Scotland player ratings | Autumn Nations Series 2024

Going into the four-match Autumn Nations Series the general consensus was that Scotland needed to beat Fiji and Portugal convincingly, give the Springboks a run for their money and close out the year with a win over Australia. So, in that sense, it was a job well done.

The 27-13 win over the Wallabies was Gregor Townsend's 50th in charge of Scotland and their ninth victory of 2024 - a record for a calendar year - but, more importantly, it went some way to ridding Scotland of their reputation as a team that flatters to deceive.

The blend of Tier 1 and Tier 2 opposition enabled Townsend to give the youngsters he'd blooded on the summer tour to the Americas further game time whilst also reintroducing some of his big guns back into the Test arena.

As a test of Scotland's strength in depth, it was an invaluable month. With wholesale changes made for the Portugal game not one player started every match and Rory Sutherland was the only ever-present, coming off the bench in each of the four fixtures.

Forty-five players were named in the original Autumn Nations squad and only two - centre Mosese Tuipolotu and prop Nathan McBeth - failed to get any senior game time, although the former appeared for Scotland A against Chile the night before the Wallabies Test. Johnny Matthews was left out originally but was called up alongside the unused Alec Hepburn as front-row cover.

Here are the RugbyPass Autumn Nations Series 2024 ratings:

BACK-THREE (5)

Darcy Graham – 9

3 starts, 225 minutes, 5 tries, 25 pts: Returned to Test rugby after 13 months with a bang. Looked as dangerous as he was last year with his footwork and pace bamboozling defenders. Missed the Springboks game due to a failed HIA.

Tom Jordan – 8.5

2 starts, 1 sub, 1 unused sub, 193 minutes, 2pts: Shone on first-ever start at full-back against the Springboks and then delivered a player of the match performance against Portugal. Looked totally at ease in Test rugby.

Blair Kinghorn – 8.5

2 starts, 160 minutes, 0pts: Deployed on the wing by Scotland for the first time in four years against South Africa and had few opportunities. But he was superb on the counter attack when restored to full-back against Australia, earning the player of the match accolade.

Arron Reed – 7.5

1 start, 80 minutes, 2 tries, 10pts: Razor-sharp, 80-minute two-try display against Portugal. Unfortunate to have Scotland's two leading try-scorers for competition but proved he's ready and able to step up when required.

Kyle Rowe – 7

1 start, 2 sub, 1 unused sub, 55 mins, 1 try, 5pts: Scored Scotland's first try of the autumn against Fiji and looked lively until a hamstring injury curtailed his involvement.

Duhan van der Merwe – 7.5

3 starts, 240 minutes, 2 tries, 10pts: Not as many involvements as he'd have hoped for but was as unstoppable as always whenever he did get the ball and became the first Scotland player to reach 30 Test tries.

MIDFIELD (4)

Matt Currie – 5

1 sub, 22 minutes, 0pts: Portugal exposed a few defensive frailties as the game became loose late on.

Rory Hutchinson – 7

1 start, 80 minutes, 0pts: Found himself back in favour for the first time in over two years and took his chance with a good display against Portugal, making two incisive line breaks and coming up with a brilliant offload for a try.

Huw Jones – 8

3 starts, 240 minutes, 2 tries, 10pts: Made the joint-most line breaks of any centre in a men’s Tier 1 Test match this decade against Fiji (5) and scored two tries, and had another very good game against South Africa. Relatively quiet against Australia but, overall, he furthered his Lions claims over the autumn. 

Staff McDowall – 5.5

1 start, 2 sub, 103 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Captained Scotland against Portugal and scored a 50-metre intercept try. Appeared to be running through treacle though, and lacks the gas to be a top-end Test centre.

Sione Tuipulotu – 8

3 starts, 240 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Led Scotland with distinction on what was a heart-warming autumn all-round for the Glasgow centre. Came up with plenty of deft pop passes to fix the opposition's defensive line, as well as carrying hard throughout. First Test try for over two years against the country of his birth capped a fine campaign.

FLY-HALF (2)

Adam Hastings – 8

2 starts, 145 minutes, 27pts: Hardly put a foot wrong and can count himself unlucky not to feature in the two big Tests after 17 points and a brilliant no-look, behind-the-back pass to set up Van der Merwe against Fiji.

Finn Russell – 6

2 starts, 160 minutes, 1 try, 27pts: Kicked five from five against South Africa but was only successful with half of his six attempts against Australia. Failed to produce the magical touches we've come to expect from him but a first Test try since March 2021 was a nice way to sign off.

SCRUM-HALF (4)

Jamie Dobie – 7

3 sub, 64 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Livewire. Covered scrum-half and the wing. Deserved his well-taken try against Portugal.

George Horne – 6.5

1 start, 1 sub, 65 minutes, 0pts: Suffered a whiplash injury in his only start against Portugal but came on in the final quarter against Australia to help his team finish with a flourish.

Ali Price – 4

1 start, 49 minutes, 0pts: Restored to the starting line-up for the first time since last year’s World Cup in the opener against Fiji but failed to make any of the matchday 23s after a quiet performance. 

Ben White – 8

2 starts, 132 minutes, 0pts: Justified Townsend's faith in him as the main man with two strong performances in the two big Tests. Denied a try against the Springboks because of an earlier knock-on and then blocked by Tom Wright in another promising attacking position in the Australia game. Good service, on-point kicking and plenty of feistiness.

LOOSEHEAD (3)

Jamie Bhatti – 5

1 starts, 50 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Broke his Test try duck in only appearance of the autumn against Portugal.

Pierre Schoeman – 7

3 starts, 171 minutes, 0pts: Solid scrummaging effort but not as many of those eye-catching bullocking runs fans have become accustomed to.

Rory Sutherland – 5

4 sub, 82 minutes, 0pts: Made little difference in the tight or the loose.

HOOKER (4)

Ewan Ashman – 6.5

3 starts, 162 minutes, 0pts: Scored four tries on the summer tour but failed to cross the whitewash in the autumn, instead picking up his second yellow card against Fiji. Responsible for a couple of failed big lineouts against Australia but was generally sound in the other games, with an overall success rate of 89%.

Patrick Harrison – 5

1 start, 65 minutes, 0 pts: Carried well and often in his only appearance against Portugal but 3 of his 13 throws went awry.

Johnny Matthews – 5

1 sub, 15 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Left out of the original squad but enhanced his try-scoring record in the 15 minutes he was on the park against Portugal. Only nailed one of his three throws, though.

Dylan Richardson – 6

3 subs, 70 minutes, 0pts: Bridged a 959-day gap between his debut and second Test when he came off the bench against Fiji. A solid base to build on.

TIGHT-HEAD (4)

Zander Fagerson –8

3 starts, 197 minutes, 0pts: Won several scrum penalties over the autumn and showed up well on both sides of the ball to enhance his reputation as Scotland's premier tight-head.

Will Hurd – 7

1 start, 58 minutes, 1 try, 5pts: Touched down with 3 minutes 24 seconds on the clock v Portugal. The fastest try scored by Scotland in the past four years made for a dream debut for the Leicester player. 

Elliot Millar-Mills – 5

2 subs, 45 minutes, 0pts: Struggled at scrum-time when he came on against the Boks but showed up better against Portugal, which probably shows you where he is at in Test rugby.

D'Arcy Rae – 5

1 sub, 15 minutes, 0pts: Earned only his second cap for Scotland, five years after his first, off the bench against Fiji. Not enough time to make much of an impression. 

LOCK (6)

Alex Craig – 5

1 starts, 1 sub, 72 minutes, 0pts: Coughed up a couple of penalties in his only start against Portugal, but was reliable enough in other facets of his game.

Scott Cummings – 7

3 starts, 151 minutes, 0pts: Can consider himself very unlucky to get Scotland's first-ever 20-minute red card, for targeting Franco Mostert's lower limb. Handed a one-match ban and sat out the Portugal game which he would probably have missed anyway. Extremely industrious in the time he was on the pitch.

Grant Gilchrist – 7

3 starts, 232 minutes, 0pts: Finished the year with unblemished tackle stats of 73 out of 73, including 39 in the autumn. Solid in every sense of the word.

Ewan Johnson – 5

1 sub, 30 minutes, 0pts: Made a couple of handling errors in the half an hour he was on the pitch but added physicality at a time when Portugal needed to be kept in check.

Alex Samuel – 5.5

1 start, 68 minutes, 0pts: Claimed plenty of lineout ball and was an eager carrier and tackler. Also got a couple of offloads away on debut against Portugal.

Max Williamson – 5.5

Came on much earlier than expected against the Boks after Cummings' dismissal. Had a tough time making ground against such a physical defence and slipped off a couple of tackles but did come up with a breakdown steal. Had a more productive time off the bench against Fiji.

BACK-ROW (9)

Josh Bayliss – 8

1 start, 2 subs, 105 mins, 2 tries, 10pts: Brought plenty of athleticism to the back row and scored the try – his second in as many games – that effectively secured victory against Australia. Appeared in all the three squads he was available for.

Gregor Brown –5

1 sub, 12 minutes, 0pts: Didn't feature after the briefest of appearances against Fiji.

Luke Crosbie – 6

1 start, 80 minutes opts: Still struggling to force his way back in after a shoulder injury curtailed his Six Nations campaign. Put in a big defensive shift against Portugal but still has ground to make up on the frontline back-rowers. 

Rory Darge – 7

3 starts, 203 minutes, 0pts: Cemented his reputation as one of the standout defensive back-rows in European rugby. Made 46 tackles and didn't miss one. Didn't impose himself as much as he'd have hoped with ball in hand or as a link player in attack.

Jack Dempsey – 7

2 starts, 131 minutes, 0pts: A force to be reckoned with as a ball carrier in the first two games but injury cut short his autumn.

Freddy Douglas – 6

1 sub, 15 minutes, 0pts: Scotland's youngest debutant since 1963 got stuck in straight away, making 7 tackles in the short time he was on the field against Portugal.

Matt Fagerson – 6.5

3 starts, 240 minutes, 0pts: Won his 50th cap against Australia. Delivered the type of hard-working performances we've come to expect from him, both at six and as an eight, but failed to take his game on to the next level.

Ben Muncaster – 5

1 start, 65 minutes, 0pts: Broke through three tackles but was also guilty of missing three himself in his only outing against Portugal.

Jamie Ritchie – 6

1 start, 1 sub, 100 minutes, 0pts: Missed out on selection against Fiji and Portugal and made little impact off the bench against the Boks. Saved his best until last with a typically no-frills, hard-working display in his only start against the Wallabies.

Ratings index: 10/10 – Perfect, 9. Exceptional, 8. Very good, 7. Good, 6. Satisfying, 5. Average, 4. Insufficient, 3. Bad, 2. Very bad, 1. Terrible, 0. Unacceptable. *Players listed by position and in alphabetical order.