Scotland winning the first game of the Six Nations by closing out a tight game against a very good team may or may not be the first sign of the impending apocalypse. All I am saying is I wouldn’t completely rule out a plague of locusts at Stade de France next week.

The scariest thing might be that Scotland have the capability to play much better than they did on Saturday.

1. Allan Dell – 5

Yes, he was completely dominated by Furlong in the scrum but does that even matter these days? There was only one scrum in the last 57 minutes of this match and he managed to hold his side up in that one. To be fair, whichever Irishman decided to move the ball away from the base 5m out rather than go for the pushover and inevitable yellow card needs his head read.

2. Fraser Brown – 5

Didn’t really manage to impact the game before going off early with a sore face.

3. Zander Fagerson – 7

All Scotland’s problems in the scrum were on the other side and the lad carried effectively, tackled hard and won an excellent turnover. Fagerson looks completely at home at this level which is amazing for a tight head that has just turned 21. Could end up being one of Scotland’s few genuinely world class players.

4. Richie Gray – 8

Looks like Richie will be claiming the last roast tattie at the Gray Sunday dinner table. 23 tackles, no misses and a lineout steal to go with his 13 carries.

5. Jonny Gray – 7

OMG…………. he missed one…….Jonny Gray missed a tackle! (2 actually). Of course he also made 27 tackles which is apparently a record for a Scottish international or indeed any normal human. There has been a bunch of nonsense talked about his tackles not being dominant enough to impact games. Imagine what kind of impact it has on your defensive game plan to be able to completely rely 100% on your one-out defence. To know that you will never miss a runner within 5-7 metres of the ruck. You can fly up further out knowing that the cutback and inside pass lanes are completely secure. Part of Ireland’s recovery came when they started to hit up further out in the second half once they realised that there was no change coming close to the ruck.

6. Ryan Wilson – 6

Not flashy, but effective which, is of course exactly what you want from your 6. Wilson managed to avoid giving away his usual brain dead penalty or completely avoidable yellow card. Part of a back row which completely nullified their much vaunted opposite numbers.

7. Hamish Watson – 8

Made 19 tackles in his 49 minutes on the field and made the most yardage with ball in hand of any of the Scotland pack. Not bad for your first Six Nations start. A constant nuisance at the breakdown too.

8. Josh Strauss – 6

A quiet game for the bearded one. Strauss didn’t let anybody down but you have to wonder if he will ever manage to transfer his excellent form for Glasgow onto the international stage. Rumoured to be on his way out of Scotstoun which might not be a bad thing all round. Frankly, I am amazed that Bradbury isn’t being given the chance to develop from the bench.

9. Greig Laidlaw – 7.5

The Laidlaw dilemma still needs a solution. His management of the team around the park and his leadership, especially in the last 10 minutes is invaluable. The way he managed the 4×4 drill at the end of the match was brilliant and instantly recognisable from Thursday evening training at every Rugby club in the country. However, he presents no threat with ball in hand and his service is so slow that Russell’s aggressive approach to the gain line is nullified. The Irish defence was far too narrow in this game but it was very seldom set on its heels by quick ball.

10. Finn Russell – 7

A decent game from Scotland’s emerging playmaker but not the barnburner he has been turning out lately. See Laidlaw analysis for details.

11. Tommy Seymour – 5

Difficult to explain why he wasn’t more involved but having watched the game back there were just very few impact moments either with the ball or in defence. Will have much better games, hopefully starting next week.

12. Alex Dunbar – 7

The stats say he missed 5 tackles which is not great from the leader of your defence but given the overall defensive effort those missed tackles didn’t seem to have much effect. Took his try very well.

13. Huw Jones – 5

Another who had a quiet game. The latest shiny young thing in Scotland’s backline looked very like he hadn’t played in months. Not surprising given that hadn’t laced his boots up in anger since early November. Will be all the better for getting this game under his belt. Soon to arrive at Glasgow apparently.

14. Sean Maitland – 8

OK, Maitland did almost nothing in attack but my review rated him as having more positive impacts than any player on the pitch not named Hogg. Try saving tackles and interceptions were just the highlights of a significant defensive effort in the second half. This win is just as much about Maitland as it was about Hogg.

15. Stuart Hogg – 8.5

The most effective attacking threat in the Northern Hemisphere? If your game plan to play Scotland is not designed around stopping him getting the ball in space then you are nuts. If this is what he can do against a defensively sound Irish back 3 then he is going to abuse the French next week. Can you imagine him one on one against Scott Spedding?

Substitutes

Ross Ford stabilised things when he came on for Brown and even managed to break his record for missing an attacking 5m line out in every one of his previous 102 caps….Barclay showed how much his experience is worth in tight games, winning two crucial turnovers in the last 15 minutes……..Weir had one great touchfinder in a short cameo…….Bennett looked lively when he came on late.

By Steve Smith

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images