Wales player ratings vs England
Wales player ratings: The conclusion of the 2020 Six Nations tournament might currently be uncertain but the importance of an England v Wales fixture is never in doubt. Alun Wyn Jones joked during the week that he is asked about the significance of this game every year but still acknowledged it matters more than most and it showed on the pitch in a tense affair.
England’s power game ultimately was too much for Wales throughout although a late Welsh comeback made the scoreline much closer at the final whistle.
Here’s our Wales player ratings below.
15. Leigh Halfpenny – 5
Solid in the air in a game that demanded it and kicked well when asked to but a player with his defensive reputation will be disappointed to look back at some of his reads.
14. George North – 5
The Welsh management have insisted throughout camp that North is one of the best trainers in the squad. He was better in defence than he has been and was a key part of the comeback but he is still not back to the player he was.
13. Nick Tompkins – 7
The Saracens man fronted up against a number of his club teammates for the first time in international colours and wasn’t deterred by England’s ferocious physicality. Was central to much of Wales’ good work in attack, both with his running and his lovely miss-pass to North. Wales’ best player.
12. Hadleigh Parkes – 4
Showed his physical side, which Wales needed, but his handling was poor and he may well be cited for the high tackle on Manu Tuilagi that gave away a penalty on the field.
11. Liam Williams – 4
Hasn’t played since the Rugby World Cup semi-final in Japan and he is not back to his old self just yet. He covered the backfield well and improved before going off in the second half.
10. Dan Biggar – 6
It was a surprise that he was named in the team, given how serious his injury last weekend looked, and many questioned whether he would actually start. His kicking was not up to his usual standard but he battled through two early hits to make it to the end and got a try at the end to give Wales the sniff of a losing bonus point. His running game is starting to show for Wales.
9. Tomos Williams – 5
Reclaimed his position in the starting jersey for his first Six Nations match at Twickenham but this wasn’t his best game, despite lovely work for Wales’ first try. His missed tackle on Watson for the first try was poor, given the importance to England of starting early and their reputation for moves of that sort.
1. Rob Evans – 4
Another change to the starting lineup, with the loosehead taking the place of injured Scarlets teammate Wyn Jones but he didn’t impress. Loosehead is becoming an interesting position for Wales.
2. Ken Owens – 5
Not his best game but there’s no chance of him being replaced any time soon. Did make a crucial tackle to stop a Jonny May break.
3. Dillon Lewis – 4
Has got through a huge amount of work in every game this tournament and it might be starting to show. He is capable of much more than he showed today, although he is still learning.
4. Jake Ball – 5
Still to make a proper impact in this tournament although this was a better performance from the big man. His injury will worry Wales, given their lack of depth at lock.
5. Alun-Wyn Jones (capt) – 5
Another underwhelming performance from the skipper by his standards but showed his steel and leadership yet again to stay on the pitch and keep Wales going.
6. Ross Moriarty – 5
Continued to play on the blindside where his particular skill set is perhaps more effective and tried hard to bring some physicality against England’s power game. Arguably unlucky to give away a penalty for holding on.
7. Justin Tipuric – 7
Another outstanding game from Wales’ multitalented openside. Showed his footballing skills, distributed well, and showed how effective he is in the wide channels with two tries.
5?? players get an 8/10 #ENGvWAL #GuinnessSixNations ??????????????
https://t.co/duzAmDh5We— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 7, 2020
8. Josh Navidi – 6
Like Liam Williams, the Cardiff Blues back rower hasn’t played since the loss to South Africa four months ago. He wasn’t perfect but he showed just how much Wales have missed him, with a lovely contribution to Wales’ first try and some excellent physicality throughout.
Replacements
Ryan Elias – 4
Didn’t make a mistake but still isn’t staking a claim for the starting jersey.
Rhys Carre – 5
Another Saracens man facing his club teammates for the first time in a Wales shirt and he made an impact off the bench.
TRIPLE CROWNED
Was it a red though? #ENGvWAL #GuinnessSixNations ??????????????https://t.co/jNDoiieSgV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 7, 2020
Leon Brown – 5
Carried well and put in a shift in defence.
Aaron Shingler – 6
Perhaps not the ideal lock cover but injuries seem to have forced Pivac’s hand. Showed why Pivac values his athleticism as Wales fought back.
Taulupe Faletau – 6
A knock last weekend and a few underwhelming performances saw him take a bench spot. Showed his ability as a distributor and at the back of the scrum.
Rhys Webb – 7
A surprise addition to the bench, selected for his game management but more than justified it. Made all the difference to Wales going forward when he came on.
Jarrod Evans – n/a
Unused substitute.
Johnny McNicholl – 5
Still to prove himself at this level.
WATCH: Jim discusses the ramifications of the Six Nations going behind a pay wall and no longer being shown on free to watch TV.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 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
1 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 Crusades , you can keep going.
1 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!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 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.
27 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.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments