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Wales player ratings vs France | Six Nations 2022
Wales player ratings: After finishing strongly in Twickenham, Wales came home to Cardiff with the smallest of targets on their back. The trend is not to doubt Wales’ ability, but rather their capability of felling Fabien Galthié’s unbeaten France side.
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Wales’ performance was strong, but they failed to score points. Despite playing in the right areas of the field, Wayne Pivac’s men were their own worst enemy.
15. Liam Williams – 5
Took some tremendously difficult high balls and kicked decently. Didn’t get many opportunities in attack.
14. Alex Cuthbert – 6
Will take plenty of flak for the Jelonch try, but could do very little when his inside men weren’t drifting. Picked up from his Twickenham form with a fantastic early chip and chase. Otherwise solid.
13. Owen Watkin – 6
The Watkin experiment is paying off for Pivac. Makes increasingly wise defensive reads and is developing into an extra kicking option. A good shift by the Osprey.
12. Jonathan Davies – 7
A reliable presence in the Welsh midfield. Typically made the right calls and stopped a couple of promising French attacks. Dropped the ball in a try-scoring opportunity, which dampens his impact.
Did that really just happen…? ????#WALvFRA #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/HfDpeN8o4p
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2022
11. Josh Adams – 6
Adams always looks at home in the 11 jersey in the Principality Stadium. Always chases kicks well and tackles hard. Sadly got moved into the centre at a vital moment in the game.
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10. Dan Biggar – 7.5
Kicked the world’s first 22:22, seemingly. Helped steer Wales into the right areas throughout the first half. Unfortunately failed to identify opportunities to take 3 points in the second.
21. Kieran Hardy – 7.5
Was introduced early due to an injury to Tomos Williams. Took Melvyn Jaminet’s Eiffel Tower-sized bomb brilliantly, and kicked well himself. Loved to get under the skin of an off-colour Dupont. Collected performance by the Scarlets scrum-half.
1. Gareth Thomas – 5
Thomas has looked hungry in his last two caps. Picked the wrong man ahead of Jelonch’s try, but scrummaged well.
2. Ryan Elias – 6.5
An “alright” game for Elias now is ten times better than what it was six months ago. Made an error by leaving Adam Beard isolated in the French 22, but was solid at set-piece and in defence.
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3. Tom Francis – 5.5
Typically strong up front and an unsung cog in Wales’ structure.
4. Will Rowlands – 7.5
Rowlands continued his strong vein of form by giving Cameron Woki a hard time at set-piece. Loved to test France at ruck-time, which was invaluable.
5. Adam Beard – 6
Beard was huge at the line-out and technically fantastic in the tackle. Beard’s standards at international level are sky-high, but he had an okay outing today.
6. Seb Davies – 6.5
Davies’ selection at blindside raised a few eyebrows, but playing three locks is a powerful trend at the moment. Davies started strongly with his kick-chase and rucking efforts. Great game from the loose forward.
7. Josh Navidi – 7
Integral to the red defence and constantly held off multiple French forwards at ruck-time. Navidi is massive in Wales’ structure, even if less flashy than the likes of Basham. Great 75 minute shift after a long injury.
8. Taulupe Faletau – 8.5
There is no problem on earth that Taulupe Faletau can’t fix. Was dealt poor passes, difficult kicks and unlikely tackling positions, but always came out on top. World class.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Dewi Lake – 7
Made a heavy impact around the park and was solid at the lineout.
17. Wyn Jones – 6
Not a significant impact, but didn’t make any real errors.
18. Dillon Lewis – 5
Held his own at scrum time against the monstrous Gros, which deserves credit.
19. Ross Moriarty – 5.5
Made a couple of heavy tackles, but wasn’t on for long enough to make a big difference.
20. Jac Morgan – N/A
Wasn’t on for long enough to make an impact.
22. Gareth Anscombe – 5.5
It was the correct call for Pivac to put him on for Williams, but Wales arguably could’ve used him as more of a kicking option.
"That's Louis Rees-Zammit" ? #WALvFRA pic.twitter.com/KytwfJcEXG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2022
23. Louis Rees-Zammit – 6.5
A timely substitution to lift the crowd – Rees-Zammit made a lovely half-break at the end, but sadly didn’t get much chance to run in space.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments