Smattering of 7s: How the Scotland players rated in exhilarating win over France at Murrayfield
We give each starter involved a mark out of ten for their performance in the match at Murrayfield against Les Bleues:
Pierre Schoeman: Back to his rumbustious best. Showed great strength to force his way over for Scotland’s second try and showed up well in the scrum. 7/10
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdEwan Ashman: The hooker’s second start for Scotland. One first-half throw went awry but solid enough before making way for Dave Cherry. 6
Zander Fagerson: Rush of blood to the head could prove costly. Second red card of his Scotland career after he caught France hooker Pierre Bourgarit high, shoulder to head, at a ruck. Now facing a ban. 4
Richie Gray: More than held his own in evenly contested lineout and part of an impressive Scottish scrum effort, particularly when down to 14 men. 7
Grant Gilchrist: Second-row partnership with Gray now looks nailed on. Offered set-piece solidity in difficult circumstances. 7
Matt Fagerson: Moved to blindside after starting at No 8 against Italy and handled switch with usual unflustered approach. 6
Hamish Watson: Lively in the loose as Scotland recovered from grim first half but was sacrificed on the hour mark after Fagerson’s yellow card was upgraded to red. 6
Jack Dempsey: Less prominent than usual and took a knock. Replaced after an hour. 6
Ben White: Clobbered by Louis Bielle-Biarrey after 16 minutes and never really recovered, limping off on the half hour with an ankle injury. A big concern with the World Cup five weeks away. 5
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdFinn Russell: Grew into the game as he captained Scotland for the first time. Sparked comeback with perfectly executed cross-kick for Darcy Graham’s try and added two penalties and two conversions. 7
Duhan van der Merwe: A constant threat with his broken field running and thought he had scored a try in first half only for it to be chalked off for a forward pass. 7
Sione Tuipulotu: Some impressive link play in the backline before being replaced by Cam Redpath on 60 minutes. 6
Huw Jones: Great break in the first half which led to the van der Merwe try that was chalked off. 6
Darcy Graham: Showed great awareness for first try, his 19th in Scotland colours and his seventh in the last four Tests. Also involved in the build-up to the second score. 7
Blair Kinghorn: Very impressive in his first Test start at full-back in almost three years. Unlucky to have try chalked off in second half for a knock on. 7
Replacements: In the pack, Dave Cherry got Scotland’s decisive third try, finishing well from a lineout maul. WP Nel steadied the ship after the red card and Rory Darge won a key turnover as France threatened at the death. George Horne was lively after replacing the injured White and Cam Redpath joined the scrum in the final quarter.