Wales player ratings: ‘Bruising’ back-row stand tall but midfield struggle to make impact
Wales slip to 23-16 defeat to the Wallabies-Alamy
Following their 25-16 defeat to the Wallabies in the first Test of the series, here is how we rated the Wales players in the physical encounter in Sydney.
Wales player ratings
15 Liam Williams: An assured performance from the experienced back. Produced a lovely 50:22 to bring Wales back into the arm wrestle, and overall added a calm head to a fresh-faced team. 6
14 Josh Hathaway: A really exciting talent, but the Wallabies clearly did their homework on him. Showed glimpses of his quality, but was often met with multiple defenders to keep him quiet. He nearly notched a late try from Sam Costelow’s cheeky kick, and seemed to be improved following the introduction of the Scarlets fly-half. 6
13 Owen Watkin: Australia targeted his channel a lot in the early stages, and they got plenty of change out of it. Was also kept very quiet in attack, and overall struggled to make an impact. 4
12 Mason Grady: Similar with Watkin, Australia went hard for the midfield and this helped them get on the front foot. He did front up with his one-on-one tackles though. Grady’s point-of-difference is his athleticism, however he was again starved of genuine quality possession to put this to good use when in the centres. Got more involved in the latter stages though when on the wing. 5
11 Rio Dyer: Starved of any genuine possession, which limited his attacking capabilities. Did show his natural finishing instincts in his poachers effort (which was stricken off), but unfortunately struggled to get a foothold in the game. 5
Half-backs
10 Ben Thomas: Gave playing fly-half a good go. Thomas has mostly played at 12 for Cardiff in the URC, however his playmaking skills came to the fore against the Wallabies. He distributed well, but didn’t really threaten the line. Also kicked his goals well, slotting three from three. 6
9 Ellis Bevan: Did his job well, without setting the pitch alight. Distributed well from the base of the ruck and put in some solid kicks in the early exchanges. 6
Back-row
8 Aaron Wainwright: Establishing himself as a genuinely great number eight. He took on more and more of the load in attack as the game went on, and he helped drive Wales through the Australian defence on multiple occasions. Also put in some huge tackles. Worryingly limped off at the end of the match. 7
7 Tommy Reffell: A really strong defensive showing from the Leicester Tigers man. Reffell put himself about with plenty of tackles, and tried to impose himself in the breakdown too as he always does for his country. 7
6 Taine Plumtree: A bruising performance from the blindside flanker. He was involved in all of the physical battles, and put in a few huge tackles to set the tone in Wales’ resurgence. 7
Tight five
5 Dafydd Jenkins: Just a typical workhorse performance from the Exeter Chiefs skipper. He brought heaps of physicality to the Welsh defence, and was very good in the lineout. Made plenty of work for himself. 6
4 Christ Tshiunza: A constant threat in the breakdown, and proved to be a thorn in Australia’s side all game. He often plays at seven for Exeter, and he acted as such even with four on his back. He really complimented the work of Plumtree and Reffell in this area as well. Gave away some crucial penalties late on. 6
3 Archie Griffin: Thrust into the starting team, but grew into the game. His inexperience showed early doors, driven back in the scrum on multiple occasions, but he steadily improved in this area as the game went on. 6
2 Dewi Lake: Scrum didn’t go to plan for a lot of the game, but skipper Dewi Lake was impressive in most other areas. He was again super physical in every facet of his game, and also gave a solid platform from the lineout. 7
1 Gareth Thomas: Was sent to the sin-bin early doors, but luckily for him his team stepped up in his absence. Was also bested in the scrum on multiple occasions, as he was against South Africa. 4
Replacements: This proved to be Wales’ downfall against South Africa, but the Welsh replacements did a good job against the Wallabies. Kemsley Mathias changed the tide in the scrum and James Botham grabbed a try after less than a minute into his stint. Costelow, whilst only afforded a handful of minutes at the end, added a new dynamic to the Welsh attack with his more direct approach. 6