Scotland Player Ratings v Wales

February 13, 2021
4900
Ultimate Rugby

Wales made it back to back wins to open their Six Nations campaign with a thrilling 25-24 away victory over 14 man Scotland in round 2.

Leigh Halfpenny and Finn Russell traded early penalties to see the score locked up at 3-3 after 10 minutes. Scotland broke the deadlock with the game's first try around the midpoint of the first half, a brilliant little chip ahead from Ali Price for Darcy Graham to gather and race in. Five minutes later Scotland had try number two, as a chip ahead from their talisman Stuart Hogg saw Halfpenny fail to deal with it at the back, only for Hogg to regather and crash over to make it 17-3. Wales needed a response and hit back just before the break after some slick hands saw Louis Rees-Zammit step inside the final defender to score.

Ten minutes into the second half Wales were in again, as a dominant Welsh maul saw the visitors drive deep into the Scottish 22, with some superb hands sending Liam Wiliams over untouched to make it 17-15. The match defining moment took place after 53 minutes, as Zander Fagerson was shown a red card for a dangerous cleanout making direct contact with the head. Wales capitalised immediately on their numerical advantage with their third try to hit the front 20-17, Wyn Jones muscling over from close range after 55 minutes. Ten minutes later Scotland regained the lead, with captain fantastic Hogg stepping to get outside his man and then putting a fend in to crash over in the corner making it 24-20.

However, Wales would have the final say, as a piece of individual brilliance from man of the match Rees-Zammit saw him fly down the right, chip the final defender and crack on the pace to win the race to get the bounce and score to put Wales ahead by a single point with ten minutes remaining. An intense final ten minutes followed, but Wales held on for the win to move to the summit of the Six Nations ahead of the France v Ireland clash tomorrow afternoon.

Here is how we rated Gregor Townsend's men:

15. Stuart Hogg - 8.5

Man of the match last week, Stuart Hogg impressed once again with a brace against Wales. He was superb in all facets of the game and took his chances well.

14. Darcy Graham - 7.5

Timed his run for his try superbly and his finish was even better from Price's kick.

A busy return from injury and was the man picked out as Scotland needed to get a prop on the pitch.

13. Chris Harris - 6.5

Bulking carries early on as he made good metres. He completed a few nice offloads and constantly got his side on the front foot.

He was solid defensively.

12. James Lang - 6

Worked well with Russell to free up Scotland's threats out wide but didn't take the ball to the line. Taken off in the final 10 minutes for Huw Jones.

11. Duhan van der Merwe - 7.5

Made metres and took multiple players with him each time he touched the ball.

Looked to make a telling break in the final moments of the game but was crucially taken down with an ankle tap.

10. Finn Russell - 7

Continued his fine run of form. Mixed up his approach on attack well. Had a few errors but often made up for them.

Almost manufactured the match-winning try with Duhan van der Merwe.

9. Ali Price - 6

A sumptuous kick over the top lead to a try for Darcy Graham.

Passing and kicking overall was swift.

1. Rory Sutherland - 7

Charged into the Welsh defence with vigor. Struggled to make metres but his carries did provide a solid platform. He scrummaged well for over an hour.

2. George Turner - 5

Good on either side of the ball but a few lineout darts went astray. The set pieces is not entirely his fault but some of the blame does lay with him.

3. Zander Fagerson - 3

Had a strong game for 54 minutes before he was given his marching orders for a nasty clearout.

4. Scott Cummings - 5

A quiet shift as he spent most of the game in the rucks. Could have provided more grunt with his carries.

5. Jonny Gray - 7

Another week, another solid performance from the Scottish second rower. He put the Welsh lineout under pressure and while his side did have a few hiccups at the set piece, Gray was immense around the park. He made over 20 metres from his powerful carries and as per usual, he was superb on defence.

6. Blade Thomson - n/a

A chance to impress in the starting line up but a head knock ended his game just 13 minutes.

7. Hamish Watson - 8

Backed up his massive performance against England with another huge game against Wales. Saw less ball than he did last week but made the most of the ball he did see. Bulking carries and was excellent on defence and over the ball.

8.Matt Fagerson - 7

A massive work rate on both sides of the ball. Made over 30 running metres and made 12 tackles.

Replacements:

David Cherry - 5

Threw his weight around in the final 12 minutes. Made some good yards from his carries.

Oli Kebble - 5

Strong impact in the scrums. Some good carries too.

WP Nel - 6

Dominated in the set piece from the moment he came on.

Richie Gray - 5

Got stuck in for 25 minutes, mostly in the rucks.

Gary Graham - 6