RWC Warm-Ups: Wales Player Ratings vs Italy

15. Leigh Halfpenny – 7
A solid performance with an almost perfect record from the tee, marred by an awful injury in the 70th minute. A major doubt for the World Cup.

14. Alex Cuthbert – 5
Another below-par appearance from the Blues winger, making you wonder why he is still getting into this Wales team. A sloppy pass ultimately led to an Italian try and was turned over easily after attempting to dive over a ruck to score. Poor yet again.

13. Cory Allen – 6
Nothing too spectacular as it was his partner in the centre that took most of the limelight. Occasional carries and flashes of what he can do.

12. Scott Williams – 8
Man of the match outing and looking more confident with each passing game. Superb hands and a lovely pass to set up George North’s first half try, as well as some excellent tracking back to halt Sergio Parisse’s breakaway. Important player for Wales.

11. George North – 7
Improved on his performance last week with a try, some neat handling and strong runs. Only his second appearance since March but looked well up for it.

10. Dan Biggar – 7
Some excellent kicking out of hand for touch and was his usual determined self in defence. More effective in the air than last week in Dublin.

9. Rhys Webb – 6
Hard to look past the early injury that meant he had to be stretchered off. Could be a massive World Cup blow given his astonishing season last year.

1. Gethin Jenkins – 5
In contrast to his showing last week, was pinged constantly at the scrum from the workings of Martin Castrogiovanni. Hauled off early in the second half. Will need to improve.

2. Ken Owens – 5
Like with Jenkins, the whole front row suffered as a result of the Italian dominance in the scrum. Lineout was average and his ball carrying seemed to go amiss.

3. Tomas Francis – 6
Unfair to attribute scrum problems to Francis as the trouble seemed to come from the opposite side but nevertheless didn’t seem as composed as against Ireland in the previous week. Will perhaps need to work on his fitness.

4. Jake Ball – 5.5
The Italians asserted themselves well at the set piece, which will come particularly at the expense of Jake Ball who is likely to have slipped down the pecking order.

5. Dominic Day – 6
Surprisingly included in the final 31-man squad with Gatland opting to take 5 locks. Decent enough showing for only his second cap.

6. James King – 6
Given the nod ahead of Dan Lydiate yet didn’t really get the chance to demonstrate his skillset due to the fractured nature of the game. Tackled well.

7. Sam Warburton – 7
A solid return to the field after missing out on both Ireland games through injury. A nuisance at the breakdown for the Italians and worked well to earn a few turnovers. Made a fair few metres for a backrower.

8. Taulupe Faletau – 5
An oddly poor performance from the Dragons talisman which is out of character for him. A few basic errors such as knocking on amounted to a dismal day. Outshone by his opposite number in Parisse.

REPLACEMENTS: 6

Paul James featured as a replacement for Jenkins but the scrum only seemed to worsen as the game progressed. Aaron Jarvis put in a good shift as did Kristian Dacey for only his second cap. Ross Moriarty demonstrated what he could have brought to the squad with his fine running game in the second half, whilst Luke Charteris had a steady appearance. Gareth Davies had the most time to impress following Webb’s early injury but didn’t seem too exciting, whilst Matthew Morgan showed some excellence, and could well become a very important player in the next few weeks.

By Jack Hoare (@jackhoare)

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