Player ratings: Hard lines

 

The home side outscored Australia by four tries to three and had the lead with 15 minutes to go, but they could not close the game out as they came up short once more.

 

Although they have not beaten the Wallabies since 2008, the last nine defeats have been by less than 10 points, and that trend continued as Australia did just enough to claim the win in the end.

 

It will be an incredibly frustrating result for coach Warren Gatland's side who will face Australia in the group stages of the World Cup next year.

 

 

Looked good in his limited time on the pitch, offloading in the tackle in the build-up to the first try and nailing both of his conversions but limped off after just half an hour.

 

Got off to the worst possible start by dropping the kick-off, but made some telling contributions and finished his try well.

 

Solid in the midfeld and hit a huge gap before showing his pace to set up Cuthbert's try, although he did have his hands full defending big Tevita Kuridrani.

 

Used his big frame to good effect and also showed some impressive aerial skills but did not get his hands on the ball as often as he would have liked. 

 

Competed well in air and worked hard, but was shut down fairly quickly and battled to make a major impact.

 

Made some good decisions and varied his game well, but showed some defensive frailties that were exposed by the Wallabies. 

 

Showed good awareness to score his early try,  but that was as good as it got for him as two intercept passes cost his side valuable momentum.

 

Worked hard throughout and caused a few disruptions, but did not manage to impose himself consistently and drifted out of the game at times.

 

An outstanding game from the skipper who led from the front with his usual hard work at the breakdown, some key touches on attack and made some big decisions such as a quick tap at the end of the first half and the call to scrum which led to the penalty try.

 

Got through a mountain of work on defence, but was not given enough opportunities to run at the Wallabies.

 

Played with plenty of fire and determination which paid off in his try, he was solid in the line-outs and also showed some impressive handling skills. 

 

4 Jake Ball

Ran hard and committed defenders, but did not offer a lot else besides and coughed up possession a few times.

 

Got better of opposite number James Slipper at scrum-time and worked hard around the park as well in an impressive outing.

 

Showed good physicality and found his jumpers consistently but got blown up repeatedly for not rolling a few times which earned him a warning from the referee.

 

Solid in the scrums and made his fair share of tackles, although he sis not get many chances to take the ball up.

 

 

16 Scott Baldwin (On for Hibbard, 56 mins)

Solid in the set-pieces and tackled hard but did not pose the same threat at the breakdown as Hibbard.

 

17 Gethin Jenkins (On for James, 57 mins)

Missed a tackle soon after coming on, but showed his worth at scrum-time as he played a big hand in the penalty try.

 

18 Rhodri Jones (On for Lee, 68 mins)

Got stuck in, but did not have much opportunity to show what he is capable of.

 

19 Bradley Davies (On for Ball, 68 mins)

worked hard in his time on the pitch, with most of his time spent defending.

 

Not enough time to be rated.

 

21 Mike Phillips (On for Webb, 53 mins)

Added some physicality and urgency, but seemed to carry the ball more than he passed it.

 

22 Rhys Priestland (On for Biggar, 47 mins)

Took the ball quite deep and kicked well but did not manage to spark the dangerous backline outside him with limited possession.

 

23 Cory Allen (On for Halfpenny, 29 mins)

Solid at the back after a few anxious moments in the first half, but did not add much on attack.