Player ratings: Sub-par Scots

Scotland let themselves down against South Africa at Murrayfield on Saturday after showing some promise against New Zealand.

A heavy 51-22 defeat aside, Scotland were optimistic ahead of their battle against the Springboks after becoming the first team to score three tries against the All Blacks this year.

Six days on, however, the Scots managed just a sole set-piece try against an organised South African defence and despite never letting up, the hosts never threatened to pull off a comeback.

Quintin van Jaarsveld rates the Scotland players.

15 Stuart Hogg

Shaky in the last line of defence and kicked poorly out of hand.

5.5/10

14 Sean Lamont

Far and away the most committed and energetic of the Scottish backs on the day. His workrate was exemplary and made him the best of the four starting wings.

7/10

13 Nick de Luca

His ball-retention issues of last weekend continued but he did enjoy a measure of success with ball in hand as he eluded a couple of would-be defenders.

6/10

12 Matt Scott

Made a few strong runs but lost the physical battle against Jean de Villiers by some distance.  

5.5/10

11 Tim Visser

The Dutchman’s anonymous outing summed up Scotland’s poor attacking display.

5.5/10

10 Greig Laidlaw

The greatest of his errors, amongst which were two missed tackles and conceding a penalty, was his missed penalty. It was a demoralising mistake.

5/10

9 Mike Blair

Made some key tackles but his decision-making and execution were atrocious and his long ball was intercepted by Adriaan Strauss.  

3/10

8 David Denton

While he made little ground he played his heart out, carrying the ball no less than 16 times.

6.5/10

7 John Barclay

The veteran turned in an impressive performance given he was a late replacement for Alasdair Strokosch. Great on defence.

7/10

6 Kelly Brown

A prominent ball-carrier and good on defence but guilty of conceding two penalties.

6/10

5 Jim Hamilton

Almost a one-man army in the line-outs as he took most of the responsibility on himself.

6/10

4 Richie Gray

A hard knock in the tackle ended his participation early. Perhaps a blessing in disguise as he battled against Eben Etzebeth in the line-outs.

5/10

3 Euan Murray

Struggled in the scrums but made some amends with his workrate on defence.

6/10

2 Ross Ford

His inconsistent line-out throwing cost Scotland dearly, none more so than his skew ball from a five-metre attacking line-out with the score at 21-10.

5/10

1 Ryan Grant

Solid in the scrums and a willing ball-carrier.

6/10

16 Dougie Hall (on for Ford, 68th minute)

Not enough time to be rated.

17 Kyle Traynor

Not used.

18 Geoff Cross (on for Murray, 68th minute)

Not enough time to be rated.

19 Alastair Kellock (on for Gray, 21st minute)

Struggled to keep up with the pace of the game and shied away from the donkey work.

5.5/10

20 Stuart McInally

Not used.

21 Henry Pyrgos (on for Blair, 47th minute)

The man who sparked the Scottish resurgence with his play-making vigour and easy run in from a line-out.

7.5/10

22 Ruaridh Jackson (on for Laidlaw, 68th minute)

Not enough time to be rated.

23 Peter Murchie

Not used.