Wales player ratings: Jac Morgan flourishes with the captaincy in victory over England

Following Wales’ 20-9 victory over England in Cardiff, here is how we rated Warren Gatland’s charges in their first Rugby World Cup warm-up match.

Wales player ratings v England

15 Leigh Halfpenny: An assured performance from the veteran full-back in his 100th appearance for his country. He made some excellent reads and tackles in the first half while being as solid as ever under the high ball. The experienced outside back also made good decisions with ball in hand and was sharp off the tee. A trademark Halfpenny performance. 8

14 Louis Rees-Zammit: He didn’t get to stretch his legs as much as he would have liked in attack, but it was still a sharp outing from the rapid winger. He made his tackle and got a crucial toe on the ball in the build-up to George North’s score. Came incredibly close to scoring an absolute stunner. 7

Strong midfield

13 George North: He ran a good line to finish off his try while he gave the English midfield a hard time with some good reads on defence. Nort also made an excellent cover tackle before half-time. 7

12 Max Llewellyn: An understated debut for the 24-year-old, who was sharp defensively and mixed up his approach well with good carries and passes. He set the platform for Wales and linked up well with North overall. 6

11 Rio Dyer: A game spent chasing high balls and putting pressure on the England back three. He was bumped off by Joe Cokanasiga, one of four missed tackles in the game. Dyer is a player that needs to get his hands on the ball more going forward. 5

10 Sam Costelow: Not a perfect performance from the young 10, but he can certainly hold his head up high after fronting up defensively as England flooded his channel. He did have a couple of handling errors under the high ball. Costelow pulled the strings well on attack and had more positive moments than negative. Overall a promising outing. 7

9 Gareth Davies: A mixed bag from the experienced number nine who had a few poor passes and kicks. He did have some success with his kicking and attacked around the fringes. Ran a good line to finish off the opening try. 6

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Take a bow, Jac Morgan and Wales. Gareth Davies over. #WALvENGpic.twitter.com/rVUNwTPwOe

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8 Aaron Wainwright: The kind of performance that will do his hopes of a spot in Wales’ Rugby World Cup squad a world of good. It was an all-action outing from the back-rower, shining on both sides of the ball. He won turnovers, made his tackles and gained metres with nearly every carry. 8

Captain fantastic

7 Jac Morgan: Took on the challenge of captaining his country for the first time and flourished with the responsibility. He turned Cokanasiga inside out with his footwork to set up the opening try and landed a thunderous hit on Tom Pearson soon after. Those were some of the highlights of his match but far from his only involvements as he shone defensively and was one the best Welsh players in possession throughout the game. 9

👊 Textbook from @jacmogs7 💪

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6 Christ Tshiunza: A solid game from the blindside flanker who was heavily involved on defence during his 50-minute shift. He struggled to gain much ground with ball in hand but did draw in the defenders. 6

5 Will Rowlands: Back for his first game since November, and he did not look off the pace. He fronted up and got stuck in on defence and put the England lineout under pressure. A reassuring return for Gatland as he prepares to name his World Cup squad. 6

4 Dafydd Jenkins: A strong hour-long shift from the young lock really put himself out there on defence, making the most tackles in the first half (13). He also showed off his softer skills with good passes and cleared out rucks well too. 6

Front-row

3 Keiron Assiratti: A few hiccups in the scrum in the first half, but looked to be coming right before he was replaced in the 50th minute. Gatland is looking for more mobile props, and the debutant certainly ticked that box making nine tackles, won a turnover and made three passes. 6

2 Ryan Elias: The hooker had the opportunity to stake his claim for the starting hooker role, but sadly that lasted just five minutes before he was forced off the pitch with an injury. N/A

1 Corey Domachowski Much like his propping partner, the scrum didn’t quite go his way but thrived in open play. He thundered into 13 tackles during his shift and got stuck into the breakdown. 6

Replacements: The improved second-half performance had a lot to do with the impact on the result, as Wales looked to have worn down Steve Borthwick’s side. Tomos Williams’ added some whip and tempo at scrum-half while Taine Plumtree, Elliot Dee and Ben Carter impressed up front, with Nicky Smith and Henry Thomas improving the scrum. 8

READ MORE: Wales keep England try-less in dour Rugby World Cup warm-up victory