Cardiff player ratings: Wales forward suffers ‘truly torrid day’ but snubbed Test duo impress with brave effort
Taine Basham and Keiron Assiratti in action for Cardiff.
Following a 44-21 defeat to the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship quarter-final at DHL Stadium on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Cardiff.
15 Cam Winnett: Was the beneficiary of Beetham’s pass after the wing made a superb intercept, and that was the highlight of his game. Winnett spent much of the match on the back foot otherwise but did have his moments when they had possession. 6
14 Jacob Beetham: His team-mates were indebted to him when he picked off a stray pass while they were under pressure and sent his full-back over the line, but he had limited chances elsewhere. 6
13 Ben Thomas: Has played a few times at 13 recently and has adapted well, especially defensively. Was solid without the ball and acted mostly as a distributor with it, but there weren’t any real game-breaking moments. 5
12 Rory Jennings: Not the biggest but never shirks contact and Jennings did his bit in defence against a physical Stormers midfield. A decent backs-to-the-wall performance considering the dominance the hosts’ pack had. 5
11 Josh Adams: A tough day for the Wales wing, who had his issues under the high ball and that led to the South African outfit dominating possession and territory. Worked as hard as ever but couldn’t really impact the game too much with the ball. 4
Creative and dangerous
10 Ioan Lloyd: Provided a spark early on by producing a stunning break through the heart of the opposition rearguard and ultimately did as well as he could with the ball he had. Only really made one decision-making error, but it was crucial when his cross-field kick was collected by the Stormers and ended in Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu touching down. However, that shouldn’t detract from what was a fine display. 7
9 Johan Mulder: Like Lloyd, didn’t have a particularly great platform but stayed error-free and was lively when the opportunities presented itself. A good hour’s shift from the South African. 6
8 Taine Basham: While the front five struggled physically, Basham really took it to the hosts with a fine carrying display. The number eight was relentless with the ball and also worked hard without it. 8
7 Dan Thomas: They generally lost the breakdown battle, but the Cardiff flanker did everything he could to change that around. Thomas was excellent at close quarters, winning a crucial turnover at the end of the first half, and tackled his heart out. 7
6 James Botham: Completing a good loose trio display was Botham, who wasn’t quite as effective as the other two but still put himself about to great effect. 6
5 Rory Thornton: Couldn’t doubt his effort at all but found it tough against the Stormers maul and scrum, and was eventually replaced early in the second period. 5
4 Josh McNally: Plenty of good, including disrupting that aforementioned maul and being faultless in the air, but there were a couple of penalties which blotted his copybook. Still, he was very effective in most facets. 7
Very tough day at the office
3 Keiron Assiratti: A truly torrid day for the tighthead, who was penalised regularly and eventually yellow carded for his set-piece indiscretions. Then picked up an injury upon his return and was duly replaced. 2
2 Liam Belcher (c): Lineout was solid but couldn’t really impose himself physically and was one of those to be replaced early in the second half. 5
1 Rhys Barratt: Wasn’t picked out as much as Assiratti but was still part of a scrum which went backwards and Barratt’s impact was limited elsewhere. 4
Replacements: It’s always fun watching Tom Bowen, who’s lively, enthusiastic and dangerous when he gets the ball in hand, but he didn’t get many opportunities in space. Elsewhere, the front-row wasn’t quite as exposed in the scrum, but none of the bench could really turn the tide. 5