15. Stuart Hogg – 7
Looked sharp ball-in-hand, but France were always quick to close him down. Defended vigorously – and cleverly. Some booming penalty kicks from hand to establish field position – but a frustrating afternoon epitomized by his last-minute fluffed kick to the corner.
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14. Blair Kinghorn – 6
Tidy in defence and did well winning the touch when Gael Fickou chipped through for Virimi Vakatawa in the first half. Always eager to get involved, but lacks the zip Darcy Graham brings to the game.
13. Chris Harris – 6
Not much happening behind the scrum, but carried aggressively whenever an opportunity presented itself and defended solidly opposite the excellent Virimi Vakatawa.
12. Sam Johnson – 6
Attacked the ball whenever he got the chance, and just about managed to keep Gael Fickou in check.
11. Duhan van der Merwe – 6
The game did not go his way, but he is a big and physical unit who will always ask questions of the opposition whenever he gets the ball in hand.
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10. Duncan Weir – 7
Busy, but struggled to put any pace onto the ball. Badly stripped of possession by Antoine Dupont, but not at fault for Vakatawa’s try. A difficult afternoon, but he hung on in there, and kicked his goals confidently.
9. Ali Price – 8
Always there, generally handling the conditions pretty well, tidying up some fairly untidy ball and keeping France on their toes with a series of excellent, precise box kicks.
1. Oli Kebble – 5
Under pressure in the scum and peripheral in the loose.
2. Fraser Brown – 6
Subsumed by the dark arts and struggled to get into the game – though no problem with his throwing.
3. Simon Berghan – 6
Found it hard going in the scrum – but pitched in around the park.
4. Scott Cummings – 7
Worked hard to combat France’s physicality. Another mature performance – though he called a couple of overly ambitious throws at the death.
5. Jonny Gray – 7
Another huge shift – big tackles, getting to the break down and secure at the line-out.
6. Jamie Ritchie – 7
Combative and dependable as always for 75 minutes, but saw the red mist chasing the game at closing time, and needlessly gave away two cheap penalties in quick succession which let France off the hook at a crucial point.
7. Hamish Watson – 7
Another hard day at the pit-face. Always competitive, always looking for ball, but it was an uphill battle.
8. Matt Fagerson – 7
Looked the part. A couple of poor penalties, but a couple of great steals. Strong ball-in-hand and covered well.
Replacements
16. George Turner – 6
Announced his arrival with a huge hit on Gregor Alldritt and looked willing.
17. Jamie Bhatti – 5
Brought on for a scrum on 68 minutes and hit the deck to give away another penalty, but held his own a few minutes later when Scotland won a penalty on the opposite side.
18. Zander Fagerson – 6
Put himself about, as always, and tightened up the scrum.
19. Sam Skinner – 5
Might feel he should have been able to fold onto the ball in late line-out, which he ended up slapping back for Jamie Ritchie to be swallowed up by the marauding French.
20. Blade Thomson – 6
Big improvement on last week. Two nice steals at the line-out and a couple of aggressive carries.
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne – N/A
Did not get on.
22. Duncan Taylor – 5
Only had time for one pass and one bustling carry as a replacement for Sam Johnson.
23. Sean Maitland – 5
Few opportunities to make his mark after replacing Kinghorn on 62 minutes.
Scotland v France: winning streak brought to an end by Les Bleus
before the game, how many thought we would finish within a score of that French team? Just curious
Way to generous for marks! Kinghorn 6 ? Doubt if he deserves more than 3 for breaking one tackle as thats all he did . Maitland did more in 15 minutes than Kinghorn did in 65. Agree Ali Price was best back but Hogg was not more than 5 /6 and Weir likewise. Both poor and utterly futile tactical kicking. Berghan was also abysmal so really should get a 4. Why are these marks always so high ?
The attack was so toothless and dull.
When defence was a big problem, Townsend brought in Tandy and things have drastically improved. Time for him to do the same with a new attack coach? As I understand it he does that side of things himself at the moment.
We don’t have an 8 or 12. Faggerson gives it his best but often he carries passively and flops (like penalty after restart) cause it appears he is worried he will be held up. Modern top level rugby requires a bigger 12 the Johnson. Much. Clear that we played a conservative game plan against a string France and that is fine but in attack Weird was clearly under strict instruction not to shift it wide – reasons unknown. Finally Hogg… will he ever pass the ball? It looks like ego to never, like ever, pass to open winger especially one as impactful as VDM (who quite possible should be our 12)
We don’t have an 8 or 12. Faggerson gives it his best but often he carries passively and flops (like penalty after restart) cause it appears he is worried he will be held up. Modern top level rugby requires a bigger 12 the Johnson. Much. Clear that we played a conservative game plan against a string France and that is fine but in attack Weird was clearly under strict instruction not to shift it wide – reasons unknown. Finally Hogg… will he ever pass the ball? It looks like ego to never, like ever, pass to open winger especially one as impactful as VDM (who quite possible should be our 12)
far to generous with your marks
In some respects the ratings are somewhat miserly given that we faced from what I could see a resurgent France with first choice players starting and on the bench.
In particular I thought DvdM was better than parity again looking dangerous with ball in hand, the forwards stuck at it and although never in ‘control’ as it were we could have sneaked a draw.
As the David Barnes article addressing the ‘old flaws’ comments, at this level of opposition a few seconds of lapsed concentration or a missed tackle and the game is turned. It is to be hoped that in the next fortnight there is an opportunity to get some key players back, but to be in with a chance we need all our first choice players fit and available.
That said I thought the lads did well to stick in there.