RUGBY - Scotland 9-15 England player ratings: Who was YOUR man of the match at Murrayfield?

Tries from George Kruis and Jack Nowell secured the Calcutta Cup for Eddie Jones' men, in his first match in charge

 

In action: Vunipola charges at the Scotland line

England kicked their Six Nations campaign off with a hard-fought 15-9 win over Scotland at Murrayfield.
With head coach Eddie Jones in charge for the first time, the visitors started brightly as George Kruis went over inside the first 15 minutes.

Scotland reduced the arrears to 7-6 at the break but again England stopped their momentum when Jack
Nowell secured their second try and the Calcutta Cup.

Our man Alex Spink was particularly impressed with Billy Vunipola's showing for the visitors.

Here are his complete England player ratings.

 

England

Mike Brown 7 - Spilled a restart and got feisty at the end, but does his bits and pieces without fuss and to a consistently high level
Anthony Watson 6 - A couple of runs behind gain line. Frustrating evening. A thoroughbred kept on the lead rein
Jonathan Joseph 6 - Try-saving tackle on Seymour. Little impact that apart as spent much of the game going sideways instead of forwards
Owen Farrell 7 - Ice-cool with the boot once again. As a competitor he is the beating heart of this team

Jack Nowell 7 - Surprised Scots by lining up on right wing. Lively throughout and rewarded with fine team try
George Ford 6 - Little control in first half when he was unable to put shape on England’s game. Grew into game after break
Danny Care 6 - Lasted 55 minutes and was busy and energetic but can’t think he will be overjoyed with his return
Joe Marler 6 - Scrum solid but hardly dominant. Little impact in loose. Mako Vunipola (7) replaced him on 49 mins and immediately set up try

Dylan Hartley (capt) 6 - A winning start for the skipper who also contributed fully to scrum and lineout solidity
Dan Cole 7 - Held scrum square for Kruis’ try. Good response to World Cup setback. Important player for Jones going forward
Joe Launchbury 6 - Worked tirelessly as always but subbed off early in the second half in favour of Courtney Lawes (6)
George Kruis 7 - A young guy with a big future. Brought his season-long decent form for Saracens to the international arena and deserved his try

Chris Robshaw 7 - The workaholic presence England fans know and love. An arm-wrestle like this is his sort of contest. AFC great value
James Haskell 8 - So much was expected of Scotland’s breakaways, but he more than stood up to the challenge
Billy Vunipola 9 - Carried well, physical throughout. Would have appreciated a bit of help but no matter. Immense performance

Scotland

Stuart Hogg 7 - Gifted footballer who, despite his best efforts, will be hugely frustrated by Scotland’s lack of creativity and cutting edge

Sean Maitland 5 - Told England how he grew up being taught to dislike them. His performance was rather less notable

Mark Bennett 6 - One of Scotland’s new generations of talented players, always provides a presence in midfield

Matt Scott 6 - Not a day to remember for either midfield. Scott made his tackles. Not too much more to add

Tommy Seymour 6 - Had a couple of chances, but after tries in his previous five Tests failed to equal the century-old Scottish record

Finn Russell 6 - For such a gifted footballer he will curse Scotland’s failure to get near the try line in these Calcutta Cup games

Greg Laidlaw (capt) 6 - Rare miss at goal, in first half, proved costly to Scottish momentum and belief. Will kick himself for that

Al Dickinson 6 - Scrummaged well on an area where neither side enjoyed a tangible advantage

Ross Ford 6 - Lasted just over an hour and kept Dylan Hartley honest. It was an achievement of sorts, but not the he he was after

WP Neil 7 - This guy can scrum. he is a rock and his reputation was not damaged by this run-out

Richie Gray 6 - Worked hard and a return of only three penalties for his team is unlikely to impress him

Jonny Gray 6 - A top player who won his share of ball without pulling up any trees.

John Barclay 6 - We expected so much from Scotland’s breakaways and felt slightly let down

John Hardie 6 - An early burst away from a ruck threatened a try, that apart spent the day fighting fires

David Denton 6 - No escape from that losing feeling for Denton, after weeks of defeats at Bath

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