 9
Mr Versatility has faced a baptism of fire since making his debut, shifting around with familiar faces but unfamiliar partners, usually against the elite. This Wales midfield combo are not elite, whereas TJ is a URC champion, playing (arguably) out of position. Does everything with a high degree of competency and physicality, maybe ran out of gas towards the end, but was so close to a hat-trick and was a POTM contender. [Ben Thomas – 7]
11. Duhan van der Merwe – 7
Drew Elliot Mee in like a moth to a flame, then slapped him aside like one of those electric zapper devices as he set up Tom Jordan's first. Seemed a little lost in surroundings when Murray scored for Wales, and was slightly outshone by the rest of the backline so I can't score him higher. [Elliot Mee – 5]
10. Finn Russell – 8
Best game of the tournament by far, and not just because he kicked his points and thumped penalties to striking range. Zipped passes with great accuracy to get outside the Wales' defence, lovely double-pump to set Darcy away. Hopefully, his post-match displeasure was not influenced by any injury. [Gareth Anscombe – 6]
9. Ben White – 8
Not saying I'm an influencer/genius or anything, but my slight gripe with him has been that he's a bit conservative, then, he duly sniped round the edge today and a try happened. This was likely due to the level of opponent rather than my butterknife-edged insight, he won't join the list of players to score a try in every round of the Six Nations, but he played with tempo and crispness. [Tomos Williams – 5]
1. Pierre Schoeman – 7
Won a breakdown penalty early doors, had a couple of good charges as well, and his side of the scrum went fine. Decent defensive work-rate, too. [Nicky Smith – 6]
2. Dave Cherry – 8
Missed an early dart but was then sound, he has two ticks in my "carry" and one in my "defence" columns (trying a new system). There was a significant drop-off when he left the pitch. [Elliot Dee – 6]
3. Zander Fagerson – 7
Won a scrum penalty, lost a scrum penalty and told the ref why he was wrong, then continued to be Zander-y by shifting himself around the park like a back-row. Only played for an hour, the lazy sod. [WillGriff John – 4]
4. Jonny Gray – 7
Here, tell you what, that was nearly vintage Jonny. Has clearly been struggling for match-fitness in first three rounds, but that famous old diesel engine was ticking over nicely. Charged down a box-kick, was notable on both sides of line-outs and seemed more involved. Slight negative is when he spilled the pill close to Wales' line at 28-8. [Will Rowlands – 6]
5. Grant Gilchrist – 7
Was an 8 until near the end, when his mishandling helped Wales to a double BP and he was blowing out of an orifice that wasn’t his mouth/nose. Some big carries early, then he seemed to be knackered towards the end of the first half before having to play full 80. Was, as usual, solid at set-pieces, but harshly penalised at a Wales line-out. [Dafydd Jenkins – 6]
6. Jamie Ritchie – 8
The full-gamut of Ritchie-isms. Cheap penalty for jumping across line-out which gave Wales lead, then won at least two turnover penalties, smashed the hell out of breakdowns, great energy, and – in the most unlikely of Jamie Ritchie events – ‘Inception’-ed the referee to suggest that there was a foul in the disallowed Blair Murray try. [Jac Morgan – 7]
7. Rory Darge – 6
I was trying to be hyper-efficient this week and made separate columns on my notes for position-specific things to focus on, and I literally had nothing for Darge before he went off. I'm sure he was doing plenty background work but nothing stood out. [Tommy Reffell – 5]
8. Jack Dempsey – 8
Similar to Mr Gray, Dempsey has looked like a man who had been on the sidelines before being pitched straight into Test-match rugby. He was back at Exocet-missile speed, with couple of monstrous charges from kick-off receipts, and some big defensive contributions. [Taulupe Faletau – 6]
Replacements:
16. Ewan Ashman – 4
There are two big Xs in my patented column formula on his "darts" section. There's no ticks. I reckon he had grounded the ball near the end but TMO looked at wrong replay.
17. Rory Sutherland – 6
Some rugged defensive work after he came on, delayed Wales scoring – for a while – cleared out some attacking rucks, lost possession with try-line beckoning – which was eventually given as a Scotland put-in – which would have been a Maraschino cherry on top.
18. Will Hurd – 5
Was given a whole 20 minutes this time, but was pinged at a scrum (even though it looked like potential Welsh-wheeling).
19. Gregor Brown – 5
Slightly disappointing display, he slipped a tackle or two as Scotland's standards also slipped. One good big carry through the middle.
20. Matt Fagerson – 7
Yes, young Fagerson, yes! Embrace the Dark Side again! Back to full-on I-laugh-in-the-face-of-O'Mahony-mode, I have him down for two turnovers, decent amount of breakdown/tackling and carrying through bodies.
21. George Horne – 7
The first two involvements of note are actually for his scramble defence. Made one tremendous break which deserved to be finished, and seemed right at home in the absolute chaos ending, unlike some team-mates.
22. Stafford McDowall – 5
Replaced Il Maestro, and although it wasn't strictly his fault, the reshuffle went poorly. My notes – which decrease in quality as the minutes tick on – have little. There's small ticks in ‘impact’ and ‘attack’ but no examples written. (My tick system is a bit like a driving test. Three wee ticks in one column or one big tick = a major).
23. Kyle Rowe – 6
The Logan Marshall-Green to Tom Hardy's Darcy Graham, he defused a bomb or two and wriggled himself some space without delivering a death-shot.
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