Six Nations 2017: Scotland v Ireland – player ratings from Murrayfield Stadium

RUCK runs the rule over the Scotland and Ireland teams after Saturday’s Six Nations opener.

Who were your star performers?!…

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Scotland:

15 Stuart Hogg: Played his usual game, attacking from deep with pace and precision. His two first half tries, especially the second, showed exactly why he’s a favourite to go on tour with the Lions later this year. 9/10

14 Sean Maitland: Saved Scotland twice in the second half with a crucial interception and last ditch tackle. His defence was superb. 7.5/10

13 Huw Jones: His lack of game time through injury showed early on but he quickly settled. He and Dunbar were a very solid midfield combination. 6.5/10

12 Alex Dunbar: His exceptional try off a very clever lineout move was coupled with a relentless defensive performance. 7/10

11 Tommy Seymour: Arguably should have intercepted prior to Keith Earls try but overall played fairly well, 6.5/10

10 Finn Russell: A few nice moments but didn’t control the game as he would have liked. 6.5/10

9 Greig Laidlaw (c): The captain dictated play very well and kicked exceptionally in difficult conditions. 8/10

8 Josh Strauss: The bearded one was abrasive at the breakdown throughout. 7/10

7 Hamish Watson: The flankers strong carrying, 16 tackles and relentless work at the breakdown was crucial to the hosts winning some crucial turnovers. 7.5/10

6 Ryan Wilson: Some people wondered why he was starting ahead of Barclay, but 18 tackles later combined with some great breakdown work there were no doubters. 7.5/10

5 Jonny Gray: 28 tackles in another superb performance. He’s in a lot of peoples Lions XV for good reason. 8/10

4 Richie Gray: The mountain combined well with his brother and made some valuable lineout steals 7/10

3 Zander Fagerson: The youngster was severely tested in the scrum but did alright overall. 6.5/10

2 Fraser Brown: Struggled while on and didn’t last long due to a blood injury. 3.5/10

1 Allan Dell: The prop had a tough afternoon against a relentless Irish pack. 5/10

Replacements: 16 Ross Ford 6/10, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Tim Swinson 5.5/10, 20 John Barclay 6/10, 21 Ali Price, 22 Duncan Weir 4.5/10, 23 Mark Bennett 5/10

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Ireland:

15 Rob Kearney: Carried strongly and was at the heart of Ireland’s second half fightback 7/10

14 Keith Earls: Great try and was a problem for Scotland all afternoon. His defence nevertheless was very questionable 6.5/10

13 Garry Ringrose: The young Irish prodigy was quiet. 5/10

12 Robbie Henshaw: Worked very hard, but didn’t get very far. 5.5/10

11 Simon Zebo: Just not himself. A few bad clearances and positioning cost Ireland 5/10

10 Paddy Jackson: Proved any doubters wrong with an excellent display. He missed one kick but made up for it with a great try. 7.5/10

9 Conor Murray: 7/10

8 Jamie Heaslip: Made a good, early hit on Finn Russell. A couple of strong carries but nowhere near his best 6.5/10

7 Sean O’Brien: Despite his injury problems in recent times, O’Brien continues to be one of the world’s best ball carriers. 8/10

6 CJ Stander: Could not stamp his influence on the game as he usually does. 6.5/10

5 Devin Toner: Made 14 tackles and very strong in Ireland’s second half blitz. A constant in the lineout. 6.5/10

4 Iain Henderson: Scored a second-half try to bring Ireland back into things in the second half but also conceded two turnovers. 6/10

3 Tadgh Furlong: A beast throughout. 7/10

2 Rory Best (c): Overall, not great. Nevertheless, Ireland were still 12 out of 14 on the lineout and he made 12 tackles. 6/10

1 Jack McGrath: Was central in Ireland’s massive first scrum dominance but was quiet by his beastly standards .6/10

Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy (5/10), 18 John Ryan (4/10), 19 Ultan Dillane (3/10), 20 Josh van der Flier (5/10), 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Tommy Bowe (3/10)