Wales player ratings: ‘Perfect’ replacements save countrymen from ‘jaws of defeat’ while Louis Rees-Zammit struggles with technical ‘rust’
Wales player ratings:
Jarrod Evans stepped up to convert the match-winning penalty in overtime on Saturday evening, as Wales defeated Japan 24-23 at the Principality Stadium.
Here’s how we rated the Wales players.
Backs
15 Blair Murray: It was a mixed performance from the exciting full-back. He was stepped too easily during an early Japan break, and later dropped the ball on the right flank when his side were on the attack. He did look threatening at times, using his fast feet to put Japan off balance, but was sadly not always on the same page as his teammates. 5
14 Louis Rees-Zammit: Stepped far too easily by Japan’s full-back, and was poor in defence. Looked to be forcing things at times, as he desperately tried to muster up the moment of magic that would take his side into the lead. Looked like he was going to score a worldie when breaking from his own half, before having the ball knocked out of his hand in a great recovery tackle by a retreating Japanese player. Will be pleased to have scored his first try for Wales since returning from the NFL, but looked rusty in much of the technical action. 5
13 Max Llewellyn: It was an incredibly quiet performance from the Gloucester centre, but he did notably make a brilliant tackle to force a Japan player into touch at a vital moment. 5
12 Ben Thomas: Played more of a playmaking role than anything else. Often spotted simply shifting the ball to those around him, as he preferred to keep the ball moving as opposed to making something happen while with it. 5
11 Josh Adams: Great in the air and looked threatening in attack. After receiving a yellow card at the end of the first half, he returned to find it upgraded to a 20-minute red, meaning an early bath for the star. 4
10 Daniel Edwards: After a poor showing last week, he made much more of an impact this week. He scored a terrific try, made a brilliant tackle to stop Japan scoring an almost certain try, and used his excellent footwork to threaten when he had ball in hand. Admittedly, he did struggle to gain control of the match, with that side of his game clearly needing work. 6
9 Tomos Williams: Used all of his experience to control the play for Nick Tompkins’ try, and showed brilliant footwork to set his side on the front foot in the dying moments. Made a couple of uncharacteristic errors, admittedly, but in a game as frantic as this, that can be understood. 6
Forwards
8 Olly Cracknell: The defensive hub for Wales, making an incredible 14 tackles in the first half and another 10 in the second. He also made the most carries, 14 in total, as he forcibly dragged his side to victory. 9
7 Alex Mann: Always involved in the contact area. He made a huge hit early on, before being smashed off the ball minutes later. He was the main target man in the lineout and a demon in defence with an incredible 20 completed tackles. Performed well in the rucks too, winning a couple of vital turnovers. 8
6 Aaron Wainwright: Struggled to keep the ball in hand, as he knocked on in two separate attacking positions. Defensively, he wasn’t particularly confident either, missing more than one important tackle. 4
5 Adam Beard: Incredibly quiet in attack, carrying the ball on just one occasion. Did put a defensive shift in, however, making 15 tackles and not missing one. 6
4 Dafydd Jenkins: The Wales captain was in fine form, making an incredible 21 tackles without missing a beat. He was always in the heat of the action, even beating a couple of defenders along the way. 7
3 Archie Griffin: Solid in the scrum and gave it all for the 48 minutes he was on the field, putting his body on the line with some terrific low hits. 6
2 Dewi Lake: The hooker was kept busy, making a huge number of carries and hitting the target with most of his darts, and making 18 solid hits. 6
1 Nicky Smith: The quieter of the two props during this game, but he did beat two players in the process – a fact that the front-rower will be keen to share. 5
Replacements: The perfect performance from the bench. Tompkins made an immediate impact with his try, and Evans scored the winning penalty. These two, alongside the impressive forwards replacements, ensured that Wales returned from the jaws of defeat to give their countrymen something to cheer about. 10