Scotland player ratings: ‘Woeful’ set-piece proves costly as Finn Russell’s ‘poor form’ continues
Following an 18-15 defeat to Italy in the Six Nations at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Scotland.
15 Tom Jordan: One of the better players under the high ball but conditions made it difficult to show his quality in attack. Could have dovetailed better with Finn Russell, given that it was a day for kicking and he has a decent boot. 6
14 Kyle Steyn: Started because of his form and ability in the the air, but Scotland struggled early on to combat Italy’s kicking game. Also found himself wanting defensively in the first quarter in a tough day for the wing. 5
13 Huw Jones: Barely noticeable in the rain of Rome. Not a game for the centre, who struggled to impact the match. 5
12 Sione Tuipulotu (c): Like Jones, he wasn’t really a factor for much of it, but Tuipulotu did show his leadership qualities late on by driving his team towards the Italian line one last time. Unfortunately for Scotland, it was too little, too late. 6
11 Jamie Dobie: Hooked after 50 minutes, which tells you all you needed to know. Had issues under the high ball, found wanting in defence for the first Italy try and just altogether struggled. 4
Poor form continues
10 Finn Russell: Hasn’t been in great form since November quite frankly and that showed here. Plenty of basic errors in the opening hour, although he got it together in the final 15 minutes to mount one last surge. 5
9 Ben White: Italy controlled the kicking battle early on as White struggled. Did get into the game eventually, putting up some accurate kicks, but his replacements was much better. 5
8 Jack Dempsey: Scored a try and was an absolute workhorse through. Never lets Scotland down and was once again impressive here. Certainly one of the visitors’ best players. 7
7 Rory Darge: Has seen youngster Freddy Douglas earn plenty of plaudits this season, but Darge showed why he is first choice openside. He was a menace at the breakdown and did all he could to turn the tide, but it wasn’t quite enough. 8
6 Matt Fagerson: Part of a strong back-row effort, albeit not quite as influential as the other two players. Fagerson got around the park, making his carries and tackles, as he tried to make up for the woeful effort of the front five. 6
Woeful set-piece
5 Grant Gilchrist: With these two locks, you expect a solid lineout, but it was an absolute shambles as the Italians got up and disrupted the set-piece. 3
4 Scott Cummings: Similar to Gilchrist, it was all about the lineout and Cummings failed in that area. They need a vast improvement against England. 3
3 Zander Fagerson: The scrum, like the lineout, was an issue, although the issue seemed to come more on the loosehead side. Fagerson was solid enough elsewhere, but they couldn’t gain any traction in the set-piece. 5
2 Ewan Ashman: An absolute shocker from the hooker in the fundamentals, which is a shame because his carrying was dynamic. It felt like the winning and losing came down to the lineout and Ashman was continually picked off by Italy. 3
1 Pierre Schoeman: Usually so strong in all facets, it was a sub-par performance from the prop, who was under pressure in the scrum and added little elsewhere. 4
Replacements: The front-row arguably struggled even more in the scrum but there was decent impact from Max Williamson and Gregor Brown up front, while George Horne and Darcy Graham were good behind the scrum. 6
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