Six Nations 2016: Scotland vs France Player Ratings

SCOTLAND

15. Stuart Hogg: 9
The flick over his head for Visser’s try was pure, unabridged flair, and he also danced his way to the line for his own score. Smashed over a huge long range penalty and generally dealt well with the increased kicking responsibility once Russell went off. One of the most exciting players around at the moment.

14. Tommy Seymour: 7
A quiet day with ball in hand, but have another look at the build-up to Taylor’s try – it is Seymour’s impeccable turnover penalty and presence of mind to slip the ball to the centre that starts it.

13. Duncan Taylor: 9
You will be hard-pressed to find a more improved player in the past year or so. Scored a stunning solo try that typified Scotland’s sense of adventure, and also hit a crucial hard line before Hogg found his way over.

12. Alex Dunbar: 6
A calming presence amongst the madness around him, it was a quiet return to the national side for the centre.

11. Tim Visser: 6
Dived over for one of the easiest tries he’ll ever score, but saw surprisingly little ball given the nature of the game. Integral to Scotland’s kick chase game, which was strong again.

10. Finn Russell: 6
Cruelly forced from the field in the opening five minutes after catching a stray boot to the head.

9. Greig Laidlaw: 8.5
Any questions about whether Laidlaw is the right scrum-half for Scotland have evaporated. His intelligence in picking the right runners to hit is unparalleled, and his passing is always accurate.

1. Alasdair Dickinson: 8
Stocky and powerful, he helped Scotland to considerable scrum dominance as well as carrying well in the loose. A huge 80 minute shift.

2. Ross Ford: 7
Lineout went 100% while he was on the pitch and he was part of a front row that in general had the number of its opponents.

3. WP Nel: 8.5
Sensational stuff from the naturalised Scot. Pummelled his opposite man in the scrum and cut some really incisive lines in the loose, most notably in the build up to Visser’s game-winning try, forcing the penalty that allowed Laidlaw and Hogg to throw caution to the wind.

4. Richie Gray: 8
When he plays like this he is so conspicuous. Like Nel, cut some excellent lines onto weak shoulders, and he was always accurate in defence to finish with a 100% tackle rate.

5. Jonny Gray: 7.5
A massive work rate in defence saw him finish with 11 tackles made and none missed, despite Scotland enjoying over 60% of possession.

6. John Barclay: 7
Put himself about to good effect, and was crucial to Scotland’s line-out. Do not underestimate his value to the role that Hardie plays.

7. John Hardie: 8
Roamed around the park smashing French defenders back at will, often sapping their phase play of any momentum. Finished with a game high tackle count of 13.

8. Josh Strauss: 7.5
His strength in the carry gave Scotland a dimension they had been lacking in previous games. There weren’t any memorable breaks to speak of, but when he did truck it up, he always made it over the gainline – which is something neither Denton nor Wilson can guarantee.

Replacements: 8
When Finn Russell went off after five minutes, with the French having just run in a try, Murrayfield feared the worst. It needn’t have worried, because Peter Horne was utterly brilliant in taking the ball to the line and getting his backline firing. None of the other subs saw a great deal of game time, although McInally and Low both contributed to a late scrum win that basically saw France’s last chance saloon slam its doors shut.

FRANCE

15. Scott Spedding: 6
A fairly one-dimensional carrier, very much the antithesis of Hogg’s box of tricks. He was well marshalled by the Scottish defence, although some of his kicking from hand was decent.

14. Wesley Fofana: 6
Why France insist on playing their silkiest midfield runner on the wing, few will ever understand. Showed his skill to offload to Guirado for their early try, but otherwise he didn’t see enough ball.

13. Gael Fickou: 6.5
Lovely finish for a score that kept France in the game right before the break. Missed the same number of tackles as he made, however – is the 13 channel the right one for him?

12. Maxime Mermoz: 6
Solid stuff from Mermoz, whose work-rate is always high, but when France have the likes of Fofana, Fickou and Danty at their disposal, is he really the classiest option for the number 12 shirt?

11. Virimi Vakatawa: 5.5
There is a palapable sense of excitement whenever he gets the ball, and his part in the opening try proved why. But like much of this French side, the good is too often cancelled out by the bad, and his missed tackle on Duncan Taylor allowed the Scot to race away for his try. On top of that, it was he who conceded the penalty advantage that allowed Laidlaw and Hogg to send Visser in for an audacious score.

10. François Trinh-Duc: 5.5
The back-line certainly ran more smoothly with him at the helm, but he loses a full point for missing two early kicks that he should have nailed, that would have set Scotland a task that may have seemed unassailable.

9. Maxime Machenaud: 7.5
One of the few shining lights from the gloomy French performance. Snappy service and dead-eye goal-kicking – once again France were punished for not starting with the right man doing the business from the tee. Whoever makes that decision needs their wages slashed.

1. Jefferson Poirot: 3.5
Was pummelled by WP Nel in the scrum and did nothing in the loose. A game he will want to forget as quickly as possible.

2. Guilhem Guirado: 8
Guirado is rapidly heading towards the Parisse-standard of being a captain that consistently performs several notches above the rest of his team. His step on the way to the try-line left Stuart Hogg in the dust, and his pass earlier in the move was a joy to behold.

3. Rabah Slimani: 5
The scrum issues seemed to mainly be concentrated on the other side, but Slimani himself could do nothing to stop the steady flow of penalties either.

4. Alexandre Flanquart: 5
Made his tackles but had pretty much zero influence on the game before departing early in the second half.

5. Yoann Maestri: 5
What exactly is Maestri’s role in this French team? Too often he appears lazy and can be a walking penalty at times, while he clearly isn’t providing enough grunt to shore up the scrum. Surely it’s time France explored other options?

6. Wenceslas Lauret: 6
Struggling to remember an obvious involvement he had on the game. In general, the French back-row did little to halt Scottish quick ball that ultimately led to two of their tries.

7. Yacouba Camara: 5
Three carries, no metres made, six tackles completed. Not particularly impressive stats for a position that is meant to be one of the busiest in the team.

8. Damien Chouly: 5
Did not offer the kind of powerful carrying that international teams need from their number eights – he only carried into contact three times, for a total of eight metres. Stats don’t always reveal everything, but those ones tell you that Chouly was completely inconspicuous.

Replacements: 6
The replacement front row forced one penalty, but after that normal service was resumed. None of the French replacements made any discernible impact of the game otherwise.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images