Six Nations 2015: Scotland vs Wales Player Ratings

SCOTLAND

15. Stuart Hogg: 8
Made more metres (144) and beat more defenders than anyone else on the pitch, showing electric pace for his try and saving a score with a superb cover tackle on Rhys Webb. His work under the high ball needs improving.

14. Sean Lamont: 5.5
The veteran winger was comfortably outplayed by Liam Williams, especially in the early stages of the game. He grew into a strong, reliable presence as the game went on, but that’s not really what you want from a winger, is it?

13. Mark Bennett: 6.5
One gorgeous break in the second half brought Murrayfield to its feet, but was otherwise pretty well-shackled throughout and will rue not being able to cling on to that pass in the first half.

12. Alex Dunbar: 7.5
Had a monumental battle with Roberts which he arguably won on points. Pinched a couple of superb turnovers and threatened the line with intelligent and hard running all afternoon.

11. Tim Visser: 6
Exciting runner even if he does sometimes resemble a headless chicken. Unable to find the space he wanted and struggled to penetrate the red wall.

10. Finn Russell: 5.5
An infuriating game in many ways. He showed some delightful touches and attacked the line with real menace, but every good moment was generally followed by a howler: a clumsy yellow card (arguably lucky to receive just yellow), a missed touch finder, a failure to appreciate the time pressures on that final conversion… they all add up.

9. Greg Laidlaw: 6
Some decent moments and gave reliable service, but the tempo starts with him and, at key moments, it was too slow, with the focus on hitting short runners. Kicked well from the tee, however.

1. Al Dickinson: 5.5
Unable to get the upper hand on Aaron Jarvis, as he may have hoped, and was less prominent in the loose – especially on the carry – as we have come to expect.

2. Ross Ford: 7
I’ve been a critic of Ford for a while now, but in fairness to him he put in a tireless display on Sunday. He was reliable in the lineout and worked his socks off carrying the ball into the heart of the Welsh defence.

3. Geoff Cross: 4.5
If only his scrummaging matched the brilliance of his beard. He was under real pressure from Jenkins – especially in the first half – and his contributions elsewhere were noticed only because of the fuzz on his face, not their positive effects on the game.

4. Richie Gray: 6
Toiled hard throughout before being forced off and was a good source of set piece ball. Struggled to make an impact at the breakdown though, an area dominated by Wales for large swathes of the game.

5. Johnny Gray: 6.5
A fine defensive display from the lock, even if he couldn’t quite reach Davies for Wales’ second score. Made 13 tackles, though, and a couple of decent carries with ball in hand.

6. Rob Harley: 5
Chipped in well enough to the tackle count, but 1 carry for 0 metres is simply not a good enough return for a blindside flanker, no matter how much ‘graft’ he gives the side. Outplayed at the breakdown, too.

7. Blair Cowan: 6.5
A real menace at ruck-time, pinching Welsh ball on a number of occasions and carried well too. Got the wrong side of the referee though at some key moments and struggled to make big interventions in the second half.

8. Johnnie Beattie: 5
I do like Beattie but he does look out of sorts at the moment. He worked hard last week and coughed up possession a lot, and you wonder if that has affected his confidence because he carried just three times for a paltry return of five metres. As an eight, he should be a rallying point for front-foot ball.

Replacements: 6
The most notable contributions came from Matt Scott (who missed a key tackle for Davies’ try), Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (who made a fine run in the second half and was unlucky not to set up a try) and Jim Hamilton (who burrowed over for a score at the end to give Scotland a ray of hope). A bit of a mixed bag, really.

WALES

15. Leigh Halfpenny: 8
Imperious under the high-ball once again and near-metronomic with the boot. He chipped in with a number of try-saving tackles too and offered himself in attack, although he was unable to break the Scottish line regularly.

14. Alex Cuthbert: 6
I still can’t shake the impression that he’s a bit of a moose, really. A superb physical specimen, and he did work harder on Sunday – but his rugby instinct doesn’t really seem there – isolating himself in contact on too many occasions.

13. Jonathan Davies: 6.5
A quiet first half and he still looked rusty, not helped by the fact that he was yellow-carded for a clumsy challenge in the air. But he recovered well and threatened the line all afternoon, with a superb angle and dummy culminating in a fine score.

12. Jamie Roberts: 6.5
Far more involved and effective than he was against England. He carried hard all day as the premier battering ram for the Welsh side and made some impressive metres despite not being able to break free – 45 from 10 carries.

11. Liam Williams: 8
Matched Stuart Hogg for clean breaks and gave Lamont a torrid time for much of the game. Tackled with real venom as ever and was always positive and ambitious with the ball in hand.

10. Dan Biggar: 7
Tactically superb. His kicking from hand and general game-management was absolutely top-drawer and was solid in defence and in the air, too. He doesn’t spark or create as much as some fly-halves, but this is Warren-ball to be fair. I deducted one point because my one irk is how much he moans to the referee at every possible decision – keep your trap shut, lad.

9. Rhys Webb: 6.5
A well-taken score and he reigned in his kicks, too, to allow Biggar to take the lead. Occasionally he was a bit slow around the breakdown and was snaffled by the Welsh defence but at other times he was a real threat around the fringes again.

1. Gethin Jenkins: 8
Superb response to critics from last week. Caused Scotland plenty of problems in the scrum but reminded everyone of what else he brings too, grabbing two turnovers through text-book ‘jackles’ in the tackle area.

2. Richard Hibbard: 5
The usual aggression with the ball in hand but he was once again wobbly in the lineout and suffered a number of handling errors – including one howler of a pass behind the entire backline.

3. Aaron Jarvis: 6
A solid shift at the coal-face without being spectacular. Held his side of the scrum up well and made his tackles in defence.

4. Jake Ball: 6.5
Physical and confrontational throughout the game, he chimed in with a number of ultra-aggressive clear outs at key points that helped his side secure possession. Penalised three times by Glenn Jackson, which he won’t be happy with.

5. Alun Wyn-Jones: 8.5
Whether it was with or without the ball, the big lock was inspirational – getting through a mountain of work and leading the charge with some heroic goal-line defence at the end of either half. Like Ball, penalised on occasion by Jackson, but his work-rate more than made up for it – my man of the match.

6. Dan Lydiate: 6
Another fine defensive shift from Lydiate, making more tackles than anyone on his side (12) and missing none, especially crucial at the end of that first half. But I again wonder what else he contributes, as he carried the ball just three times and making only 2 metres.

7. Sam Warburton: 7
The skipper chipped in with another energetic display which was close to being very, very good – but he couldn’t quite produce the turnovers his positioning and technique often deserved. He was a key part of the tremendous goal-line defensive shift.

8. Taulupe Faletau: 7
Grafted well throughout the game and made some hard metres on the carry without managing to create too many holes. Defensively as strong as ever and was a physical presence at ruck-time.

Replacements: 6
Justin Tipuric was the pick of a fairly quiet bunch, injecting some pace and urgency on the flank upon his introduction.

By Mike Cooper (@RuckedOver)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images