Wales player ratings v England: Matt Sherratt’s side crumble to defeat in Cardiff
Blair Murray was a standout for his side in the 68-14 defeat.
Following Wales’ 68-14 defeat to England in round five of the Six Nations, here is how we scored Matt Sherratt’s men at the Principality Stadium.
Wales player ratings v England
15 Blair Murray: Another incredible attacking display from the Scarlets back, who is looking increasingly at home at Test level. He had a superb score stricken off in the first-half, but that was just one of several highlight moments as he posed a consistent threat in broken field. Is he a potential Lions bolter? 7
14 Ellis Mee: Posed plenty of questions ball-in-hand, which is exactly what he was brought in to do, but England managed him well for the most part. Still clearly one to watch for the future. 5
13 Max Llewellyn: Grew into the game as it went on and became a focal point of his side’s attack towards the end of his shift. Bizarrely taken off just as he was hitting his stride though, which should frustrate him. 6
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12 Ben Thomas: Continues to show why he is a centre and not a fly-half, with a very strong attacking display. He was able to read the England defence very well and made the most of it with some clever lines against the grain, which saw him cross the whitewash twice. Around this, his playmaking skills increasingly brought other players into the mix too. 7
11 Joe Roberts: Can’t fault his efforts, but wing probably isn’t the way forward for him. Came up with a couple of breaks when afforded space out wide, but he was otherwise kept quiet. 4
10 Gareth Anscombe: Just wasn’t his day today. Did try a couple of things, and combined with Tomos Williams on occasion, but couldn’t quite get it to click into gear. 4
9 Tomos Williams: It’s not been his Six Nations, and this was another poor display. Whilst he distributed well out of a messy ruck, which is a hard job in fairness, he just was outplayed by Alex Mitchell. Might have seen his Lions stock slump down. 4
Back-row
8 Taulupe Faletau: Tried to make something work, but was outmuscled by opposite number Ben Earl. Nevertheless, he’s had a great Six Nations all things considered, but this wasn’t his best day. 4
7 Jac Morgan: Well below his usual class, but still gave his all in a valiant effort. Picked a bad time to have his worst outing of the Championship though (by his lofty standards), considering his opposite number is a leading Lions contender, but you would think he’s done enough to book his seat this summer. 5
Dan Sheehan hat-trick papers over ropey Ireland showing as Six Nations ends with victory over Italy
6 Aaron Wainwright: Brought in to add some extra ballast, but struggled to cope with the rampant English counterparts. 4
Tight five
5 Dafydd Jenkins: Yet again tried very hard, but it was in vain in the end. His comments in the build-up might have been the fuel behind this England demolition job. 5
4 Will Rowlands: Always going to be a tough day coming up against Maro Itoje, and despite trying his hardest to change the tide just couldn’t quite get one over him. 4
3 WillGriff John: Ellis Genge just had his number in the scrum, unfortunately, and was taken off at half-time. 3
2 Elliot Dee: Struggled to give any platform at the set-piece, as England really put him under pressure, but put in some tough defensive efforts against a solid pack. 4
1 Nicky Smith: Had a slightly better time of it in the scrum than his front-row colleagues, but still not his best shift in a Wales shirt. 4
Replacements: England’s bench came on and did a number on their Welsh counterparts in those final exchanges. While the likes of Dewi Lake and Tommy Reffell in particular tried to make positive moments out of the contest, it just proved in vain as England ran away with the contest with four tries in the last 15 minutes. 4