Player ratings: Just short

OPINION: Scotland gave South Africa a fright, but in the end just fell short – losing 20-26 in Edinburgh on Saturday.

The teams scored two tries each, but four Springbok penalties beating two Scottish penalties.

Jan de Koning rates the Scottish players!

15 Stuart Hogg:
His booming out-of-hand kicks often drove the Boks back deep into their own half and produced some brilliant counter-attacking.
8/10

14 Tommy Seymour:
Had limited opportunities with ball in hand an missed as many tackles as he made.
5/10

13 Huw Jones:
Tested the Bok defence and set up his team’s first try with a perfectly-timed switch-pass. Continued to find holes in Bok defence.
8/10

12 Pete Horne:
Perhaps did not make as much ground as he wanted with the ball in hand, but was rock solid in the field and made all his tackles.
6/10

11 Sean Maitland:
Made plenty of metres, but was found wanting on defence.
6/10

10 Finn Russell:
Not flawless, but masterfully pulling the strings and got Scotland on the front foot.
7/10

9 Greig Laidlaw (captain):
He did the basics well – a crisp service and kicked well on the rare occasion that he did use the boot.
6/10

8 Ryan Wilson:
Very busy with the ball in hand and made some decent metres, but had some lapses on defence.
6/10

7 Hamish Watson:
The most outstanding and productive of the Scotland loose forwards – both with ball in hand, at the breakdown and especially on defence.
7/10

6 Sam Skinner:
Also very busy, but just a few steps behind Watson.
6/10

5 Jonny Gray:
May not have made much ground with any of his 10 carries, but with match-high 14 tackles, he was invaluable to the Scottish cause.
6/10

4 Ben Toolis:
His most valuable contribution was on defence.
6/10

3 Willem Nel:
His scrum contest with Steven Kitshoff cost him a few penalties and he also missed a few tackles.
5/10

2 Stuart McInally:
Not very effective with the ball in hand, but took his tackle count into double figures.
6/10

1 Gordon Reid:
Solid in the scrums, but his workrate was poor.
5/10

Replacements:

16 Fraser Brown (on for McInally, 56th min):
Made all his tackles and won a crucial turnover
6/10

17 Allan Dell (on for Reid, 45th min):
Did not shy away from the physical exchanges and made all his tackles.
6/10

18 Simon Berghan (on for Nel, 56th min):
Made a handful of tackles, but otherwise no impact.
5/10

19 Josh Strauss (on for Wilson, 56th min):
Got stock in and got through a lot of work on defence.
6/10

20 Jamie Ritchie (on for Skinner, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.

21 Ali Price (on for Laidlaw, 63rd min):
Did the basics well and had one break. Made no tackles.
5/10

22 Adam Hastings (on for Horne, 69th min):
Not enough time to be rated.

23 Chris Harris (on for Hogg, 63rd min):
Had limited opportunities with ball in hand and was exposed on defence on occasion.
5/10

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