Wales player ratings: Back-row duo Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric shine in Argentina win

Colin Newboult

Following their 20-13 victory over Argentina at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, here’s the player ratings for Wales.

15 Louis Rees-Zammit: Not perfect but a promising first match at full-back. A lovely run in the opening stages showed his quality while he was also solid in the basics. 7

14 Alex Cuthbert: Not a whole lot to do with ball in hand but good defensively. 6

13 George North: A bad start gave way to an excellent rearguard effort, making his tackles and slowing Argentina’s ball down at the breakdown. Would no doubt like more opportunities in attack but it just wasn’t that sort of match. 7

12 Nick Tompkins: Always busy with ball in hand and proactive in every facet of the game. Surprisingly replaced early in the second period. 6

11 Rio Dyer: A talented runner and solid in most facets of the game. One early run got the Wales fans excited but didn’t get much opportunity after that. 6

10 Gareth Anscombe: Kicked his goals but he failed to ignite the Welsh attack. 6

9 Tomos Williams: An excellent game from the scrum-half, who kicked well, scored an important try and controlled things at the base. 8

Superb back-row performances

8 Taulupe Faletau: Excellent as he pretty much always is. Carries hard, tackles hard and his work ethic is exceptional, while Faletau also has a superb skill set. 8

7 Justin Tipuric (c): A machine in defence, making a staggering 17 tackles. Tipuric is evidently relishing the captaincy responsibility. 8

6 Dan Lydiate: Unfortunately had to go off with an injury early on but was typically effective in defence during his time on the field. 6

5 Adam Beard: Won one crucial turnover on his own line and was excellent in the lineout. 7

4 Will Rowlands: A good shift almost spoiled by an utterly brainless yellow card. To compound matters, he then went off with a nasty-looking arm injury. 6

3 Dillon Lewis: Solid performance from the prop, who gets around the field well. 6

2 Ken Owens: He might be 35 but Owens is still one of the best hookers around. Carried effectively in the tight and was superb defensively, while also hitting his targets in the lineout. 8

1 Gareth Thomas: See Lewis. Did his bit around the field and in the set-piece without really standing out. 6

Replacements: Jac Morgan was utterly immense when coming on and will surely start in their next two Tests against Georgia and Australia. Other than that, there wasn’t much to write home about as Argentina increased the pressure in the second period. 7

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