Following a heavy 35-7 defeat to Scotland in their Six Nations Test at Murrayfield on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Wales.
15 Liam Williams: He spent 10 minutes in the sin bin after getting a pilfer completely wrong following several penalties from his side. Williams had a few uncharacteristic poor patches where he missed tackles, let the ball bounce and often looked frustrated. 4
14 Josh Adams: The winger made a good cover tackle along with Rio Dyer to deny Kyle Steyn a try and defended relatively well in patches but Duhan van der Merwe did get the better of him. 4
Failing attack
13 George North: The veteran had little impact with ball in hand and went off for a HIA after the high tackle from George Turner. He made a few good defensive reads, but overall, he was another who was just outplayed by his opposite number. 4
12 Joe Hawkins: He had little to do on attack, with Wales faltering throughout the game. He struggled to get front foot ball with his carries, gaining just 14 metres and made three passes. On a positive note, he did win two turnovers. 5
11 Rio Dyer: He was dealt a tough hand for most of the match. The service he got was largely dire, and while he made an excellent try-saving tackle on Steyn in the first half, he was unable to stop him in the second. He was a real threat with ball in hand when he did get, but it wasn’t a great match overall for the young winger, and it wasn’t all his fault. 6
10 Dan Biggar: A blow-par performance from the Wales pivot who missed a sitter of a penalty, by his high standards, in the first half. The Welsh attack did not fire at all with the playmaker on the pitch, and Biggar was outplayed. 3
9 Tomos Williams: Replaced before the hour mark after an average outing, with Wales wasting opportunities on attack. Overall, not a terrible performance, but he can certainly improve. 4
8 Jac Morgan: He had a few bright moments, particularly in the rucks, and tackled well, but he was largely kept quiet by the Scottish pack. 5
7 Tommy Reffell: He was up to his usual tricks at the breakdown, pestering Scotland’s rucks in the first half. While he did have some success in doing so, he was ultimately outplayed by Jamie Ritchie. 5
Standout star
6 Christ Tshiunza: There were very few positives for Wales in the match but Tshiunza was one. He was abrasive with the ball in hand and on defence while they did rely heavily on him for lineout ball, which Scotland did capitalise on at times. Undoubtedly a player that the pack can be built around and one of the few standouts from the men in red. 6
5 Adam Beard: Largely anonymous throughout the game. Wales needed him to step up and set the standard for the younger forwards around him and he didn’t. 4
4 Dafydd Jenkins: A disappointing first Test start for the young lock who conceded too many penalties. He can cut it at this level physically but needs to fine-tune his game and work on his discipline. 4
3 Dillon Lewis: Locked into a tight scrum battle with Pierre Schoeman, neither really getting the upper hand at the set-piece. Defensively busy and made 11 tackles, the third-highest tally for a Welshman on the night. 4
2 Ken Owens: Scored Wales’ first try to get the side back in the game at half-time, but his lineout darts were well off the mark. He carried the ball furiously and was equally strong defensively. 5
1 Wyn Jones: Stayed in the fight at scrum time against fellow British and Irish Lion Zander Fagerson. He did get through quite a bit of grunt work but a largely average performance. 5
Replacements: While Scotland kicked into another gear in the second half, Wales stalled. Rhys Carre made some good carries, and Rhys Patchell was an improvement on Biggar, but outside of the pair, the impact from the bench was far from vintage. 3
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