Scotland player ratings: ‘Finn Russell-like touches’ from Kiwi-born playmaker but half-back partner the ‘star of the show’ in dominant Samoa win
Scotland scrum-half Jamie Dobie and fly-half duo Fergus Burke and Finn Russell earlier in 2025.
Following a 41-12 victory over Samoa in the international clash at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, here are our player ratings for Scotland.
15 Kyle Rowe: A consistent threat in attack as he made metres at will, while Rowe was also brave in defence, which included a big shot on a rampaging Samoan following a break. 8
14 Kyle Steyn: Fewer opportunities to run than his back three colleagues but Steyn still caused problems for the Pacific Islanders in the first half with a few surges down the right. 6
13 Rory Hutchinson: The playmaker in the centre partnership and there were some nice touches from Hutchinson, which included him touching down. 7
12 Stafford McDowall: Ran hard all game and pretty much always made it over the gain line. Also linked the backline nicely with some deft touches. 8
11 Arron Reed: Has enjoyed a good tour overall and probably saw his reputation enhanced by not featuring against Fiji. Particularly lively in the first period with his lightning pace eating up the ground. 7
Excellent half-backs
10 Fergus Burke: Had a fine game after the difficulties Scotland endured against the Flying Fijians. Burke showed some Finn Russell-like touches with the attacking opportunities he spotted to suggest he could eventually take the reins from the great Scottish fly-half. He needs to improve his place-kicking, however. 8
9 Jamie Dobie: The star of the show. Started the game at scrum-half and dictated it superbly. Was lively around the fringes while his passing was crisp, which included a fine pass out for Reed’s try. Then moved to the wing in the second period and worked incredibly hard. 9
8 Matt Fagerson: Scotland’s primary ball carrier up front as Fagerson always made ground, running for over 50 metres overall. The number eight also put in a superb shift defensively in what was a fine all-round effort. 8
7 Rory Darge (c): Defensively put himself about and was overall very effective at close quarters before he got taken off in the second period. 7
6 Andy Onyeama-Christie: Some mistakes here and there but the flanker was another busy player in that Scottish back-row, making a team-high 18 tackles. 7
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Set-piece dominance
5 Grant Gilchrist: Good in the set-piece as always from the lock while he also managed to get himself a rare try when he touched down from close range in the second half. 6
4 Gregor Brown: The 24-year-old has impressed whenever he’s been given an opportunity and Brown was excellent on Friday. He helped put significant pressure on the Samoa lineout while he was also busy around the field. 8
3 Elliot Millar Mills: Got on top in the scrum as it proved to be a key weapon for the Scots in the opening period. Helped them to go into the break with a dominant advantage. 7
2 Ewan Ashman: Performed his set-piece duties very effectively, with both scrum and lineout working well, but on top of that Ashman was powerful in the loose. 7
1 Rory Sutherland: Like Millar Mills, the scrum continually sent the Samoans into reverse as the front-row laid an excellent platform for the rest of the team. 7
Replacements: Scotland increased their lead at the start of the second period, but it rather got scrappy after that. The scrum wasn’t quite as effective when the replacements came on and George Horne couldn’t find the same control as Dobie. They didn’t drop the intensity but the visitors weren’t quite as slick. 5