Player ratings: Wales

01/31/2025 06:15 PM

OPINION: Wales' winless run in Test matches was extended to 13 matches in Paris on Friday, as France opened their Six Nations campaign with a statement 43-0 win.

An unflattering scoreline could have been a whole lot worse had Antoine Dupont stayed on the field longer, but fortunately for the visitors, the French maestro was substituted after 50 minutes of a masterclass.

But Wales were not without players that put their hand up against a formidable French outfit, who will be gunning for a Grand Slam.

With a visit to Italy next week in what could be the Wooden Spoon decider, Warren Gatland will have seen enough to give him a glimmer of hope, and has some decisions to make after some performances from the bench.

Josh Raisey rates the Wales players!

15. Liam Williams – 4
Stepped easily by Antoine Dupont on the way to Theo Attissogbe's second try of the match. Almost never had any time or space on the ball when receiving the ball in the wider channels.

14. Tom Rogers – 7
Comfortably Wales' best back and maybe their best player altogether on the day during the hour he was on the pitch. Held Dupont up to prevent an early try and came to the rescue a few times. Got his hands on the ball a lot in all areas of the field. Deployed as a kick-chaser all evening, and delivered in that area.

13. Nick Tompkins – 4
Had his blushes saved after France came close to scoring as Dupont rushed out of the line to force a spilt pass. Offloaded nicely otherwise all evening to try and unlock the French defence but could not dent the wall of blue. The manner in which an army of French tacklers swarmed around him to hold him up over the line embodied the physical mismatch between the two sides.

12. Owen Watkin – 4
Only managed 25 minutes before being carried off with what could well be a Championship-ending knee injury.

11. Josh Adams – 3
Huge shot on Pierre-Louis Barassi showed he was up for the fight, but that attitude boiled over at one point as he screamed at the referee. Was caught out of position by Dupont, who chipped over his head to set up Attissogbe's opening try. Found himself similarly exposed for Les Bleus' second try, but that was just a result of wave after wave of French pressure. Will be sick of the sight of Attissogbe's heels and backside.

10. Ben Thomas – 5
Cannot be faulted for trying to play with width, but he was not without errors in doing so and a few poor decisions- particularly a strange first-half chip when Wales were in a promising position. Looked more comfortable when shifting to inside centre, where he proved to be slightly more threatening when attacking the line.

9. Tomos Williams – 4
Tried to play with tempo early on to tire a heavy French pack, but produced a few sloppy passes as a result. Had a tough evening trying to manage Wales' attack.

1. Gareth Thomas – 7
Put some big shots in in defence to send some big French ball carriers backwards. The quantity and quality of his tackles was outstanding- 17 in 45 minutes was immense.

2. Evan Lloyd – 4
Yellow carded for a dangerous tackle- Wales with 15 players were struggling, 14 made it almost impossible for them. Did not seem to be in sync with his lineout jumpers at times, but took on a lot of the ball-carrying responsibilities.

3. Henry Thomas – 5
Distributed well to try and move the point of contact, but was otherwise quiet. Stood up in the scrum against what was an imposing French front row.

5. Dafydd Jenkins – 6
Was caught out by some swift French backs, most noticeably when Dupont slipped through his clutches to set up the third try of the match. Nevertheless got through plenty of work in defence and made the most tackles of the match (24).

6. James Botham – 5
Shifted to No. 8 in Aaron Wainwright's absence and made some astute carries from the back of the scrum when France were trying to exert pressure. Couldn't replicate the attacking output that Wainwright would provide though.

7. Jac Morgan – 7
Took the mantle of adding grunt up front which Wales have missed over the last year. Top three for tackles (21) and carries (15) was a huge return.

8. Aaron Wainwright – N/A
Only managed a few minutes before leaving the field.

16. Elliot Dee – 4
A needless croc-roll just heaped more pressure on his side.

17. Nicky Smith – 4
Penalised at the scrum soon after coming onto the field for his 50th cap. Made a handful of nice carries.

18. Keiron Assiratti – 4
An offside penalty soon after his introduction typified Wales' spiral into ill-discipline.

19. Freddie Thomas – 4
Added some beef to the Welsh pack and gave Gatland some food for thought over a potential star, but was unfortunately yellow carded after an accumulation of penalties.

20. Tommy Reffell – 6
Came on within the opening minutes of the match and got to work at the breakdown, winning a penalty when France looked dangerous in the opening stages. A busy performance as usual.

21. Rhodri Williams – N/A
Only had 10 minutes at the end, but showed some crisp passes from the floor.

22. Dan Edwards – 5
Made his debut in the first half when replacing Watkin and initially looked flustered, which is understandable. Settled into the game, but struggled like every other Welsh player to trouble a Shaun Edwards defence.

23. Blair Murray – 5
Was not really a game for a late cameo for a winger and saw very little action.

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