Scotland exited the Rugby World Cup after losing 36-14 to Ireland in the final Pool B game. Gregor Townsend's side required a miraculous result to progress to the quarter-final but the Irish put the game to bed by half-time.
Here's how the players rated in Paris
Blair Kinghorn - Gutting evening for the experienced full-back after he was sent for an early HIA. Kinghorn was unable to continue and his game was curtailed very early on his 50th cap. 5
Darcy Graham - Dazzled last weekend against Romania but he was well-marshalled by Ireland’s brilliant defence. Graham was unable to showcase his attacking excellence and he was targeted under the high ball. 5
Huw Jones - Ireland targeted Scotland’s midfield, especially from rehearsed line-out moves and Jones’ defensive fragility was exposed on several occasions. Scotland couldn’t get him involved with the ball in hand until late on when he showed his ability to burst clear before Price’s try. 6
Sione Tuipulotu - Couple of excellent carries early on and was always a reliable outlet as Scotland built pressure. Tuipulotu, however, was guilty of a poor tackle as Ireland scored the second try and they pinpointed Scotland’s weakness in that area. Set up Scotland’s first try. 7
Duhan van der Merwe - Ireland completed limited one of Scotland’s most dangerous threats. Van der Merwe has been a revelation but he was unable to demonstrate his pace and power. It ended a disappointing World Cup. 5
Finn Russell - Scotland’s talisman tried valiantly to lead his team to a famous win. Not everything came off but his effort can’t be faulted. Some lovely passes as usual but unable to truly control proceedings. Decisions to turn down goal opportunities from early penalties will be debated. 6
Ali Price - Townsend’s big selection call as Price’s experience was favoured. Price delivered quick ball during a period of concerted pressure in the first half. Capped a solid display with an excellent try. 6
Pierre Schoeman - Fortunate to escape punishment for an unnecessary push on Sheehan. Faced an unenvious task against a bruising Irish pack and struggled at points but battled fairly well. 5
George Turner - Scotland’s line-out has been under scrutiny during the World Cup but it functioned reasonably well. Penalised at the breakdown but competed bravely before being replaced by Ewan Ashman just before the hour. 5
READ MORE: Scotland crash out of Rugby World Cup after Ireland's first half excellence
Zander Fagerson - Faced up impressively against a physical Irish. Scrum performed fairly well but Ireland exerted their dominance at the breakdown. Kept his discipline well minus one scuffle and remains a reliable performer for Scotland. 7
Richie Gray - The veteran lock had experienced two previous wins over Ireland but it wasn’t third time lucky. Unlucky to be pinged for a penalty but it was a relatively quiet display on his last World Cup appearance. 6
Grant Gilchrist - Badly exposed early on for James Lowe’s try but poor attempt at a tackle. Absolutely smashed Beirne in one collision but failed to exert his physicality in other moments as Ireland dominated the breakdown. 5
Jamie Ritchie - Hugely frustrating tournament for Scotland’s captain. Forced off with a concussion in the opening game and his exited on 18 minutes against Ireland after sustaining an injury after a tackle on Mack Hansen. 5
Rory Darge - There was plenty of noise pre-match about Townsend’s selection call at flanker and Darge was unable to showcase his athleticism. Still young and will benefit from World Cup experience. 6
Jack Dempsey - Arguably Scotland’s best player. Relieved pressure on a number of occasions with some big carries and was one of the only forwards to consistently get over the gainline. 7
Selected rest:
Euan Ashman - Scored Scotland’s first try after good support play and added some impetus to the play after his introduction. 6
George Horne - Replaced Graham and played on the wing and not his preferred position at scrum-half. 5
Ollie Smith - Early replacement at full-back for Kinghorn but struggled defensively despite some nice handling skills. His silly trip led to a yellow card and that cost his side. 4
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel