'A joy to watch' - acclaim, controversy & more in season review
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English casts his expert eye over the recently-ended Scottish rugby season to pick out some favourite moments and performers.Game of the season: Final match of the Under-20 Six Nations. The champions France 45, the fifth-place Scots 40. At various points, France were 13, 14, 15 and 16 points ahead but couldn't shake off a brilliant Scotland effort with some outstanding individual performances to gladden the heart. Five tries for the visitors in a classic.Moment of the season: Darcy Graham responding to his omission from the Lions - an injustice - by scoring a hat-trick against Ulster in his next game. For club and country he's scored 39 tries in his past 50 games - and he's not a Lion?Try of the season: Freddy Douglas putting two French defenders on their backside and eluding two more as he scored up the left wing in the dying moments of that epic U20 game. A remarkable player.Men's player of the year: Torn between Graham (constant game-breaking class), Huw Jones (an incredible attacker), Finn Russell (controlled and inspired as Bath's Premiership and Challenge Cup winning architect), Zander Fagerson (force of nature). The big man went the full 80 in Paris and was still hammering away at the end. Cruelly denied the Lions tour that he richly deserved. Going with Russell. He's just a joy to watch.Women's player of the year: The fact Evie Gallagher was picked on the Six Nations team of the championship just shows you how good she was. There were so many contenders but she was picked as the leading openside. A turnover machine. She topped the stats charts with most steals, with twice as many as anybody else. Averaged 3.2 turnovers per 80 minutes. Terrific.Best Edinburgh player: You can't keep a good man down for long. Hamish Watson roared back into form, bounced defenders like he used to do in the Test arena and was a total menace over ball. He's 33 but the emerging Edinburgh back-rows are going to have to rip the jersey off his back if they want to get in ahead of him.Best Glasgow player: He played 20 games for his club and scored 14 tries, but there's more to George Horne than his outrageous try-scoring record. He's the tempo of the team, the heartbeat, the guy who gets bums off seats. He embodies the best of the Warriors.Highlight: Scotland women beating a fancied Ireland in the final round of the Six Nations. A reminder that it is possible for blue to beat green in Test rugby.Lowlight: Scotland losing limply again to Ireland in the Six Nations. They were 17-0 down after 40 minutes then went another 27 minutes without scoring. Ireland did a physical and psychological number on them once more.Most controversial moment: Tommy Freeman's 'try' at Twickenham? Russell being moved closer to the touchline to an incorrect position for the potentially match-winning conversion? Franco Smith's apparent come-and-get-me interview when asked about the rumours linking him to the Wales job? We'll pick Franco, because it was so out of character. Odd then and still odd now. Everybody loves you Franco, but are you staying or going?
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