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2024 Womens Six Nations: Scotland 0-46 England – Player Ratings

Skipper Rachel Malcolm and Number 8 Evie Gallagher - pic © Peter Watt
- pic © Peter Watt/N50 Sports

Scotland

2024 Guinness Women's Six NationsSat 13th Apr 2024Hive Stadium, EdinburghKick-off: 2:15 pm (UK)0-46
England

England

Referee: Clara Munarini (FIR)| TV: BBC1

I had high hopes for Scotland in the lead up to this contest. Not astronomical hopes, like winning, but hopes in the realms of a 12-32 loss, with sparks of brilliance and a well firing lineout.

It’s hard to play great rugby against the best team in the world, but I think Bryan Easson said it best with “We didn’t really fire a shot.”

The team will be disappointed with their performance, particularly with 40 missed tackles, and hopefully it will spur them on to play as well as we know they can against Italy and Ireland, with a third place finish and World Cup qualification still in their grasp.

Lisa Thomson - pic © Peter Watt/N50 Images
Lisa Thomson’s usually effective boot struggled in the wind – pic © Peter Watt/N50 Sports

Forwards

Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Set Piece

1. Leah Bartlett: One poor tackle marred an otherwise solid defensive effort. A big part of the scrum, which was decent. Didn’t get many opportunities to carry. - (A6/D6.5/B7/S7) Overall: 6.5/10

2. Lana Skeldon: Not a great 60 minutes at the office for the prolific hooker. Couldn’t overcome the wind in the lineout, one missed tackle before Cokayne’s try. Carried well when Scotland had possession. - (A7/D6.5/B7/S5) Overall: 6.5/10

3. Christine Belisle: Tackled well. Held her own in the scrum. Quiet in attack. - (A6/D7/B7/S6) Overall: 6.5/10

4. Fiona McIntosh: The phrase “baptism of fire” springs to mind! Had a couple of good touches and some good tackles on her debut. The lineout struggled. - (A7/D7/B7/S6) Overall: 7/10

5. Louise McMillan: Looked fierce, disrupted the English maul, stole a lineout and carried very well. - (A7.5/D7/B8/S7) Overall: 7.5/10

6. Rachel Malcolm (capt): The captain defended with her heart, body and soul, as always. Had the second most carries after McMillan. - (A7/D7/B7/S7) Overall: 7/10

7. Alex Stewart: The youngster continues to impress. She tackled well, seemed to save the pack from a scrum penalty at one point, and almost held up England’s third try. Missed a tackle. Replaced by Rachel McLachlan after 55 minutes. - (A7/D7/B7.5/S7.5) Overall: 7.5/10

8. Evie Gallagher: Will Evie G be the best number eight in the world one day? One of few Scottish players that threatened the English defence, top tackler once again and had a good pick and go from the scrum. - (A7.5/D7.5/B7.5/S8) Overall: 7.5/10

Backs

Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Influence

9. Caity Mattinson: It must have been tough to be behind scrums going backwards and lineouts going awry. Scotland was too slow getting the ball out of the ruck again. Held up an England player to prevent a try. Replaced 56th minute. - (A6/D7/B5/I6) Overall: 6/10

10. Helen Nelson: Looked impressive with ball in hand and had a great game in defence, highlighted when she dragged down Botterman running at full force. Nelson’s passing was great, but the kicking tactics were questionable. - (A7/D7.5/B6/I6) Overall: 6.5/10

11. Coreen Grant: Only got 32 minutes before coming off for a head injury. Tackled well, turned the ball over and had a nice run. Found herself off her wing for Kabeya’s first try. - (A6/D6/B6/I6) Overall: 6/10

12. Meryl Smith: Looked confident at the start, had a couple of good clearance kicks and some strong attacking runs. An intercepted pass and a poor kick were the negatives and she made way for Thomson at halftime. - (A6.5/D6/B6.5/I6) Overall: 6.5/10

13. Emma Orr: Excellent in defence as always, making 17 successful tackles, one of which was a try saver. Gave away a penalty and had a poor kick in play. - (A6.5/D8/B7/I6) Overall: 7/10

14. Rhona Lloyd: Had a couple of good carries but her handling let her down in the dreich Hive weather, with a knock on and a poor pass to Rachel Malcolm. Tackled well, but didn’t put in the outstanding defensive performance she gave against France. - (A6/D6.5/B6/I6) Overall: 6/10

15. Chloe Rollie: We can all wish the ref hadn’t blown her whistle before Rollie’s beautiful break. She looked good in attack and made the most metres of any Scottish player, but couldn’t stem the flow of tries in defence. - (A7/D6/B6/I7) Overall: 6.5/10

Replacements

Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Impact

16. Elis Martin: A decent 20 minute showing, but when it was too late to make much difference. Tackled well. - (A6/D6.5/B6/I6) Overall: 6/10

17. Molly Wright: Scotland’s scrum looked good after the front row had changed, and Wright defended well. - (A6/D6.5/B6/I7) Overall: 6.5/10

18. Elliann Clarke: Had an excellent carry and contributed to Scotland’s brief scrummaging success. - (A7/D6/B6/I7) Overall: 6.5/10

19. Eva Donaldson: Couldn’t assuage Scotland’s lineout woes but went well in the loose. - (A6/D6/B7/I6) Overall: 6.5/10

20. Rachel McLachlan: A good outing for the flanker. I’m thrilled wee Rach is back in a Scotland jersey and excited to see more of her in the next couple of weeks. - (A6/D7/B7/I7) Overall: 7/10

21. Mairi McDonald: Made only three fewer passes than Mattinson despite only 24 minutes of game time. Had a positive influence on the game but her box kicking couldn’t withstand the wind. - (A7/D6/B7/I8) Overall: 7/10

22. Lisa Thomson: Carried well, passed well, saved a try by turning the ball over, and made a stunningly crunching tackle. Her boot was impacted by the wind. - (A7/D7/B7/I7) Overall: 7/10

23. Francesca McGhie: A quiet game by the young speedster’s standards after she came on late in the first half. Ran well when she got the ball, played well other than a knock on and an offside penalty. - (A6/D6/B7/I6) Overall: 6.5/10

Ratings by Skye Wilson. Skye is a Scottish writer and rugby fan based in Newcastle. You can read more of Skye’s work on her website at skye-wilson.com or via @skyegwilson on X.

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