Scotland v France Player Ratings

Stuart Hogg – Has been due a big game for Scotland and duly delivered by generating his own good luck for the first try. Hyperactive, irresistible and jinky on the ball in an excellent first half. In the mood, when given ball he is nothing short of word-class. Faded a bit in the second half after a colossal effort. 7/10

Tommy Seymour – Chased, harried, scuttled and scored a neat try. Provides pace and hunger but little else. On these recent showings Visser will not be too worried about forcing his way back into the reckoning next season. Overall all though a decent game. 6/10

Sean Lamont – Came off injured on the half hour mark with a knee injury. Had been having a dependable if somewhat uninspiring game up until that point. 6/10

Alex Dunbar – As usual his tackle count was through the roof. Something of a marked man in the midfield which is praise in itself for a player making just his 7^th cap. Did everything asked of him without reaching the heights of his previous performance against Italy. 6/10

Matt Scott – Clever inside pass for Seymour’s try was the highlight of a decent performance. Given the unenviable task of being battering ram in attack which, for the most part, he coped with manfully. Kept the fabled French midfield in check in defence too.  7/10

Duncan Weir – Did the subtle things well. Becoming a real leader in defence and dependable with the boot. His insistence on a flat, spin pass is still an issue, as the interception try proved. Despite that he is maturing nicely into a dependable if unspectacular stand-off for Scotland. 6/10

Greig Laidlaw – Got a bit bullied at times but generally took the right options. Benefitted hugely from the parity the Scottish pack forced at the set piece and breakdown. Kicking was generally spot-on too despite sometimes lacking the range to be truly deadly with the boot. 6/10

Ryan Grant – Took some very static balls in the first half that brought to mind someone passing a ball into an empty phone box but improved his loose play after the break with several good breaks. Held his own in the scrum and made his tackles count. 7/10

Scott Lawson – It’s taken a wee while to get used to him but now looks the part in the Scotland number two shirt. The lineouts have not only stabilised under him but have become a solid platform for the team. Inexplicably subbed five minutes into the second half. 7/10

Geoff Cross – Folded like a broken lock knife in the first scrum to cost us three points (admittedly on a bad piece of the pitch). Solid thereafter. Cantered around in the loose like a distressed racehorse when we had the ball, made his tackles when we didn’t. Good game from Geoff. 7/10

Richie Gray – Like a swaying lighthouse with legs. Messed up the French in the lineouts and in the tackle. Made some shuddering, timely hits and chose more often to pass the ball instead of trucking it up. An impressive performance from a player who hasn’t had the best of tournaments so far. 8/10

Jim Hamilton – Did his job in the lineout for the second game running both in attack and defence. Was an absolute menace in the rucks for all the right reasons and didn’t give away his requisite half-a-dozen points, just the one penalty proving costly. Proving that if he keeps his discipline he can be very effective. 7/10

Johnnie Beattie – Got broken after 15 minutes just before the third French penalty. Stretched off with an ankle problem but was sitting up and acknowledging the crowd. n/a

David Denton – Made some very important tackles at key times for Scotland and generally looked hungry and aggressive at the breakdown. Needs to develop an offloading game to really be a danger to the opposition with ball in hand. Can’t really fault his performance today though, one of his better games in a Scotland shirt. 8/10

Kelly Brown – Good game from the Captain (Captain for this week that is…) he’s not an international seven by any stretch of the imagination but did his job well in Scotland’s ‘dual-six’ back row and made all the right decisions. If today was about showing heart, leading from the front and proving a point to the world then it was job done for Mr Brown. 7/10

Subs

Ross Ford – Came on just after half time (as is Scott Johnston’s wont) and was part of a destructive period of second-half scrummaging from the Scottish pack. His arrows in the lineouts can also be filed under ‘acceptable’, much like his performance in general. 5/10

Moray Low – Not used. n/a

Euan Murray – ‘The Reverend’ or ‘Tommy Thumb’ (as absolutely no-one is calling him…) wasn’t used and didn’t look happy. n/a

Tim Swinson – Introduced for Big Jim with ten minutes left. Did a good job in the set pieces but gave away a silly penas’ (as BBC Alba call them) under the posts which ultimately cost us the game. 4/10

Ryan Wilson – Came in early doors for the unfortunate Johnnie Beattie. Performed his duties effectively but with little impact. Yet to prove himself at this level. 5/10

Chris Cusiter – Not used. n/a

Duncan Taylor – Not used. n/a

Max Evans – On for Sean Lamont on the half hour mark. Showed some sparkle on occasions but lacked enough opportunities to do any damage. 6/10