Forwards
Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Set Piece
1. Anne Young: Well deserving of her second start. She was solid in the scrum and over the ball, but her carrying was a bit of a mixed bag. - (A6/D7/B7/S7) Overall: 7/10
2. Lana Skeldon: She was everywhere in attack and scored a try in classic Skeldon style. Defence solid and the lineout fired relatively well despite a couple of overthrows. - (A8.5/D7/B7/S7.5) Overall: 7.5/10
3. Christine Belisle: A quieter game than usual, although not for lack of passion. - (A7/D7/B6/S7) Overall: 7/10
4. Fiona McIntosh: By far the most she's impressed me in a Scotland jersey. An excellent option at the lineout, had a couple of good carries and won a couples of turnovers. - (A7/D7/B8/S8) Overall: 7.5/10
5. Sarah Bonar: Disruptive both to Italy's breakdown and lineout. Bonz seems back to her best after several injuries. - (A7/D7/B8/S8) Overall: 7.5/10
6. Rachel Malcolm (Captain): Excellent as always on her 50th cap. She carried well and led from the front. An incredible player, captain and leader. - (A7/D8/B8/S7) Overall: 7.5/10
7. Rachel McLachlan: Quiet in attack but tackled well. Pleased she's okay after being off for a HIA! - (A6/D7.5/B7/S6) Overall: 6.5/10
8. Evie Gallagher: Absolutely everywhere. The player of the match gave away too many penalties and had one silly pass, but more than made up for it with her tenacity at the breakdown (FIVE turnovers), strong defence and abrasive carrying, particularly off the scrum. - (A8/D9.5/B8/S9) Overall: 8.5/10
Backs
Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Influence
9. Caity Mattinson: Mattinson had a good game, and I think her passing has improved (perhaps Leia Brebner-Holden pushing for a place has helped!). Can tackle well when she needs to. - (A7/D7/B8/I7) Overall: 7.5/10
10. Helen Nelson: She just gets better and better. I am so impressed with the way a player this experienced clearly has such a drive to improve. Her kicking is the clearest example of this, but it's apparent in her distribution too. - (A8/D7/B7/I9) Overall: 8/10
11. Francesca McGhie: McGhie didn't get much ball, but did achieve TWO breakdown turnovers. I'd love to see her set loose in attack in the next couple of games. - (A6/D7/B8/I6) Overall: 7/10
12. Meryl Smith: What a player! Great carries, tackles, distribution and kicking from hand. Gave away a couple of turnovers. I'm excited to see her at 13 against Japan - (A7.5/D7/B6/I8) Overall: 7/10
13. Emma Orr: Defended exceptionally and sparkled in attack. Perhaps suffered from a bit of white line fever when her try was held up. Shocked that she's on the bench v Japan. - (A8/D9/B6/I7) Overall: 7.5/10
14. Coreen Grant: I'm coming out in cold sweats thinking about the fumble on Nelson's cross-field kick. Aside from a couple of handling errors, Grant had a good game, and deserved her try near the end. - (A7/D7/B7/I7) Overall: 7/10
15. Chloe Rollie: Took her try very well and still one of the most exciting players on this Scotland team. - (A8/D7/B7/I8) Overall: 7.5/10
Replacements
Rated on Attack, Defence, Breakdown and Impact
16. Elis Martin: Made a couple of dominant tackles and is a great hooker to come off the bench. However the lineout seemed to drop a level when Lana came off. - (A6.5/D7.5/B7/I6) Overall: 7/10
17. Lisa Cockburn: This versatile player was solid but quiet. - (A6/D7/B6/I6) Overall: 6.5/10
18. Elliann Clarke: It says a lot about how good Elliann Clarke is that I was disappointed when she didn't immediately win a scrum penalty! Tackled well. - (A6/D7.5/B6/I6) Overall: 6.5/10
19. Louise McMillan: A couple of good carries and one particularly nice tackle. She's earned her start against Japan. - (A7/D7.5/B6/I6) Overall: 6.5/10
20. Alex Stewart: When she first came on (for McLachlan's HIA), I thought it was one of the quietest games I've seen from Stewart in a Scotland jersey. However, after the official substitution she was back causing Wales problems all over the park. - (A7/D7.5/B7/I7) Overall: 7/10
21. Leia Brebner-Holden: Did very well and had a cracker of a tackle. Plenty to come from this player in the future. - (A7/D7.5/B7/I6) Overall: 7/10
22. Lisa Thomson: Two line breaks from only five carries! Lisa Thomson came on and smashed it, as expected, and seems to make the most of every bit of 7s and XVs experience. - (A8/D7/B7/I8) Overall: 7.5/10
23. Lucia Scott: A very exciting player who carried well! Perhaps she'll get a bit more to do this week. - (A7/D7/B6/I6.5) Overall: 6.5/10
1 response
One comment I should have made at the time. The TV coverage of the game against Italy was appalling the commentators knew none of the players names apart from the scrum half’s and at the end of the game one of the commentators forgot which team was which , saying Scotland running out of time when they were 14 nil up and she said it on numerous occasions and the other commentator saying the exact opposite. WXV deserves far better than this abject failure. This is professional rugby with some world class players , our team is No5 in the world and deserve so much better than this. The most inciteful comment either commentator made was the team with the wind behind it have the advantage when kicking the ball