Wales player ratings versus Georgia
Wales player ratings v Georgia
A ruthless first-half from Wales, who were up and running within minutes and had the bonus point before half-time. They lost intensity for the third quarter but rallied to score twice more before the end to secure a comfortable win.
There was plenty there to give the players confidence but enough to work on to prevent complacency setting in before the clash with Australia.
We rate the full squad below.
15. Liam Williams – 8
Sparkled. One try on the board, another disallowed, and some lovely footwork as well as his usual assuredness under the high ball. World class.
14. George North – 7
Quiet in the first half although he went looking for work. Lovely grubber to set up Tomos Williams’ try in the second half followed by a trademark surge through the line for his own score.
13. Jonathan Davies – 7
Started powerfully, got himself on the scoresheet, and continued to impress. Made 53m, three clean breaks, and beat five defenders. Unselfish assist too. Missed a couple of tackles.
12. Hadleigh Parkes – 6
Not quite his best, with a few errant passes, but good support lines and carrying, as always. Will want to improve against Australia but, even when below par, is so important to the Welsh midfield.
HIGHLIGHTS: @Welshrugbyunion v @georgianrugby at Rugby World Cup 2019 #RWC2019 #WALvGEO pic.twitter.com/VgnlQ7ZsCo
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 23, 2019
11. Josh Adams – 9
Another excellent showing. If more casual fans weren’t aware of him, they may well be now. Made 113m and looked good both in the air and on the run.
10. Dan Biggar – 7
Some lovely passes and a few nice kicks but his intercepted pass, with the try-line begging, was a bit too telegraphed. Was noticeably willing to run.
9. Gareth Davies – 6
A mixed bag. Glorious pass for the first try and sniped as threateningly as he always does but lucky not to be yellow-carded for a knock-on and then immediately repeated the error. Strong in defence.
1. Wyn Jones – 7
Was picked for his scrummaging ability and didn’t disappoint. Helped combat the supposedly fearsome Georgian scrum.
2. Ken Owens – 7
The sigh of relief from Wales fans when he got back up from injury showed how important he is to their hopes. Put in a typically strong all-round performance.
3. Tomas Francis – 7
Scrummaged well if not brilliantly and made his tackles. One of Wales’ most improved players over the past few years.
The Welsh midfielder is still coming to terms with being in Japan 🤯https://t.co/5gci7AYbz5
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2019
4. Jake Ball – 8
There were other contenders for Man of the Match but it would be slightly churlish to argue with Ball’s selection. Physical, relentless, and excellent over the ball. Likely to start against Australia, on the back of this.
5. Alun-Wyn Jones (capt) – 7
Gave away a few penalties in the second half but he was everywhere in the lineout and at the breakdown. Rallied his troops well after a poor third quarter to finish strong.
6. Aaron Wainwright – 8
Showed why he is being discussed as the starting blindside. Ferocious in all his interactions and came off better against the monstrous Mamuka Gorgodze.
7. Justin Tipuric – 9
Superb. The focus recently has been on Wales’ other star players but Tipuric reminded everyone why he is so loved in Wales. Starred in attack, in defence, in the lineout, and at the breakdown.
8. Josh Navidi – 8
Highest tackle count on the pitch, putting in 14 and stood out as Wales struggled in the third quarter. So good at No8, not his usual back-row spot, that he stayed there even when Ross Moriarty came on.
(continue reading below…)
Replacements
Elliot Dee – 6
Won his first cap off the bench against Georgia and was comfortable, if unspectacular, again here.
Nicky Smith – 6
Didn’t make much impression but no howlers either.
Dillon Lewis – 6
Had time to make a couple of carries and tackles but not a big impact.
Aaron Shingler – 6
Came on in the second row, where he is competent but hasn’t played much. Two offloads showed his approach.
Ross Moriarty – 6
Made some significant carries but didn’t outshine Navidi or Wainwright. May have to settle for a bench spot in the next game.
Tomos Williams – 8
Electric. There are many in Wales who would like him to start and he showed why. Kicked when he could have passed to Josh Adams, who was free, but otherwise excellent. Deserved his try.
Rhys Patchell – 7
Only got 15 minutes but helped spark Wales’ improvement in that time. Wasn’t asked to kick.
Leigh Halfpenny – 6
Added some defensive stability and made his conversion. Nice to see him running with the ball again.
Read criticised for neck hit
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments