Wales player ratings vs Italy | 2024 Guinness Six Nations
Wales player ratings: It is the wooden spoon for Wales, and rightfully so after a match where a losing bonus point in a 24-21 loss to Italy flattered them.
This was not like a usual Italy victory in the Six Nations though. This was not a smash-and-grab by the Italians, nor was it just a case of Wales playing poorly. It was just the better team winning on the day. Considerably better.
But Wales at the same time were their own worst enemy. They cannot be criticised for lacking variety though, as they continuously found new and inventive ways to kill any modicum of momentum they fought to build.
Here’s how the Wales players rated:
15. Cameron Winnett – 6
Strong in the air in the backfield, save for a howler when colliding with Sam Costelow- a mistake Italy did not capitalise on. Had some nice touches with ball in hand, noticeably a delayed pass to put Rio Dyer away shortly after the break.
14. Josh Adams – 3
Penalised on a number of occasions, as the Welsh wingers seemed very isolated at times. Was put in a devilish position to try and cover Lorenzo Pani after an Italian break, but even then his attempt was poor as the Italians scored their second try.
13. George North – 5
A depressing way to see George North’s career end, being carried off the field in pain, but played with a lot of passion and carried relentlessly into the Italian defence.
12. Nick Tompkins – 4
In a team that are seemingly incapable of getting over the gain line, inside centre is not the position to play. Nick Tompkins was frequently tasked with crashing the ball up the middle from slow ball and as a result errors did come. Crucially tripped over in Italy’s first try, and had the ball ripped from him in Wales’ best attacking position in the first half. Linked well with North on occasions, but was roped off shortly after the break.
11. Rio Dyer – 5
Like Josh Adams, Rio Dyer seldom got the ball in his hands in a position a winger would want, but did make the most of the chances he had. Was threatening down the left flank and would have thought he had an assist to go with his performance, but for Ross Vintcent’s heroic tackle on Tomos Williams.
10. Sam Costelow – 3
Could not outthink an Italian defence that had Wales’ number. That is not entirely a flyhalf’s fault, but he did not help himself either. Three missed penalty kicks to touch is criminal, particularly in a game where they found attacking platforms very hard to come by.
9. Tomos Williams – 5
Tried his best to unlock the Italian defence with nice chips from rucks on two occasions as Wales simply ran out of ideas against a blue wall that swarmed all over them.
The No9 was somehow unable to score what looked to be a certain try in the second half, and was then turned over from the ensuing ruck. He was taken off immediately after, which would have been a galling moment to end your match on.
1. Gareth Thomas – 3
Had a torrid time against Uini Atonio last week at scrum time and his experience against the Azzurri was not much better, being penalised multiple times. Managed to redeem himself in the second half, however.
2. Elliot Dee – 6
Scored the Wales try that gave them hope in the second 40, and showed his strength to get the ball down. Made an impact elsewhere on the field with some handy work at the breakdown. Faultless lineout display to add to a strong showing.
3. Dillon Lewis – 3
Came in to shore up a Welsh scrum that was savagely treated by France last week, but suffered a similar fate.
4. Dafydd Jenkins – 4
Was one of many Welsh ball carriers in the pack that must have felt like a marshmallow in a blender, and his stats reflect that.
5. Adam Beard – 3
A neck roll killed Wales’ early momentum in the second half and it proved to be a costly penalty to give away when front-foot ball was a rarity for the men in red. Italy scored seconds later to compound the error and Warren Gatland had seen enough. A quiet game before that as the Welsh pack struggled physically against the visitors.
6. Alex Mann – 6
Finished his debut campaign with another promising performance in what was an untiring partnership with Tommy Reffell.
7. Tommy Reffell – 6
Death, taxes and Tommy Reffell putting in a fantastic display for Wales. No matter how poorly his team performs, the openside is always Mr Dependable. Had comfortably made the most breakdown steals in the Championship, and added to that total in Cardiff to go with a vast number of tackles.
8. Aaron Wainwright – 4
Tried his hardest to penetrate the blue wall, but finished with carrying stats that would make any No8 blush. Single-figure carrying metres is not what any Test No8 wants to see, but credit must go to a dominant Italian defence.
Replacements:
16. Evan Lloyd – N/A
Unfair to judge a player on a short cameo late on.
17. Kemsley Mathias – N/A
Another player that was only called upon late in the match.
18. Harri O’Connor – N/A
A brief debut for Wales, but a debut nevertheless.
19. Will Rowlands – 6
A consolation try in a decent second-half cameo.
20. Mackenzie Martin – 4
Calamitous knock-on when Wales had a real purple patch in the final quarter, and gave Italy a foothold back into the game.
21. Kieran Hardy – 5
Was on the field for Wales’ best period of the game, albeit still not hugely impressive.
22. Ioan Lloyd – N/A
Came on with only seven minutes to play.
23. Mason Grady – 5
Early knock-on as soon as he joined the action, then followed it up with a high tackle. But was Wales’ most threatening ball carrier when on the field. A skilful little kick in the last play earnt him a try as well.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 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 …
31 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
4 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!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 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.
31 Go to comments