Wales player ratings: Tom Rogers enjoys Welsh first against All Blacks while it’s a ‘day to forget’ for front-rower
Wales wing Tom Rogers scoring against the All Blacks.
Following a 52-26 win for the All Blacks over Wales in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday, here’s our player ratings for Steve Tandy’s men.
The backs
15 Blair Murray: Tested aerially by his former countrymen but came through that examination well and also played a part in Tom Rogers‘ second try as he gathered a speculative Tomos Williams grubber well in the preceding phase. 6
14 Louis Rees-Zammit: Crucially won the aerial contest that led to Rogers’ first crossing on 10 minutes and was solid in that department throughout. Threw in the odd powerful carry too, but was largely stifled in terms of finding the wide open spaces to motor. That was until his diving finish late on got the Welsh crowd off their feet. 7
13 Max Llewellyn: Played a significant role in Rogers’ second try with an immaculate take and give, and it was deja vu for his wing’s third. He was physical defensively and can be happy with his efforts. 6
12 Joe Hawkins: In for Ben Thomas this week, and like his midfield partner, he can be pleased with his outing. A sublime cut-out pass to Llewellyn led to Rogers’ hat-trick score, while he was tough defensively. 6
11 Tom Rogers: A day he will never forget as he became the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick against New Zealand. Rogers did well to collect Dan Edwards’ low offload for his first. His second try was much easier, while the third saw him take the pass at pace and step the last man early in the second half. Rogers also did brilliantly to deny Will Jordan a try as he held him up, showing his worth on both sides of the ball. 9
10 Dan Edwards: Is growing into Test rugby and enjoyed a strong first half, playing with the swagger we see in Ospreys colours. His good footwork and offload got Rieko Ioane to bite in and created space for Rogers to score early on. He was decent aerially, too, while he kicked well off the tee. Surely the long-term future 10 for Wales. 7
9 Tomos Williams: Never stopped with and without the ball. A real leader in this Welsh team, and his grubber helped set up Rogers for his second try. Played a part in holding Jordan up, too. His box kicks caused all kinds of havoc for the All Blacks’ backfield. 8AA
The forwards
8 Taine Plumtree: A nuisance defensively and attempted to slow down the All Blacks at the ruck with little success. Plumtree’s afternoon was tarnished by his high tackle on Jordan with 12 minutes remaining. 4
7 Harri Deaves: On debut today and left nothing out there. Could do little about Ruben Love finding a hole in between him and Rhys Carre. He will hope further caps come in the red jersey. 5
6 Alex Mann: A real physical presence defensively, flying into tackles with good technique throughout. Mann also offered himself as a ball player and went deep into the game. 7
5 Adam Beard: Another workmanlike performance from the giant lock. Nothing flash, just good honest work. 5
4 Dafydd Jenkins: His charge-down sparked Wales to cross for Rogers’ hat-trick score. Elsewhere, he was a dog around the field as he really put in a shift for the cause. 7
3 Keiron Assiratti: Offside early on in back play, but was otherwise solid in his core duties. A decent 52-minute showing from the tighthead, although the scrum was a non-event on the day. 6
2 Dewi Lake (c): Was frustrated by New Zealand creeping across in the lineout and rightly so. Lake was his usual nuggety self around the field and put in a shift with 77 minutes on the field. 6
1 Rhys Carre: Such a weapon with the ball in hand, and went agonisingly close to scoring in the first half before Pasilio Tosi pounced at the breakdown. However, defensively, it was a day to forget. Stood little chance against Love, who scorched past him to score in first half and probably could have done better to stop Tamaiti Williams for his try too. 4
Replacements: Not the greatest impact from the Welsh bench as prop Gareth Thomas was yellow carded shortly after coming on for a no-arms tackle, largely due to the racking up of team offences. Then Nick Tompkins was stepped in close quarters by Sevu Reece as New Zealand turned the screw late on. 3