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Wales player ratings: Wales against England is always a tough watch for the Welsh supporter. ‘The old enemy’ is the most painful team to lose against and will lead to more scrutiny than any other defeat. Wales went into this game with one win and one loss. A tough visit to Twickenham could make or break Wales’ campaign.
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The first half was gloomy, but the second was more positive for Wayne Pivac’s men. Sadly for Welsh fans, they fell short at the final hurdle.
15. Liam Williams – 5.5
Picked up a deserved yellow card for handling the ball in a silly position. Took some difficult high balls and was typically unpredictable, for better or worse.
14. Alex Cuthbert – 8
Cuthbert’s early break sadly led to nothing, but was a good confidence booster for the winger. The Osprey had a lot of opportunities to run against his old Exeter team-mate Jack Nowell, and generally did very well.
13. Owen Watkin – 5
Didn’t get many opportunities with ball in hand, but didn’t really make any errors before his substitution.
12. Nick Tompkins – 7.5
Put in a great kick to nearly set up Watkin early on and made a handful of dominant tackles. Scored Wales’ second try and slotted into a new distribution role seamlessly.
11. Josh Adams – 7.5
Safe to say it was a smart idea for Pivac to pick Adams in his actual position. Took his try in characteristic fashion. Hopefully this is a return to form for Adams.
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10. Dan Biggar – 6
The fly-half got stuck in on defence, including a big shot on his Northampton teammate Courtney Lawes. His kicking was good, but not to the same heights of his 2015 heroics. Biggar led his team well once again.
9. Tomos Williams – 8.5
Williams kicked well, made a break and gave a fun overhead pass to set up a Cuthbert break, which is worth something. His pass to Adams for Wales’ opening score was exquisite.
1. Wyn Jones – 5
Somehow managed to eek a penalty out of Kyle Sinckler during Wales’ sin-bin period, wasting valuable seconds. Didn’t do anything special, but had an alright game before going off early in the second half.
2. Ryan Elias – 3.5
Elias didn’t get much chance to shine this week. Will take a lot of unfair flak for two dodgy throws, but his jumpers certainly didn’t help him. His performance picked up around the 55 minute mark, before getting substituted 12 minutes later.
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3. Tom Francis – 4
After a strong performance against Scotland, Francis hit a multitude of rucks once again. Was alright around the park, if unflashy.
4. Will Rowlands – 8
Stole multiple promising England lineouts and tackled well. Coupled with some great carries, Rowlands worked hard around the park. One of his best games in a Welsh shirt so far.
5. Adam Beard – 4.5
Wales’ lineout caller Beard made a really poor call to not jump on a promising lineout on the English 5m line, and seemingly repeated this error on his own line for the Dombrandt try. Beard wasn’t bad, but wasn’t quite at his high standards.
6. Ross Moriarty – 5.5
The word to describe Moriarty is usually “hungry”. There’s something telling about him capping off a flashy line break by running directly into Marcus Smith. A decent performance from Moriarty.
7. Taine Basham – 3
Basham is physically tremendous, but still learning the ropes of decision making at Test level. Was substituted at the right time.
8. Taulupe Faletau – 8
Spent the first half refinding his mojo after injury, but came up with plenty of “thank goodness for Taulupe” moments. Always goes forward and doesn’t miss many tackles. A vital cog in Wales’ machine, and a sumptuous athlete.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Dewi Lake – 5
Solid at set-piece and came up with a fantastic jackal turnover at the end. Sadly threw one poor line-out.
17. Gareth Thomas – 5.5
Made a solid impact – carried well and played to Wales’ system.
18. Leon Brown – 5.5
Brown’s cameo during Francis’ HIA went okay – he survived a 5m scrum, which is a daunting prospect from the bench.
19. Seb Davies – 5
Davies is a good impact player – athletic, good carrier and good offloader. Generally stayed on script and played well.
20. Jac Morgan – 6.5
Morgan made a good impact – carried very well and made a half-break at the end.
21. Kieran Hardy – 7.5
Repeated his heroics of last year with a try from a quick tap in the 79th minute. It was bold to put him on, but he provided Wales with some tempo.
22. Gareth Anscombe – 6
A smart substitution – Wales had to play loosely if they were to snatch a win late on, and Anscombe operated nicely as a second distributor.
23. Jonathan Davies – 5.5
Tackled well in typical Jonathan Davies fashion. Didn’t have the same effect as he did against Scotland, but played well overall.
