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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Stuart Bathgate

Scotland players rated after South Africa World Cup loss

Here's how Scotland's players rated in their defeat at the hands of South Africa...

15 Blair Kinghorn Got off to an inauspicious start with two fumbles of high balls, but defended well on the ground. Had little chance to prove his attacking prowess. 7

14 Darcy Graham As lively as ever on both sides of the ball, and thought he had scored late on from a quickly taken lineout. Should have passed in the first half with both Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe outside him. 7

13 Huw Jones Defended well during a claustrophobically tight first half, but faded out of the game as South African dominance grew after the break and had next to no chance to show his cutting edge in attack. 6

12 Sione Tuipulotu Battled diligently with ball in hand, but conceded a penalty for Manny Libbok’s second successful kick at goal and was bowled over by Pieter-Steph du Toit as the Springboks forward rumbled his way to the try line. 7

11 Duhan van der Merwe Came into midfield looking for work from the opening minutes of the game, and might well have scored late in the first half if Graham had got the ball out to him. Might have prevented Kurt-Lee Arendse try if he had kept his width. 6

10 Finn Russell Charged down then penalised for first SA score in shaky start, and was left nursing his ribs, arm and shoulder after two attempted tackles. Was still responsible for the bulk of Scotland’s most promising moments, and had two try-saving tackles in last five minutes. 8

9 Ben White Impressive in cover defence, but was outshone by Faf de Klerk in what was on the whole one of his less impressive Scotland performances. 7

1 Pierre Schoeman Put in some excellent defensive work on the ground and got some joy out of the South African scrum late in first half, but was under pressure at the set piece early in the second before giving way to Jamie Bhatti. 7

2 George Turner Sent a couple of throw-ins astray in first quarter, but did well in the loose at times before giving way to Dave Cherry in second half. 6

3 Zander Fagerson Just back from suspension, the tighthead conceded an early scrum penalty only for Libbok to miss. Like Schoeman, was on top in the set piece at some stages of the game. 7

4 Richie Gray Kept working hard to take the fight to the Boks long after the game was gone, and combined well with his loose forwards at the breakdown. 7

5 Grant Gilchrist Like Gray, he put in an immense amount of work on the ground, and combined well with his back-row team-mates. 7

6 Jamie Ritchie The captain was as conscientious and hard-working as ever, but like his team as a whole he was never able to hit the top of his game. 6

7 Rory Darge Defended exceptionally well at times as the South Africans threatened to run riot. 7

8 Jack Dempsey The pack’s most consistently dynamic performer across the 80 minutes and arguably the most consistent player in the whole team. Appeared to suffer no ill effects from a clash of heads for which Jesse Kriel should have been punished. 8

Substitutes:

16 Dave Cherry Part of a batch of four subs 15 minutes into the second half, the hooker made a strong case for being a starter next time out. 

17 Jamie Bhatti On as part of a new front row. 

18 WP Nel Replaced Zander Fagerson but found it hard going up front.

19 Scott Cummings Came on at lock for Gilchrist, worked well in lineout and defended impressively too.

23 Ollie Smith On for Graham with quarter of an hour to go.

20 Matt Fagerson Took over from Darge at the same time.

22 Cameron Redpath Replaced Tuipulotu with time running out and had a couple of useful interventions.

21 Ali Price The scrum-half got a run out towards the end but had little chance to get involved.

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