Player Ratings: More humiliation for Gatland and Co
OPINION: Wales’ first-round performance didn’t go as planned, but Warren Gatland used his strong record against Scotland to his advantage and rang the changes in key positions.
In the end, it was a horrible loss for Wales and an all-timer in poor performances for a lot of experienced players.
Scotland was better than Wales at literally everything – the only stat that Wales came out on top of was yellow cards.
Will Owen rates the Welsh players!
15 Liam Williams – 2.5
Made a great tackle on Huw Jones but struggled to back it up. Shanked a couple of kicks and copped a deserved yellow card.
14 Josh Adams – 5.5
Put in a fantastic chip to pressurise Duhan van der Merwe. Typically worked hard in D but was substituted quite early on.
13 George North – 4
Had a handful of decent carries before going off for an HIA. Anonymous in the second half aside from a penalty conceded.
12 Joe Hawkins – 5.5
Had an alright first half but playing outside Biggar was a tough ask. Worked hard in defence and made a couple of good kicks.
11 Rio Dyer – 6
Started the game with a great read to shut down Kyle Steyn, but soon found himself on the wrong end of a Dan Biggar rollicking for a poor pass to put his 10 under pressure. Later made a fantastic try-saver on Steyn.
10 Dan Biggar – 2
Gave away a daft offside penalty, shanked a couple of kicks and flung a pass behind his back into touch on the stroke of halftime. Looked frustrated all first half. Was far from his best last week, but was an active problem today.
9 Tomos Williams – 4
Had a really tough ride with his pack being dominated, and struggled to get Wales going forward.
1 Wyn Jones – 5
Worked overtime by covering an early Finn Russell cross-kick to Kyle Steyn. Ironically did some of the backs’ work for them.
2 Ken Owens – 5.5
Wales’ captain started with a mixed bag of fired-up carries and a not-straight throw. Finished Wales’ opening try.
3 Dillon Lewis – 4
Had parity at scrum time, didn’t make much of an impact around the park.
4 Dafydd Jenkins – 4.5
Jenkins is promising but raw, and gave away a few penalties. One of those tough games (against the experienced Richie Gray) that may be a necessary learning curve inside his first five caps.
5 Adam Beard – 4
Had a quiet game. It’s easier to cut Jenkins some slack on his third cap than a test Lion in Beard.
6 Christ Tshiunza – 6.5
Wales relied on Tshiunza at the lineout and Scotland knew this. In a game where Wales fans are clutching at straws for positives, you could at least see that Tshiunza was trying to get Wales moving forward.
7 Tommy Reffell – 5.5
Gave away an early penalty which Russell converted, but soon responded by winning a jackal turnover on halfway. Generally, though, he was outplayed by Jamie Ritchie.
8 Jac Morgan – 5
Came up with a crucial turnover and a few good carries, but was otherwise kept quiet by Scotland.
Replacements:
16 Scott Baldwin – N/A
No significant impact.
17 Rhys Carre – 5
Made two good carries after coming on then gave away two consecutive penalties. That averages out at a 5!
18 Leon Brown – 3
Dominated in his only scrum.
19 Rhys Davies – N/A
20 Taulupe Faletau – 5
Didn’t get many opportunities to change an abysmal game.
21 Rhys Webb – 2.5
It took some magic powder to make Wales’ ball even slower, but Webb brought his wand.
22 Rhys Patchell – 5
Possibly could have come on earlier, but unsurprisingly didn’t manage to get Wales moving.
23 Alex Cuthbert – 5
Ran a great line immediately after coming on, but that was more or less it.
By Will Owen, Rugbypass
