Player Ratings: Wales
Yesterday at 04:41 PM
OPINION: Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vibes that almost carried Wales to victory against Ireland in Round Three of the Six Nations were not enough at Murrayfield.
Scotland ran them ragged for more than 40 minutes as tries from Player of the Match Blair Kinghorn (two), Tom Jordan (two) and Darcy Graham helped the hosts build a deserved 35-8 lead early in the second half.
Matt Sherratt's side, to their credit, refused to lay down however, and recovered well in the final quarter to secure two bonus points and threaten a comeback.
Indeed, had Blair Murray not been penalised for hurdling an attempted tackle in the build-up to Taulupe Faletau's non-try, maybe the impossible would have happened.
As it was, Wales slipped to their fourth defeat of the Six Nations and welcome England to Cardiff next weekend having lost 16 Tests in a row.
Martyn Thomas rates the Welsh players:
15. Blair Murray – 5/10
Scorer of Wales' first try but this was not the fullback's finest match in his short Test career to date. Industrious as ever but struggled to make an impact on either side of the ball, while his usual aerial prowess deserted him.
Found wanting in defence more than once in the early exchanges as Scotland built their lead, but was not helped by teammates and showed his attacking threat again. Took his try well and provided the spark for Faletau's late disallowed score, albeit it was his infringement that brought play back.
14. Tom Rogers – 5
Lasted fewer than nine minutes before injury forced him off, by which point Scotland were in front and in control.
13. Max Llewellyn – 5
Another all-energy performance from the Gloucester centre, whose omission from the original Six Nations squad looks stranger every time he appears in a red shirt. A willing runner with ball in hand, beating three defenders as he made more than 30 metres.
His endeavour was rewarded with the try, his first in Test rugby, in the final play and that helped ensure that Wales came away with two bonus points.
12. Ben Thomas – 5
Something of a mixed evening for the Cardiff centre, who missed four tackles, the joint most in the match alongside midfield colleague Llewellyn and Joe Roberts. Albeit he completed 21, which is evidence of the amount of Scottish attacks that came his way.
Had little answer to Scotland's brilliance in the first half and could have been in trouble when the TMO asked referee Andrea Piardi to look at the big screen. However, Thomas is central to everything that his team does in attack and supplied a fine finish to ignite Wales' attempted fight back.
11. Ellis Mee – 4
Found things much tougher going than on his debut. Missed two tackles, including one that led to a Scotland try, and was unable to get his side on the front foot as he had done in Cardiff a fortnight ago.
Is obviously new to Test rugby, though and will learn from this experience.
10. Gareth Anscombe – 4
Gave Wales a brief early lead from the tee but struggled to give his side the platform they needed during a chastening opening half. Bit too eagerly in one passage of play and left his side badly exposed, resulting in a try.
Wales improved after he was replaced by Jarrod Evans early in the second half.
9. Tomos Williams – 6
Gave everything on both sides of the ball once again and his work rate cannot be questioned. Not his best game in a Wales shirt by any stretch but kept the team playing at tempo in the second half, which helped them gain a foothold in the match as Scottish legs tired.
[rp-mc-teams-match-summary id="209|941799|2025"][/rp-mc-teams-match-summary]
1. Nicky Smith – 6
A key component of Wales' scrum yet again and a willing carrier in the loose, Smith can be happy with his performance on a difficult evening for his side.
2. Elliot Dee – 6
Had the pressure of playing while Dewi Lake watched on from the sidelines, but was perfect at the lineout and put in a shift around the park for the 45 minutes he was on.
3. WillGriff John – 5
The Sale prop's effort cannot be faulted, having completed 13 tackles in less than 40 minutes' worth of action, but like a number of his teammates this was a reversion to the mean following his exploits in round three.
Was shown a yellow card with 10 minutes to go of the first half and was replaced early in the second.
4. Dafydd Jenkins – 7
Stole a Scottish lineout as Wales came under huge pressure in the first half and finished the match having completed 28 tackles according to the live stats.
Jenkins also came up with two turnovers and alongside his captain, Jac Morgan, was probably Wales' best performer at Murrayfield.
5. Will Rowlands – 5
Got through a lot of work as ever in his hour or so on the pitch, making 12 tackles. But was unable to find an answer to Scotland's dominance in the first half.
6. Jac Morgan – 7
Another captain's knock from the indefatigable Wales skipper. Completed 25 tackles and won two turnovers while also contributing nine carries to the attack – the third most of any Wales player.
Continues to put his hand up for British and Irish Lions selection in a failing team.
7. Tommy Reffell – 4
Was unable to have the same impact in Edinburgh as he had at the Principality Stadium a fortnight ago. Not alone in that among those in red, but was the player sacrificed for Keiron Assiratti at the end of the first half and was then replaced permanently early in the second.
8. Taulupe Faletau – 6.5
Continues to be one of Wales' most important players on both sides of the ball, and that was no different at Murrayfield where he made 111 metres from 15 carries while also completing 19 tackles.
It is also fair to say that most of his best work with ball in hand was done in the final 20 minutes, by which time the match had already been lost.
Replacements
16. Dewi Lake – 6
Came on and almost immediately showed Wales what they have missed during his time on the sidelines. Gave his side a lift with his energy on both sides of the ball.
17. Gareth Thomas – 6
Was only on the pitch for 25 minutes but completed 15 tackles and didn't weaken his side at the set piece.
18. Keiron Assiratti – 5
Did nothing wrong during his time on the pitch, which once on permanently coincided with their best spell in the match.
19. Teddy Williams – 6
Came on for the final 20 minutes and scored a try as a result of an impressive carry close to the line.
20. Aaron Wainwright – 6
A promising 35 minutes off the bench. Completed 10 tackles and provided some much-needed thrust in attack.
21. Rhodri Williams – 5
Introduced for the final 10 minutes. Kept Wales on the front foot as they threatened a memorable comeback.
22. Jarrod Evans – 6.5
Provided a glimpse of what he can offer in attack, admittedly against tiring bodies. Produced a sumptuous pass to help unlock the Scottish defence for Ben Thomas' try and can be happy with his cameo.
23. Joe Roberts – 5.5
Thrown into the action much earlier than anyone would have anticipated and was culpable defensively on a couple of occasions in the first half. Grew into the contest as it progressed and ended the match having made more metres (116) than any other player on the pitch.
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