Wales Player Ratings vs France

1/31/2025 20:15

Stade de France

Ref: Paul Williams

France 2

Six Nations

43

0

Round 1

Wales 2

Attissogbe (17', 33'), Bielle-Biarrey (22', 40'), Marchand (54'), Gailleton (67'), Alldritt (77')

Tries

Ramos (18', 23', 34', 41')

Conversions

In what was a dreadful evening for men in red jerseys, there were some green shoots in individual performances that perhaps allow a glimmer of hope for the future of Welsh Rugby. The team performance however, and Welsh Rugby in general at the moment is dire.

Wales Starting XV

1. Gareth Thomas

   8/10 - Have said it since last six nations - a desperately underrated loosehead. Solid at set piece and a chop tackling maestro. If Dan Lydiate and Rob Evans had a child - it would be Gareth Thomas. Constantly under pressure constantly back on his feet- made a stunning 17 tackles in just 46 minutes. Owns the Welsh 1 Jersey.

2. Evan Lloyd

   5/10 - A mixed bag for the young hooker. Gave away 2 pens, one high shot leading to a yellow card (Rugbys gone soft) Failed to make the gainline 6 times from 8 carries and at this level you need your hooker with a more physical presence which i'm not sure he possesses.

3. Henry Thomas

   5/10 - Kept a solid set piece for his time on the paddock and then spent the rest of the time defending. Admirable effort but really the Prop Nouveau needs to be offering more in attack to be at this level.

4. Will Rowlands

   6/10 - One of Wales's biggest ball carriers with 9 carries but still only crossing the gainline once. Not quite as immobile as his old mate Adam Beard but at 123kg Big Will needs to be dominating more on the international stage. Welsh pack is undersized already and need our big boys to be BIG!

5. Dafydd Jenkins

   7.5/10 - Captain for the Six Nations Doc and picked up his talismanic leadership role where he left off. Not the skipper this Six Nations but led from the front with a relentless display of heart and physicality. Wales's Top Tackler (21) and main lineout target (4) still only 23 years old which is essentially Second Row Puberty - he owns the Welsh 5 Jersey.

6. James Botham

   6/10 - A standard solid performance from the Cardiff Blindside. Adapted to 8 very well with Wainwrights injury early on and did a solid enough job at scrum time. Not sure the off-9 pattern suits his style. When required he is a powerful outside runner but in a game like yesterday he did his job just fine.

7. Jac Morgan

   9/10 - Give him the keys to Cardiff Castle. Captain Jac is a genuine World Class Player! 18 tackles, 15 Carries, 2 turnovers, 2 Clean Breaks at times felt there were 3 Jac's on the pitch. A generational talent for Wales and for the next 8-10 years the team sheet should start from No.7. The Man of The Match!

8. Aaron Wainwright

   N/A - Off at 4 Minutes with what appeared to be a nasty cut to his face. Wales will hope he is ok for Rome as they miss his carrying when he's not there.

9. Tomos Williams

   6.5/10 - Without front foot ball its hard to judge the true impact of a player like Tomos. A backline sat so far deep from the ruck against a Shaun Edwards defense, the Cherry and White Scrum half struggled to emulate his club form as he was constantly back peddling. Can hold his head high in a poor backline performance.

10. Ben Thomas

    7/10 - Looked good at 10 for 20 minutes and looked good at 12 for the next hour. The GarryOwen strategy seemed to work for the opening quarter and his kicks were on point with a great chase from his wingers. Gameplan appeared to go out the window with Watkin injury. Few deft touches and kicks in behind to keep French defence honest - but it appears that not all the back line were on the same page.

11. Josh Adams

    5/10 - Clearly a frustrated performance from a man that has created so many moments in a Welsh jersey. Suffocated by French defense and caught missing on his wing for two cross field kicks for tries. Can argue he was covering for poor defensive reads from his centres - but a day to forget for Josh topped off with some backchat to the ref and 10metres encapsulating his frustration from a high shot.

12. Owen Watkin

    5/10 - One of only 2 Welsh players to hit a hard angle from the backs the whole game ( and he went off after 20 mins). Having a rebirth of form for the Ospreys this season - looked like a nasty injury (ACL perhaps) and an open door for Max Llewellyn to re -enter...

13. Nick Tompkins

    5/10 - Outclassed in the Centre from his opposite numbers pretty much the whole game. Can never fault Tompkins effort as he is an extremely hard worker- however the athleticism of his French counterparts only further exposed his lack of Pace and Strength. One hard carry towards the line was held up for a maul with relative ease.

14. Tom Rogers

    7/10 - Rogers was a stand-out performer in the demolition by the Wallabies in Cardiff in the Autumn and he was no different last night. Seemed to be everywhere in the first half - excellent kick chase (which for some reason Wales didnt perservere with) arguably saved two tries and offered himself in attack throughout (he was the other hard line runner that was hit) - looks extremely comfortable at this level and will shine in years to come.

15. Liam Williams

5/10 - Outpaced by a French backrower for a near-try in the first half, a last ditch tackle attempt spoiled a certain try. An otherwise quiet evening for the legendary full-back. Hard to tell if this is a dip in form, a lack of opportunity or simply the end of what has been a great career but Wales need more fizz from their full back thats for sure.

Wales Replacements

20. Tommy Reffell

6.5/10 - If you look up Tommy Reffell perfomance in the dictionary this was it. A nuisance over the ball, tackled his heart out and just generally solid. Nothing flash, nothing explosive...just solid.

22. Dan Edwards

6/10 - Fumbled a ball over the deadball in one of his first touches which nearly gave away a try which would've done nothing to settle his nerves. After that he appeared to settle into his game - Debut away on a Friday night in Paris against this French team is about as hard as it gets. Handled the occasion well and grew in to the jersey - but needs more time with familar 9 and 12 combo's or the backline will always look as shapeless as it did yesterday.