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.
