Scotland Player Ratings v England

Scotland Player Ratings v England
Scotland dominated lacklustre champions England to finally win at Twickenham and get their hands on the Calcutta Cup.
 
 

Time and again Scotland had failed to beat their fierce rivals in their own backyard, but that elusive victory finally came as they regained the Calcutta Cup on a wet Saturday evening in London.

Gregor Townsend's side dominated the Six Nations champions on the opening day of the tournament, winning 11-6 to leave England head coach Jones with a face like thunder.

 
 
 
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Here is how we rated the victors.


15. Stuart Hogg (C) - 9

 
 
Counter attacked with real energy and kicked reasonably well out of hand. Had a moment late in the first half when he was almost caught out. 
 
 
Linked up well with Russell and co. on attack. Deservedly named as the man of the match.
 
 
 

 
 
14. Sean Maitland - 8
 
Some excellent counter-attacking carries. Solid under the high ball and just as effective on defence. 
 
 
 
13. Chris Harris - 7
 
 
Got the better of Henry Slade with some rock-solid defence and burling carries. 
 
 
 
12. Cameron Redpath - 8
 
 
A great first touch in test rugby as he beat his man on the outside and get the offload away to spark a counter.
 
 
Things just got better from there for Redpath as he made same neat breaks, linked up with Russell and defended well.
 
 
 
 
11. Duhan van der Merwe - 7
 
 
Showed off his strength with a superb finish in the first half. 
 
 
Seemed to make metres each time he touched the ball as he proved to be a real thorn in the side of England's defence.
 
 
Possibly a higher rating if Scotland managed to get the ball to him more.
 
 
 

 
 
10. Finn Russell - 8 
 
 
 
Some clever and neat kicks whether it be a grubber or a chip kick, Russell brought a creative edge to the Scotland line up as we expected.
 
 
 
A silly kick out on Ben Youngs saw Russell go to the bin before the break and miss the first 8 minutes of the second half. 
 
 
He picked up from where he left off once he returned to the pitch as he regularly pinned England on the back foot.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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9. Ali Price - 7
 
 
Put under tremendous pressure by Maro Itoje and the England pack. While he was charged down early on, he outfoxed Itoje for one of his kicks and won a penalty for Scotland. He continued to build from there before Scott Steele closed out the game.
 
 
 
 
 
1. Rory Sutherland - 7
 
 
Did well in the second scrum of the game to drive Will Stuart backwards. Conceded a few penalties to Stuart but was excellent with ball in hand.
 
 
 
2. George Turner - 8
 
 
Eased concerns over the hooker crisis at test level with an accurate performance in the set pieces in his first 40 in the Six Nations. 
 
 
He grabbed a try assist and maintained his perfect record at the lineout before making way for Dave Cherry.
 
 
 
 
3. Zander Fagerson - 6.5
 
 
 
Penalised in the first scrum of the game. Did well in the second to hit back at Genge. 
 
 
Like Sutherland, he carried strongly.
 
 
 
 
4. Scott Cummings - 7
 
 
A strong outing from Cummings who ended the game on the side of the scrum. A few pelting hits on defence and won a turnover. He was also part of a very successful lineout.
 
 
 
 
5. Jonny Gray - 8
 
 
Made all 12 of his attempted tackles, ofcourse, carried 15 times and did so with aggression while he was one of the chief destroyers of England's lineout.
 
 
 
 
 6. Jamie Ritchie - 6
 
 
 
As per usual Ritchie was all over the park for Scotland and managed to win a turnover while disrupting any attacks brewing for England.
 
 
 
A solid 66 minutes.
 
 
 
 
7. Hamish Watson - 8
 
 
 
Sprinted around the pitch like a man possed as he often does. A few strong carries, hits and got over the ball nicely. 
 
 
Also added his weight at lineout time to claim a steal and carried above his weight as well.
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Matt Fagerson - 7

Scotland's go to ball carrier, Fagerson drew in a number of defenders with his powerful runs into the defence.
 
 
He did have a few hiccups with his handling but solid nonetheless. 
 

Replacements: 
 
 
16. David Cherry - 6: Picked up from Turner's solid platform and didn't disappoint. A strong test debut for the 30-year-old.
 
 
17. Oli Kebble - 6: The tank of a front rower was hard to bring down with his carries and laid in on defence. 
 
 
18. WP Nel - 5: Nel and Kebble had similar impacts.
 
 
 
19. Richie Gray - 6: A solid 15 minutes in the second row with his brother.
 
 
20. Gary Graham - 6.5: Busy, busy, busy. Graham made six carries for 12 metres in just 17 minutes and managed to make four tackles without missing 
 
 
 21. Scott Steele - 7: Kept the pace of the attack up while kicking well and laying in with a big hit.
 
 
22. Jaco van der Walt - Didn't get onto the pitch.
 
 
 
23. Huw Jones- Just the nine minutes, not long enough for a fair rating.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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