Wales player ratings vs Italy | 2023 Guinness Six Nations

Wales player ratings: Warren Gatland’s Wales have been under fire so far this tournament, not favoured to win a wooden spoon battle with Italy. Their performance against England was difficult to quantify, with Italy playing well but not winning - yet…

Wales responded with an excellent performance and an unexpected bonus point win. Italy were far from their best, but this was Wales’ best performance of the campaign by a stretch. Well done Cymru.

15. Liam Williams - 7.5

Was penalised for rolling on the floor early on but immediately bounced back with a fantastic finish for Wales’ second try and a big turnover in the Welsh 22. Williams needed a solid performance and he delivered.

14. Josh Adams - 6.5

Quietly excellent at what Adams does best - chasing kicks, aerial contests and making solid hits. Was held up brilliantly by Varney in the second half.

13. Mason Grady - 6.5

Defensively very solid against one of the fastest attacking teams in the tournament. Gave away a penalty late on but generally Grady didn’t get carried away shooting out of line. Promising.

12. Joe Hawkins - 8

Hawkins’ usual distribution role was substituted for hard yards today, and he was excellent. Made six or seven yards on every carry. Timed a pass to Adams beautifully for a second-half break.

11. Rio Dyer - 8

Poached the opening try superbly and chased Welsh kicks hard. Really answered Gatland’s call with a hugely promising performance.

10. Owen Williams - 7

Tested Allan early with a perfect bomb and often called the right plays. Contributed what turned out to be a try-saver on Brex. Managed the game well.

9. Rhys Webb - 8.5

Put in an inexplicably fantastic kick for Dyer’s try and set up Faletau later on. Nailed an awesome 50/22 at the end of the first half. Fantastic to see Webb have a good game.

1. Wyn Jones - 5

Quiet, but not bad at all.

2. Ken Owens - 5.5

Similar to Jones, didn’t make as many carries as previous games but also didn’t make errors.

3. Tom Francis - 6

Was absolutely melted by Fischetti on Italy’s first put-in but was solid thereafter. Put in the grubber kick of the century, which earns him a bonus point.

4. Dafydd Jenkins - 6.5

Jenkins’ best performance so far. He was impactful in clear-outs and solid at set-piece.

5. Adam Beard - 7.5

Started the game with a great steal and was a menace at the maul. Beard’s best performance for Wales in a while.

6. Jac Morgan - 5.5

Probably didn’t play as well as his opposite man Negri, but Morgan’s impacts at the breakdown were generally positive.]

7. Justin Tipuric - 7.5

Cleaned up a lot of mess brilliantly including a late Italian lineout. Won Wales an obstruction penalty in the first half. A sure improvement on his prior performances.

8. Taulupe Faletau - 6.5

Quieter than usual but made no real errors. Ran a nice support line for his try.

REPLACEMENTS

16. Scott Baldwin - N/A

No significant impact.

17. Gareth Thomas - 7

Won a scrum penalty for Wales. Weird feeling.

18. Dillon Lewis - 6.5

Scrum went forward with Lewis on.

19. Rhys Davies - N/A

20. Tommy Reffell - 6

Pounced on a loose ball nicely near Wales’ goal line.

21. Tomos Williams - 5

Williams was okay, but didn’t shine after replacing man-of-the-match Webb.

22. George North - N/A

23. Louis Rees-Zammit - 5

Made a nice break but was immediately turned over, so it balances out!