Articles by Mark Atkinson

Technology

Scotland player ratings in USA drubbing as two men land 10s and one lively debutant in record win

Scotland prepared for next weekend’s match against New Zealand with a 85-0 annihilation of USA at Murrayfield. Winger Darcy Graham and scrum-half Jamie Dobie landed hat-tricks and Duhan van der Merwe, on his 50th cap, crossed the whitewash twice. There were tries for Dylan Richardson, Kyle Rowe, George Horne, Ollie Smith and captain Stafford McDowall. Adam Hastings kicked ten points, while Horne landed ten from the boot as well. Scotland were without players based in England and France, but there was no need for them. USA were one of the worst international teams to visit Murrayfield and contributed to their own downfall with some awful defending. This result is Scotland’s biggest winning margin at Murrayfield, eclipsing a 48-0 win over Spain in 1999. They fell short of breaking the all-time record victory, an 100-8 trouncing of Japan in 2004, although after an electric first half with 45 points on the board, the prospect was there. Edinburgh duo Liam McConnell and Harri Morris made their debuts but there are likely to be many changes when the All Blacks visit Edinburgh on Saturday. Here are marks out of ten for the Scotland starters at Murrayfield.

Technology

Celtic rocked as star player faces 5-month lay-off as injury crisis deepens ahead of Hearts title clash

Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is facing a five-month absence after injuring his Achilles during Thursday’s 2-1 win over Sturm Graz. Carter-Vickers was carried off the pitch by a physio at the of the Europa League match and manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed the centre-half has suffered a significant injury. It comes as a major blow for Celtic ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premiership match against Hearts at Tynecastle, with the defending champions - who trial the Jam Tarts by five points - also set to without right-back Alistair Johnston plus forwards Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho due to hamstring issues. “It’s not great news,” Rodgers said on Friday afternoon. “He looks like he’s done his Achilles which could mean he’s out for anything between three and five months. So we’re just awaiting confirmation of that. “Cam’s been a very important member of the squad and been a great centre-half for the club. But I always think what it does is opens the door and gives an opportunity to someone else. “That opportunity came to Liam Scales and he’s been brilliant during my time here and you saw his performance last night, he was so good. “He's been my most consistent player [second time around]. He's been absolutely fantastic. He's been a real robust stalwart for the team. “You see how strong he was against Graz. He can score goals. I said before that we need everyone to contribute to goals. The goal comes from us playing at the tempo. We get the ball in, we get it going quickly. And then he makes the finish look a lot easier than what it was. “I thought he was one of our really outstanding players.”

Technology

Scathing James Tavernier Rangers comments get strong defence as Danny Rohl makes 'my job' admission

Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell says Rangers captain James Tavernier is within his right to deliver scathing comments about the Ibrox side - and he expects a strong reaction from them on Sunday when Killie travel to Govan. The “raging” 33-year-old full-back described as “disgraceful” the Light Blues’ 3-0 Europa League defeat by Brann in Bergen on Thursday night in Danny Rohl’s first game as Gers head coach as Rangers were left bottom of the 36-team league phase table with no points from three fixtures. Kettlewell, whose side are one point ahead of sixth-placed Gers in the Premiership, said: “I think their own captain’s entitled to that, when you’ve done what he’s done at the football club and you’ve been there as long as he has been. “I’m a massive fan of James Tavernier, I have been for many, many years, so I’ll always show the utmost respect. He’s entitled to speak that way and he’s entitled to say the words that he did. I’m not, because I’ve not played, coached or managed for Rangers. So again, I always talk about walking in the shoes. He’ll understand the standards expected. “So from that point of view, I’ll analyse the performance and how they played, but I’ll not pass comment about what I thought about it or starting to give clear description of what other people may or may not think. “I get this narrative at the minute that everybody’s jumping on the bandwagon, people will be talking about that result not being good enough last night. But again, when you start to look at it closely, there are a lot of good players in that Rangers squad. “There’s been heavy investment to make sure that they bring in what they feel are top players and guys that can really flourish at the football club. So I suppose from my side, I get and acknowledge that it’s not been the start in performances at Rangers supporters, staff or players would be expecting. “But I’m also the guy that really expects the best version of them on Sunday. And I think if you go there imagining something different, you’re very, very naive and sometimes I think that’s where you can get a smack in the face.” Rohl admits has to “find solutions as soon as possible” following Rangers’ chastening reversal in Bergen. “We have high standards at Rangers and we were not on point there,” the German head coach said. “You see exactly where we are at the moment. I think that game gave me a lot of information, my job now is to find solutions as soon as possible. “I have to develop and improve the players. I have to develop and improve the group. This is what I have to do. This is my job. We played a team who were organised, aggressive and did the basics right, and we didn’t. But my job is to lift them again, give them the solutions, and be ready on Sunday.” Rohl did not talk about poorly-conceded goals in isolation but focused on the dismal performance as a whole. “I think we have to speak about the poor performance of the team and it was not good enough,” he continued. “I think everybody was hoping that we would start when I arrived, but in football, you can wish something, but it is reality and I have to work hard with my group, with my players, but I’m totally convinced we can make the turnaround. “This is where we are, we want to play football, we are involved in this business, we are part of a big club. And we have to understand the demand and the demand is winning games. “I learned a lot about individual profiles from players, to see them on the pitch, to see them under pressure, what they can do, what we have to improve. And this is my job now to find quick solutions.”