Player ratings: Dour Scots scrape home
Scotland managed a 15-6 win over Georgia in a tryless World Cup game at Rugby Park in Invercargill on Wednesday.
As the scoreline suggests, the Scottish team’s performance was every bit as dour as the weather in this far-flung South island city.
Jan de Koning rates the Scotland players:
15 Rory Lamont:
He was solid at the back in the face of some testing conditions and probing kicking by the Georgians. But it was by no means faultless.
6/10
14 Max Evans:
Had a few runs from deep, but was reduced to helping out at the breakdown all too often.
5/10
13 Nick De Luca:
He had a couple of really big runs, but his finishing touches lacked. Was solid on defence though.
6/10
12 Graeme Morrison:
He had plenty of opportunities, but like most of the Scottish players lacked the clinical finishing expected of a team ranked in the top 10. Was sound on defence against the strong-running Georgians.
5/10
11 Sean Lamont:
There was a neat break early in the second half and at times tested the Georgian defence with his strong runs. He was also forced to tend to many breakdowns.
6/10
10 Dan Parks:
His kicking game was nowhere near his usual standards… in fact, it was shocking – not to mention some very poor options.
4/10
9 Rory Lawson (captain):
Threw some passes that looked like he was playing ‘hot potato’ and also had a kick charged down.
4/10
8 Kelly Brown:
Produced some good cover and support play, while he also worked very hard at the breakdown. Produced some good line-out play and couple of decent turnovers.
7/10
7 Ross Rennie:
Had one decent run in the first half, but faded as the game went on.
5/10
6 Ally Strokosch:
He often carried the ball up and was Scotland’s most effective forward. Also produced some impressive work at the breakdown.
8/10
5 Jim Hamilton:
He was fine in the set-pieces, against a very limited Georgian team, but offered little else.
5/10
4 Nathan Hines:
Was fine at the set-pieces, but his work-rate could have been better.
5/10
3 Euan Murray:
He was very strong at scrum time – the one area where Scotland really dominated. Had a few carries, with limited success.
5/10
2 Ross Ford:
He worked hard at the breakdown, but his attempts at taking the ball up were not always very effective.
6/10
1 Allan Jacobsen:
He took the ball up often, but struggled to make any real progress in the face of some strong Georgian defence. Was part of a dominant scrum.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Dougie Hall:
Not used.
17 Geoff Cross:
Not used.
18 Alasdair Dickinson:
Not used.
19 Richie Gray (on for Nathan Hines, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Richie Vernon:
Not used.
21 Chris Cusiter:
Not used.
22 Chris Paterson (on for Rory Lamont, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.
