Scotland player ratings: Two 8s but plenty of 6s despite win over Italy

Scotland got their World Cup preparations off to a winning start on Saturday by defeating Italy 25-13 at Murrayfield.
Scotland's Josh Bayliss scores the third try against the Italians.Scotland's Josh Bayliss scores the third try against the Italians.
Scotland's Josh Bayliss scores the third try against the Italians.

We give each of players that started a mark out of ten for their performance against the Azzurri and also appraise the replacements that were brought on:

Rory Sutherland: His first Scotland start in over a year and the new-look front row took a bit of time to gel. Weren’t helped by some fussy refereeing at the scrum. 6/10

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

George Turner: Delivered a huge hit on Italy full-back Lorenzo Pani during the first half which left both men feeling the effects. Made way for Stuart McInally after 45 minutes as Scotland changed their entire front row. 6

Murphy Walker: A tough afternoon for the Glasgow Warriors tighthead on his first Scotland start but kept his composure as the scrum kept being reset. Was replaced by Javan Sebastian early in the second half. 6

Sam Skinner: Powerful presence and showed some nifty footwork to hurdle a seagull during one Scotland attack. 6

Scott Cummings: Disrupted the Italian lineout to good effect before making way for Cameron Henderson to make his Scotland debut. 6

Luke Crosbie: Busy in the back row, a highly competitive area for Scotland. Replaced by Josh Bayliss who scored a last-minute try, his first at international level. 6

Rory Darge: Captaining Scotland for the first time, Darge led by example. Impressive at the breakdown. 7

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Matt Fagerson: Dropped the ball during the first-half downpour but was not the only one as both sides struggled with the slippy ball. 6

Ali Price: Back in the No 9 jersey and eager to impress. Kicked a couple out on the full and was loose with one first-half pass which led to Scotland scrambling in defence but was slick enough to play a role in both Darcy Graham’s tries. 6

Ben Healy: Looked the part on his first start for Scotland. Some excellent kicking from hand, spiralling the ball huge distances. Set up Darcy Graham’s first try and also kicked two conversions and two penalties. 8

Kyle Steyn: A quieter game for the Glasgow Warriors captain, with most of Scotland’s attacking play going down the right. 6

Stafford McDowall: Solid debut for the inside centre who played a part in both Graham’s tries. Would have liked to have seen more of the ball but impressed when he took the ball into contact. 6

Chris Harris: Bailed Scotland out in the first half when the ball squirmed from Ollie Smith’s grasp and also made an important chop tackle. 7

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Darcy Graham: Marked his return to the Scotland team after injury with a try double in a lively performance in which he was always a threat. Now has 18 tries from 24 Tests. 8

Ollie Smith: First outing for Smith since Stuart Hogg retired and it was a bit of a mixed bag for the full-back. Got into a bit of a fankle in first half but made break which led to Bayliss try. 6

Replacements: New front row of Stuart McInally, Jamie Bhatti and Javan Sebastian acquitted themselves well. Cameron Henderson made a deserved Scotland debut. Josh Bayliss replaced Crosbie and crossed for a late try, his first for Scotland, after fellow sub Cam Redpath played him in. Jamie Dobie and Blair Kinghorn made late cameos.