Andy Bull 

Scotland marks out of 10: Johnnie Beattie shines against England

Scottish No8 Johnnie Beattie was given the highest marks for his tireless display during the 15-15 draw with England at Murrayfield
  
  

Scotland v England - RBS Six Nations
Scotland's Johnnie Beattie is tackled by Dan Cole and Steve Borthwick of England at Murrayfield. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Hugo Southwell full-back – 5

Keen to come into the line, always looking for openings but never seemed to find them. When did get a sniff, he tossed the ball straight into touch.

Sean Lamont wing – 4

Bumped off Hartley as though he was made of gutta-percha, but for all his strength he showed all the penetration of a blunt butter knife.

Nick De Luca centre – 6

Brought in for his tackling, added considerable incisiveness and power to the Scotland midfield in attack. Robinson finally got his midfield selection right.

Graeme Morrison centre –7

Made a glorious dump tackle on Monye, and showed a lot more crash, bang and wallop going forward than he had in previous championship outings.

Max Evans wing – 6

Saw a lot of the ball, but never made more than a half-break. So small and slight that he spent a lot of time being tossed around like a rag doll.

Dan Parks scrum-half – 5

Made two of the most embarrassingly wayward drop-goal attempts you'll ever see. The control shown against Wales a distant memory.

Chris Cusiter (capt) fly-half – 6

Bossed, cajoled and harried his team as a captain, standing up to Borthwick. Snappy around the fringes and quick in delivery, he outshone Care.

Allan Jacobsen prop – 4

Quick hands to put De Luca through a gap, but had a torrid time at the scrum, consistently failing properly to bind, which led to a series of collapses.

Ross Ford hooker – 5

Seemed to get mixed up with some of the calls at the lineout, but had a fair afternoon despite that. Got up Hartley's nose. Not that that's too hard to do.

Euan Murray prop – 4

Should be cornerstone for the entire Scotland scrum, but he seems a little way off his best. As it was, he kept parity with the men opposite him, but no more.

Jim Hamilton lock – 4

Gave away a moronic penalty at the start of the second half, gifting England three points. A big man, but fails to make enough of an impression in the loose.

Alastair Kellock lock – 5

Steady in the lineout, which has been the best in the championship, but spent too much time hidden in the mess of bodies around the breakdown.

Kelly Brown flanker – 7

Made an absolute nuisance of himself all match long, wrecking England's possession and scything down their runners at close quarters.

John Barclay Flanker – 6

England must have been tipped off by his barnstorming brilliance in the past three matches. They kept a tight rein on him, so not as dominant as he can be.

Johnnie Beattie No8 – 8

England kept Barclay quiet, but that only made more room for Beattie. Put his head down to thump his way down the centre time and again. Man of the match.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*