Scotland's summer tour: Guide to how the players peformed

Scotland captain John Barclay, who played in all three Tests.

FORWARDS

ALEX ALLAN

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), L/H PROP :

Played for 40 minutes and was probably a bit 
surprised to get that much. Did not seem to be part of the plans until Dell was called up to the Lions and a space opened up. Played only half the game in Fiji before being taken off.

ALLAN DELL

(EDINBURGH), L/H PROP:

Played 71 minutes. Unavailable for the final game. Even Dell was left speechless when the call came to join the Lions. Did well enough as a starter in Singapore and made a significant difference when he came on for the finale in Australia – unknown to him, the dream call had already come.

GORDON REID

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), L/H PROP:

Played 129 minutes, featuring in all three games. Will have been disappointed that the could not turn the scrum Scotland’s way in Fiji but had worked hard the rest of the trip, with some solid carries and good defence in Sydney the highlight.

ZANDER FAGERSON
 (GLASGOW WARRIORS), T/H PROP:

Played 102 minutes, featuring in all three games. Looked tired at the end of a long, hard breakthrough season. The heat may well have been a factor, with 
his contributions in the open well down on their 
usual level. Held his own in the scrum but rarely 
dominated.

WILLEM NEL

(EDINBURGH), T/H PROP

Played 138 minutes, featuring in all three games. It was heartening to see him back in action after a serious neck injury and the obvious emotion when he talked about the dark times made it obvious how much it meant. Not at his peak, but the important thing was that he was out there.

D’ARCY RAE

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), T/H PROP

Did not play. Had been brought mainly in case Nel was asked to move up to the Lions but, when the call never came, the chance of Rae getting his first cap disappeared with it. His time will come.

FRASER BROWN

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), HOOKER

Played 101 minutes, featuring in all three games. Benched twice and started one. A couple of wonky line-out throws did not help his cause, even though he was one of the livelier forwards in the opening phases against Australia and claimed his first Test try 
in Fiji.

ROSS FORD

(EDINBURGH), HOOKER

Played 139 minutes, featuring in all three games. Said being benched in the Six Nations had given him a kick up the backside. Seems to have the starting spot back as Ford, pictured, went on to claim the Scottish caps record with 110. Solid in every phase and, after scoring just two tries in his first 107 games, added another three on tour.

GEORGE TURNER

(EDINBURGH), HOOKER

Did not play. Since he has hardly played at club level was probably brought mainly for the experience. Would have got his chance if Brown had been called up to the Lions, as was clearly expected, so the disappointment at that snub hurt him, too.

JONNY GRAY

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), LOCK

Played 160 minutes in two games. Rested in 
Singapore and then played straight through.

We did not learn much new – his workrate is still 
staggering, his tackle count impressive and he is one of the main carriers. Has started passing more often, which may help his ball-carrying, too.

TIM SWINSON

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), LOCK

Played 148 minutes, featuring in all three games. One of the hardest working players despite coming off injured in the first game. Did his work in the set-piece and defence, but since he can also play back row probably should have been involved more when Scotland had the ball in the open.

BEN TOOLIS

(EDINBURGH), LOCK

Played 162 minutes, featuring in all three games. Staggeringly good against Italy in the first game and, though a little quieter against his fellow Australians in Sydney, was still top class. Didn’t get time to really affect the result in Fiji, but can be more than satisfied with his tour.

JOHN BARCLAY

(SCARLETS), BACK ROW

Played 218 minutes, featuring in all three games. The captain was, by some margin, the hardest worked of the Scottish players. Led the team well in the first two games but, in the the third, when he was carrying a slight back problem, could not find the right buttons to push to stem the flow of mistakes from his 
team-mates.

MAGNUS BRADBURY

(EDINBURGH), BACK ROW

Played 22 minutes. His only chance came when he replaced Swinson in the Italy game. Though he was at the top of the Pro12 charts for ball carrying and defenders beaten, was pretty quiet on his one chance and was one of those allowed to leave early.

JOHN HARDIE

(EDINBURGH), BACK ROW

Played 50 minutes. Hurt his back in the warm-up before Italy, which ruled him out of that game and the Australia match. Returned against Fiji, but looked rusty – not surprising after an injury-ravaged season – and struggled to impose himself.

ROB HARLEY

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), BACK ROW

Played 31 minutes. Came off the bench against Italy, initially at flanker before moving to second row. By the time he arrived, the game was won, so he did not have the chance to do much and was not used again.

JOSH STRAUSS

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), BACK ROW

Played 130 minutes, featuring in all three games. The only Scottish forward able to go through tackles and was keen to show what he can do after recovering from a serious kidney injury. A sin bin in the final game was a blip but can be happy with his contribution.

HAMISH WATSON

(EDINBURGH), BACK ROW

Played 87 minutes. Missed the Italy game waiting for the groin problem that ended his club season early to heal fully. Was really impressive against Australia, but found the Fijian combination of speed and physicality harder to counter.

RYAN WILSON

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), BACK ROW

Played 192 minutes, featuring in all three games. 
Second hardest-worked forward. Tackled hard in every game and did a lot of the unglamorous, often unnoticed, work. Could take full credit for the wins while coming on too late to rescue the Fiji match.

BACKS

SEAN KENNEDY

(EDINBURGH), SCRUM-HALF

Did not play. Gregor Townsend spoke admiringly of his work in training, but didn’t admire it enough to 
displace either of the more experienced the scrum-halves who shared all the work.

ALI PRICE

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), 
SCRUM -HALF

Played 130 minutes, featuring in all three games. At worst, he is clearly now the understudy to Greig Laidlaw, who was off with the Lions – and there are many who reckon he has overtaken his rival. Sharp and lively in every game, was happy to keep 
the pace up to Townsend’s 
demands.

HENRY PYRGOS

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), 
SCRUM-HALF

Played 110 minutes, featuring in all three games. A year ago he was captaining Scotland, but things did not go for him that day, Laidlaw coming on to rescue the game. Looks short of confidence and may struggle to get back.

FINN RUSSELL

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), STAND-OFF

Played 127 minutes. The other player taken by the Lions, so did not feature in Fiji. Some brilliant creative play in Scotland’s win in Singapore and showed he is developing a tactical game in masterminding the win over Australia. He was good enough to leave you wondering why he was not on the Lions tour in the first place.

PETE HORNE

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), CENTRE/STAND-OFF

Played 113 minutes. It is hard to be good at stand-off unless you are getting regular games there. The 
scoring spree was over by the time Russell went off to have his gashed cheek sewn up, and Horne could not find the killer touch in Fiji before moving to centre. A mixed tour.

ALEX DUNBAR

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), CENTRE

Played 160 minutes. Worked hard in both the first two wins, including the crucial turnover at the end of the Australia win. Was then allowed to leave the tour for a well-earned break. We will never know if his experience might have made a difference in Fiji.

NICK GRIGG

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), CENTRE

Played 80 minutes. The only player to win his first cap on tour. Had to watch the wins from the sidelines but did get his big moment in Suva, only to find the Fijian defence more than capable of soaking up his bristling, direct-running style.

MATT SCOTT

(GLOUCESTER), CENTRE

Played 119 minutes. Looked solid in his only start against Italy, though he was well marked by Michele Campagnaro, his opposite number. Came off the bench against Australia and his scramble defence played an important part in holding Australia at the end.

DUNCAN TAYLOR

(SARACENS), CENTRE

Played 200 minutes, featuring in all three games. Mr Versatile. Full-back against Italy, centre for Australia but moved to wing mid-game. Back to the midfield for the Fiji game but got injured. Had a hand in two of the Italy tries. Another who had a good tour.

DAMIEN HOYLAND

(EDINBURGH), WING

Played 160 minutes. Described his first Test try, which came against Italy, as the best moment of his career, but his dreams turned to nightmares when he was recalled for the final match and found himself targeted for special treatment by the hard-hitting Fijians.

LEE JONES

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), WING

Played 80 minutes. Played a crucial role in the wonder try that won the Australia game but that was not enough to earn him a place in the final match – given the treatment handed out to Hoyland, he may have been relieved.

RORY HUGHES

(GLASGOW WARRIORS), WING

Played 56 minutes. Came on late against Italy and was injured early in the second half against Australia without ever finding the openings to show what he could do. Was hard and abrasive but needs to go looking for work more.

TIM VISSER

(HARLEQUINS), WING

Played 145 minutes. Missed the middle game with a minor rib injury but, as the senior wing, Visser, pictured, shouldered a lot of responsibility in the other matches. Found the physical threat of Josua “The Bus” Tuisova hard to handle in the Fiji match.

RUARIDH JACKSON

(HARLEQUINS) FULL-BACK/STAND-OFF

Played 80 minutes. Held back until the final match, were he started at full-back and moved forward to fly half when Taylor went off injured. Had the consolation of his first Test try but, after a season where he has struggled for club games, looked rusty.

GREIG TONKS

(LONDON IRISH) FULL-BACK

Played 120 minutes. Was solid at the back against Australia, his only blip coming when he was 
out-jumped by Israel Folau for the second Australia try. Didn’t look quite as comfortable against Fiji but is more than happy just to be back in the frame.

l Lewis Carmichael, who is on loan to Western Force in Australia, trained with the squad in Sydney but did not play.