Wales player ratings v Italy: ‘World-class’ back-rowers unable to end rut for ‘shellshocked’ visitors
Jac Morgan and Taulupe Faletau in action during Wales' defeat to Italy
Following Wales’ 22-15 defeat to Italy in the second round of the Six Nations, here are our player ratings from the Stadio Olimpico.
Wales player ratings v Italy
15 Blair Murray: Deployed slightly out of his usual position, and just did the basic stuff well. Fairly solid under the high ball, in trying conditions, and had a couple of nice touches in attack too. 6
14 Tom Rogers: Has impressed in his early Test career, and was fairly solid again today. Dealt with some wicked kicks well, and his own kicking game helped relieve some serious pressure for Wales. 6
13 Nick Tompkins: Had a couple of nice flashes, but not enough of them to make a serious impression in the game. 5
12 Eddie James: Just very quiet, which is a shame considering he is a serious talent. When he did get some decent ball to work off he looked very solid, and could easily be a great Test 12, but he just couldn’t get a foothold into the game at all. 4
11 Josh Adams: Looked pretty threatening throughout, but just blew two huge opportunities that could have swung the game back to Wales, and you think he would have nabbed these a few years ago. Lucky to escape a red card too for his challenge on Paolo Garbisi. 4
10 Ben Thomas: Tried some different things early on, but drifted off after that. When Italy brought some defensive aggression, he just looked shellshocked, which in turn saw Wales bashed back. 4
9 Tomos Williams: Playing behind a pack that isn’t motoring forward is always tough, and unfortunately he just couldn’t really get going. Kicking was fairly poor for the most part too, compared to his opposite number. 4
Back-row
8 Taulupe Faletau: A welcome return to the Test stage for the world-class 8, who didn’t look like he’d been away, to be honest. Just rolled his sleeves up and made himself incredibly busy around the park. Very pleasing to see him back. 7
7 Jac Morgan: Quiet compared to his monumental shift last weekend, but still a solid game. Formed a nice axis with Faletau in that back-row, and made himself just as busy as the iconic number 8. Continues to be a bright spark in bleak times. 7
6 James Botham: Brought some decent physicality in the tight, but couldn’t put his usual stamp on the game. 5
Front-five
5 Freddie Thomas: Chucked into the starting line-up at the last minute, and made himself very busy around the pitch and nearly got a try for his work. Struggled in the lineout though. 5
4 Will Rowlands: Did the ugly stuff well, again, but didn’t have any standout moments. 5
3 Henry Thomas: Put under some serious pressure in the scrum by the Italian pack, and came up with a few penalties as a result. Again, he’s not the long-term solution at tighthead. 3
Wales woes deepen as history-making Italy inflict FOURTEENTH straight loss on Six Nations strugglers
2 Evan Lloyd: Steady around the pitch, as you’d expect, but the lineout misfired again during his stint as Italy got some decent change in this department. Couldn’t help his props much either 4
1 Gareth Thomas: Second-best in the scrum for most of his shift, but to be fair he wasn’t helped much by Thomas. 5
Replacements: It would have taken a monumental effort from the replacements to turn the game around for Wales, to be fair, and whilst they didn’t win the game for Wales they did a pretty steady job.The focus on the bench should be on Aaron Wainwright, who added some serious impact and got a try for his efforts in the process, but around this, they all did a fairly decent job. Dan Edwards added a nice dynamic to their attack upon his entry, as did Rhodri Williams. Josh Hathaway was also bright in his stint and posed a decent threat too. Elliott Dee and Nicky Smith got stuck into things up-front too and got some decent change out of it. Again, they didn’t win the game for their side, but they gave it a decent go. 7