WALES
15. Leigh Halfpenny: 7.5
Wales’ best back by some distance. As reliable as ever under the high ball and counter-attacked with real conviction and purpose throughout, even in a turgid second half for his side. He’ll regret that one sitter of a missed kick, though.
14. Alex Cuthbert: 5.5
Cuthbert was largely a spectator for the majority of the game and was involved far too rarely. A superb try-saving tackle on James Haskell was then annulled by the subsequent yellow card for slowing the ball down.
13. Jonathan Davies: 5
Davies was quiet throughout and looked as rusty as you would expect for a man who is struggling for first team action. A smart tackle on Joseph in the first half aside, he had very little impact on the game.
12. Jamie Roberts: 5.5
Much was made of Roberts’ performance against Burrell at club level a couple of weeks ago, but it took 50 minutes for the big man to be launched down Ford’s channel How much of this was Roberts’ fault, I don’t know, but we do know he was far too quiet for ‘Warren-ball’ to work.
11. George North: 4.5
A couple of promising touches early on faded from memory following his first concussion, and from then on his contribution was minimal aside from missing a howler of a tackle on Jonathan Joseph for England’s try and suffering another concussion courtesy of Richard Hibbard’s rather solid bonce. Staggering that he was left on.
10. Dan Biggar: 6.5
Made good decisions and executed well when he had the ball, and soldiered on despite an ill-advised nose-first inspection of Gethin Jenkins’ skull. But his influence faded from the game as his pack imploded.
9. Rhys Webb: 6
Started so well with a smart support line for the try and threatened the fringes, but his kicking game collapsed as the match wore on and all that did was heap more pressure on his side.
1. Gethin Jenkins: 4
When he wasn’t headbutting his own fly-half, the Lions loosehead was getting marmalised in the scrum. Busy about the park, but his bread-and-butter should be the set piece and he struggled throughout.
2. Richard Hibbard: 5
Another to have problems in the set piece, with the lineout wobbling in the second half at a crucial time. But his contribution in the loose was impressive, weighing in with some aggressive carries and big hits.
3. Samson Lee: 5.5
His side of the scrum was relatively even but he struggled to have a tangible impact elsewhere on the field. A big learning experience for the talented tighthead.
4. Jake Ball: 5.5
Toiled all evening but not always to great effect as he was turned over twice, but in defence he did chip in with some big hits.
5. Alun Wyn-Jones: 5
It may seem like a fairly harsh rating for a player who didn’t make any obvious mistakes, but a man of Jones’ calibre and experience would be expected to lead his side out of the trough they found themselves in. Instead, he faded.
6. Dan Lydiate: 5
As industrious as you would expect in defence, of course, but there has to be a time when we ask “what else does he do”? Three carries for one metre is simply not good enough for a loose forward and the two penalties he gave away were costly.
7. Sam Warburton: 6.5
A brave display but he was outshone by his opposite number. Carried with athleticism and tackled aggressively, but he was unable to have an influence at the breakdown and found himself going backwards more often than not.
8. Taulupe Faletau: 7
One of the few Welsh players who could have claimed to have matched their opposite number. Great dexterity, strength and awareness to set up the first try but – like many of his colleagues – was significantly less conspicuous in the second 40.
Replacements: 5
We can of course question how and when they were used, but those that came on were unable to have any positive effect on the Welsh game or spark a revival.
ENGLAND
15. Mike Brown: 8
A return to the form from last year’s Six Nations, as he rediscovered that knack of beating the first man. A delightfully-weighted grubber for Watson’s try and an inch-perfect touch finder late on showed how much his game has grown.
14. Anthony Watson: 7
Some lovely touches in the first half when he showed great ability in the air, fabulous footwork and good composure to finish his first test try. Less involved in the second half, but more promise from the Bath man.
13. Jonathan Joseph: 7.5
Some players struggle to replicate club form on the international circuit – but not Joseph. He wasn’t involved in the game a huge amount but everything he did was top drawer – picking dangerous running lines, tackling well and, of course, wriggling free for a very well-taken score.
12. Luther Burrell: 6
A mixed bag for the Saints centre. He gave some lovely offloads in the second half but also lost the ball twice in contact, and also gave a howler of a pass after a fine break when Mike Brown might have been in.
11. Johnny May: 6
A solid, if unspectacular, showing from May, but in many ways this was a performance which answered a lot of critics. After conceding a silly penalty early on, May didn’t make a mistake – collecting the high ball well and counter-attacking with purpose instead of floating around laterally.
10. George Ford: 7
Huge credit has to be given for his ability to bounce back from missing what looked to be a crucial kick in the second period. He was not flawless – a couple of charge downs could have been costly – but his game management and execution was top drawer, and he has a natural understanding with Ben Youngs.
9. Ben Youngs: 8.5
It was only on second viewing that I realised what a fine game the Leicester man had – probably his best since 2010. His work around the breakdown and caused no-end of problems for the Welsh defence throughout the game and he picked his runners superbly. Sharp service and smart management throughout – my man of the match.
1. Joe Marler: 6.5
A solid performance in the scrum and worked hard around the loose, too, showing good eagerness to get his mitts on the ball.
2. Dylan Hartley: 5.5
The lineout creaked a couple of times and more than once he foolishly got himself isolated and turned over. Still a force of nature when it comes to hitting rucks, however, and – notably – he wasn’t yellow carded.
3. Dan Cole: 7
Considering he hadn’t played for a month, this was a fine display. He had Jenkins on toast in the scrum, earning a couple of penalties – although he did give a couple away with lazy work at the breakdown. His work around the rucks was once again exemplary, with one turnover in the second half, when Wales were building ominously, particularly key.
4. Dave Attwood: 7
Attwood seemed to relish the role as the experienced half of the second row combination and went about his work with a brutal efficiency. He was unlucky to be denied a first test try and threw himself about at the breakdown.
5. George Kruis: 7
I had my doubts but he proved me wrong – Kruis looked right at home in the most pressurised of environments and recovered well from a costly early fumble. A good option in the lineout and his athleticism was a real bonus for England.
6. James Haskell: 8
He made just two mistakes all game – unfortunately, they were rather glaring… missing a simple tackle to concede a try and then running into a post. Aside from that, he was superb. Relentlessly physical on the carry, he added a real dynamism.
7. Chris Robshaw: 8
26 Tackles, 0 missed. That was the remarkable statistic to emerge from Robshaw’s performance on Friday night in yet another display that might not have produced the spectacular, but certainly produced a result. Led from the front and his refusal to go out and wait in the cold at the beginning of the match was not only great theatre, it was the right thing to do.
8. Billy Vunipola: 7
He was well-shackled in the first half with chop tackles but his influence grew as the game went on, making big metres in the heart of the Welsh defence. The good news was that he didn’t seem to lose energy as the match progressed, a nod to the hard work he has done with the conditioning staff at Saracens.
Replacements: 7
Everyone who came on contributed well to the cause, especially Tom Youngs – who made 9 tackles in 24 minutes – and Billy Twelvetrees, who threw his weight around in the last 5 minutes and won that key penalty late in the game. Great to see Nick Easter back, too.
By Mike Cooper (@RuckedOver)
17 replies on “Six Nations 2015: Wales vs England Player Ratings”
Think it’s harsh to mark Cuthbert down for his yellow. If he had rolled away like the lawbook suggests he should, I think England would have been in for a 7 pointer as they were on the front foot.
From an England perspective, a very good set piece and defensive performance coupled with some signs of flair going forward. I’m left trying to work out who walks back into this side. Players like Launchbury, Lawes, Wood, Farrell and Tuilagi who have unquestionably been Lancaster’s first choices throughout his reign may find their path back into the side blocked after the performances shown by Attwood, Kruis, Haskell, Ford and Joseph. I think Burrell and Joseph is definitely a partnership worth persisting with, even if the former didn’t set the world alight this time round.
Let’s not get carried away. The game I rated 7.5 but mainly because of excitement. It’s hard to think of an England player that was much better than 7 (Robbo?) they just happened to be playing a Wales side not much better than 6.5 (Halfpenny excluded). Wales are much better than that so what went wrong? It was all in the top two inches, all the hype, pyrotechnics, roof on/off, keep them waiting, England’s blocking tactics etc seemed to affect Wales more than England (except blocking of course, 99 times out of 100 that would have been ignored). All week I had been concerned about Englands chances but come Friday morning I decided that there was more to be concerned with about Wales, too many players were expected to find instant form as soon as they pulled on the red shirt, it just doesn’t happen.
North’s concussion? I think it was a disgrace and I hope the lad doesn’t have long term problems as a result. He was way off his normal game after the first incident and after the second he fell like a rag doll.
Not a great 6N first weekend, Scotland at last are showing some spark but everybody else was mediocre.
Good to see agreement on the players score rating
I cannot agree with the vast difference in your scoring of individual players. The only three English players that were worthy of outscoring their Welsh counterparts by more than a whole point, were Ben Youngs; James Haskell and Jonathan Joseph. Have to agree with the Gethin Jenkins score, it is he who should out his boots on a peg and not AJ. Cannot agree with Billy Vunipola getting 7, more like a 4, too greedy, V poor distribution skills, did he make any meters? Cannot dispute that the better side won but not by the 22 points difference that you are indicating on your players rating.
I Agree. And I’m English.
Hi Big Dia
I can see I’m getting some flack for my player ratings (which is great, it’s all subjective and supposed to encourage debate) so I thought I should fight my corner!
I think that you make some good points but I would say that the way I score players is like this: 1-3: Terrible. 4-5: Average, 6-7: Decent. 8-9: Superb. 10: Brian O’Driscoll.
From my viewing, most of the English players put in a decent showing with a smattering of superb displays from individuals. Welsh players were mostly average, with the odd player having a decent game and a couple more having below average day at the office.
I think that general summary is quite hard to disagree with and I genuinely do believe England were that much better than Wales for 60 minutes. Wales visited the English 22 once in the second half and were instantly turned over by Dan Cole. They were outperformed in every facet of the game and we lucky that the score was not higher. I did not think Wales played especially poorly (hence no 3s and under in my ratings) but they were outplayed by a not-insignficant amount. I think an average of 1.5 points per player is about reasonable.
Cheers
But then JD2 must get an 11 because it was established in 2013 he is more highly rated the BOD ……. I’ll get my coat and leave now.
On a completely different subject has Chris Robshaw been cited over his ‘spike’ tackle on Bigger in the 21st minute?.
Have to say that I wasn’t overly impressed by Billy V, but on reflection, his constant carrying was one of the reasons that the Welsh ran out of steam. I am assuming that he did exactly what he was asked to do – run at the fringe defence and tackle. To that end, he was an important part of the team effort.
Also on reflection, I think that the problem with the Welsh team is more the management than the players. If given the chance, I would still pick more Welsh players in a composite backline than English but the English backline was better on the day. That is down to the game plan. I know Brighty said that Wales aren’t a busted flush and with regard to the players he is correct, but it is possible that the game plan is a busted flush. Will Gatland, the stubborn kiwi, change. We’ll watch this space. Maybe he is just using this as training for the RWC as some are saying, but as we have been saying to SL for some time, winning is a good habit to be in!
Still plenty of twists and turns left in the six nations though – there always are! I think that Scotland will pull off one unexpected win, just don’t know with who, and as usual, who knows which France will turn up. They could pull off a big win somewhere. That’s why we love this competition!
Vunipola finished with 18 metres made (according to espn stats), higher than anyone in the welsh pack, and not miles away from their cumulative total of 24! He also made 14 tackles without missing any, 2nd highest for England, and would have placed him joint 3rd on the welsh side. He also played 80 mins without being penalised once.
I also initially didn’t think he had that good a game, I would imagine its the first time he hasn’t been the biggest metre maker in the pack, but equally its been a long time since an England flanker has had the impact ball in hand that Haskell did! I personally feel the two are linked.
That said, would be great to see him used as a decoy or pivot in England’s attack. Saracens use both him and Mako to good effect in this manner.
May didnt make another mistake? Apart from incorrectly pushing inside to leave the gap through which Webb scored?
My initial reaction was to blame May (in part) for that try too, but I think that he stepped in because, in his view, there was nobody on the outside to cover. Rhys Webb moved across on the outside on a good loop which May didn’t see (through Falatau and the English defenders) before he’d already stepped in.
Tough call, I gave him the benefit of the doubt but can see why he’d attract criticism.
Has the computer recovered from Haskell’s performance?
Correct!
Ha! My ‘correct’ was in response to the point about May!
Hmm. A bit revisionism going on here. Let’s look at the context of the match. England were so much less experienced than their counterparts who were at home, which makes this a stunning victory.
The fact that many would have picked the likes of Joseph and Ford ignores the fact that England were blooding new players and combinations in one of the toughest of environments.
Billy V may not have had any showy barn storming runs but he seemed to make yards whenever he carried, although perhaps suffered in comparison to his opposite number who was superb for Wales.
Wales appeared to have gone down a tactical dead end. I agree with Staggy above this appears to be more an issue with management rather than the players, even though I believe a few of the Welsh players are a tad over hyped in the media.
Whilst I am sure Wales can and will bounce back, comparisons to 2013 are a bit optimistic given the context I note above. If Wales can’t beat England under these circumstances, how do they expect to do it in the World Cup?
Just like to spotlight how well Robshaw played. From his initial refusal to move in the tunnel, to his 26 (!!!) tackles, 2 turnovers, 2 lineout catches and 15 metres made, the man was just immense. And that’s not even considering his leadership in not panicking and instead over-turning the deficit
His work allowed Haskell and Vunipola to do the heavy ball-carrying that did so much to wear the Welsh forwards down. Anyone who still claims that man is not a world-class player and captain needs their head examined
Also a mea culpa. I may have given the impression in previous comments that Billy 12T was a complete waste of space whose defensive abilites would shame an 80 year old and that Tom Youngs couldn’t hit a barn door with a minigun. I now realise that 12Ts is a maestro of the choke tackle whose defense is the rugby equivalent of the Great Wall of China and that Tom Youngs is the rugby reincarnation of Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. My apologies.