Wales player ratings: Veteran’s ‘unacceptable’ error as France completely ‘outclass’ the Welsh but Steve Tandy left with a ‘real positive’
Wales forwards Adam Beard, Dewi Lake and Aaron Wainwright.
Following another bitter defeat, here’s how we rated the Wales players who were soundly beaten 54-12 by France in the Six Nations.
Wales player ratings v France
15 Louis Rees-Zammit: Flashes of brilliance but little substance as France managed to keep him relatively quiet despite the full-back making more carries than any other player. Four missed tackles didn’t help either. Finished on a high, assisting Mason Grady’s try. Also caught far too narrow when he was needed to mark out wide, and Matthieu Jalibert punished him twice with accurate cross kicks. 5
14 Ellis Mee: Had the nigh-on impossible job of marking Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and to his credit, on occasion, he made a good fist of it. He kept on keeping on throughout the game and had good moments under the high ball. Effort is certainly not a work-on for Mee and the talent is there, today he was simply outclassed and left too much to do. 6
13 Eddie James: The 23-year-old shot out of the defensive line in sheer desperation, as more often than not, he was left with no other choice. Occasionally, he did so effectively making a great tackle, but more often than not, France simply went around him and reaped the rewards. He troubled Les Bleus’ defence with his carries making 70-odd metres. 6
12 Joe Hawkins: Some bright moments with ball in hand but far too often he left his midfield partner high and dry by jamming and committing too early. 4
11 Josh Adams: The French onslaught and brilliance of Théo Attissogbe meant that it was a tough old game for the veteran winger. Like with Mee, at times there just wasn’t much he could really do about it. 5
10 Dan Edwards: Rather unlucky with his kick going out on the full, handing the French the opportunity to strike and they took it. His head-to-head with Jalibert was barely a contest. Some great hanging kicks but France’s brilliance in the air and with the crumbs largely nullified that weapon. 4
9 Tomos Williams: The commentary team rued how much he and Edwards were kicking but phase attack simply doesn’t get the job done as effectively as it used to, just ask Ireland. When he did kick he did so well and caused some headaches while he managed to dictate the attack reasonably well. Occasionally, a bit sluggish but he got through a lot. 6
The pack
8 Olly Cracknell: Brought into the starting XV to add more grunt and pressure at the breakdown against a lightning French attack and on those grounds, he fell short. He was aggressive in the carry but missed a handful of tackles that needed to stick. 4
7 Alex Mann: A couple of penalties conceded but that was understandable considering the workload he got through. The busiest Welsh defender on the night and hit double digits on the carries. There is heart in this Welsh outfit, and Mann was one of those who showed it. 6
6 Aaron Wainwright: And so did Mann’s fellow flanker who muscled through a boatload of work too. Wainwright was excellent in the carry, regularly getting over the gain-line and was largely accurate throughout. 7
France show their class in eight-try Six Nations victory over Wales to continue Grand Slam bid
5 Adam Beard: His scuffed kick was daft and frankly unacceptable for a player of his calibre and experience. Attissogbe was not going to waste that gift as he sent Jalibert cantering away for seven points when Wales had just worked so hard to win the turnover. A coach, momentum, and confidence killer. The major blight on his 61-minute shift but was also guilty of a few soft-shouldered hits. 3
4 Dafydd Jenkins: The kind of forward that Wales are renowned for producing. Gets on with his job and consistently performs, even though the team fails to produce cohesive performances, Jenkins does. Fronted up with no fuss. 6
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3 Tomas Francis: Guilty of conceding two penalties as he looked a little off the pace for Test rugby but was strong in the scrums. Had a few good carries. Solid without being excellent. 5
2 Dewi Lake (c): The skipper will be pleased with the improved discipline, not only with the penalty count but in the set-pieces too, where all of his darts resulted in retained possession. Another consistent performer for Wales as once again he was aggressive in contact. Twice found himself defending on the wing and France pounced. 5
1 Rhys Carre: The Principality erupted as the red-headed loosehead thundered over the line from close range, getting under the tackle of Oscar Jegou. His carries are a real feature of his game and he did so effectively today. Produce a tidy scrum effort too. 6
Replacements: The real positive for Steve Tandy as he emptied his bench early and despite an early wobble, they turned the one-sided affair into a bit of an arm-wrestle in the final quarter. Wales were haemorrhaging points before then and failed to score after Charles Ollivon’s try on 60 minutes with Grady giving the Principality something to shout about at the end. 7