Player Ratings: France v Wales

Player Ratings: France v Wales

Following Wales' record breaking comeback we rated every starting player out of 10!

1. Jefferson Poirot - 6

Solid at scrum time and made 5 carries and 7 tackles. A good hour from the loosehead. 

2. Guilhem Guirado - 5

An incredibly quiet game from the French captain as he made just 5 tackles and 1 carry. He was solid at the set pieces but was pulled off just before the hour mark. 


3. Uini Atonio - 6

Atonio formed part of the strong French front row that hardly in the first half. He made 5 tackles, 6 carries and threw his weight around in the rucks.


4. Sebastien Vahaamahina - 4

A below average performance from the Clermont lock. He made all of his attempted tackles but his attempted skip pass that was pounced on by George North greatly hampers his rating.

5. Paul Willemse - 7

Looked comfortable and confident on his test debut. The South African born second rower was aggressive and a great option at lineout time before he was subbed off before the hour mark for Felix Lambey who certainly made his presents felt.

6. Wenceslas Lauret - 6

Spent most of the match at the bottom of rucks trying to limit the damage the likes of Navidi and Tipuric did. He was largely anonymous in open playmaking just 4 tackles and 3 carries. He did come up with two turnovers.

7. Arthur Iturria - 8

His superb offload to Yoann Huget was his highlight of the first half. He was destructive in all facets of the game. He got stuck into the rucks, rose high at lineout time and made all of his attempted tackles.

8. Louis Picamoles - 8 

Another French forward who put his body on the line and was a large part of the reason that France were ahead at half time.

He made 47 running metres from his 13 carries beating 3 defenders and scored the opening try of the tournament. 

He was taken off in the 70th minute. 

9. Morgan Parra - 5.5

Controlled the game brilliantly in the first half but seemed to have lost his way in the early stages of the first half and was taken off in the 57th minute. 

Missed a few kicks from the tee that proved to be crucial at full time.

10. Camille Lopez - 6

Like Parra, Lopez controlled the game superbly in the first half and even slotted a long range drop goal to extend France's lead heading into the break.

The playmaker seemed to fade the deeper we went into the game and failed to keep his side in front, altough that was far from his errors.

11. Yoann Huget - 6.5

Went from hero in the first half to zero in the second when he gifted a try to George North. He finished off France's second try in stellar fashion before he slipped in the second half to gift Wales a try that put them within striking distance. 

12. Romain Ntamack - 6

Looked lively at times and made some nice runs that kept Wales guessing. He cleared well and was average in defence missing 2 of his 7 attempted tackles. 

13. Wesley Fofana - 6.5 

Had a trademark Fofana performance - minus a try. Beat three defenders making 19 running metres but it was his handling and defence that really stood out. 

He made some clean offloads under pressure and made all 10 of his attempted tackles.

14. Damian Penaud - 6.5

Made some seer runnings infield, one of which was in the build up to Louis Picamoles' try. Show very little ball but made the most of what he got making 37 running metres.

Was taken off following the hour. 

15. Maxime Medard - 6.5

Was dangerous on attack making 70 running metres beating 1 defender and grabbing a try assist. Was caught out of position a few times defensively.

 

1. Rob Evans - 5

Struggled at times at scrum time, especially when Danny Priso and Demba Bamba came on. 

2. Ken Owens - 6

Was solid on defence making 11 tackles but missed his target on two occasions at lineout time. 

3. Tomas Francis - 6

Was aggressive at the rucks and made 6 tackles. Was solid at scrum time.

4. Adam Beard - 5

Relatively quiet evening for Beard making just 4 tackles and 2 carries. 

5. Alun-Wyn Jones - 7

Made all 13 of his attempted tackles. Was solid at lineout time and got stuck into the rucks. Just another day at the office for the test veteran.

6. Josh Navidi - 8

Made a few fantastic turnovers, got stuck in on defence making 16 tackles and had a great conversion rate with his carries making 17 metres from 3 carries.

7. Justin Tipuric - 8.5

Another stellar performance by the inform flanker. Tipuric topped the tackling charts, was a menace at the ruck and put in a full 80 minutes diving on the loose ball in the final play of the game.

8. Ross Moriarty - 8

A massive shift from the no.8. He made 17 tackles and 8 carries, was aggressive at the rucks and his physicality was key to Wales' success.

9. Tomos Williams - 6.5

Nothing like scoring on your Six Nations debut. Williams struggled to ignite the Welsh attack in the first half but played a large part in their comeback in the second half before going off for the more experienced Gareth Davies.

10. Gareth Anscombe - 7

Struggled from the tee at times but was good on attack. He helped set up what should have been a Liam Williams try before helping his side ignite the comeback in the second half. 

 

He was taken off in the 67th minute.

11. Josh Adams - 7.5

Made something out of nothing for Tomos Williams try, was excellent in the air and racked up 70 runnint metres.

12. Hadleigh Parkes - 7.5

Made some clever decisions on attack that put the French defence under pressure, including a kick through that Huget failed to field. He was solid on defence and combined well with Anscombe and Davies.

13. Jonathan Davies - 7.5

Defensively sound game from Davies making 9 tackles. He was equally potent on attack making 39 running metres beating one defender. 

14. George North - 9

 

An outstanding performance by North despite the fact that he barely saw any ball. He chased every single kick with intent and was rewarded with a try when Yoann Huget slipped. He pounced on a loose pass from Sebastien Vahaamahina to edge even closer to Shane Williams' try-scoring record. 

North did benefit from the French errors but his hard work put him in the right place at the right time to punish those errors.

15. Liam Williams - 9

Williams did have the blunder just short of the line that denied Wales a try but his overall game was nothing short of superb. 

He was excellent in the air solid on defence and beat defenders with ease. 7 Defenders to be exact. 

He racked up 88 running metres, made 2 clean breaks and took numerous high balls under extreme pressure.

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