1
Wales player ratings vs South Africa | 1st Test July 2022
By Will Owen
Wales player ratings: After a mixed bag of a Six Nations, Wayne Pivac confessed to having had many sleepless nights following Wales’ loss to Italy. A three-test tour of South Africa was never going to be easy for Wales, but a good opportunity for Pivac’s men to play against the best.
Wales started the game brilliantly, but in typical Welsh fashion, it ended with a last-gasp winning kick for Damian Willemse. A confusing one to reflect on for any Welsh fan.
15. Liam Williams - 5
The bomb defuser caught a few testing kicks and didn’t really make many errors. Didn’t get many chances in attack.
14. Louis Rees-Zammit - 8
The Gloucester flier started the game with a world-class finish and a few great takes in the air. Followed up with an unorthodox finish towards the end of the first half. Ended the game with a yellow card, puzzled though he may look.
13. George North - 7
North has had a difficult year with injury, so it was great to see him back in a Wales jersey. Defended well and looked composed passing for Rees-Zammit’s first try.
12. Nick Tompkins - 5
Tompkins had a quiet game, but tackled well.
11. Josh Adams - 5.5
Adams showed his quality on the kick-chase but didn’t get many opportunities ball-in-hand. Decent performance from the winger.
10. Dan Biggar - 7
Wales’ skipper kicked brilliantly, including a speculative drop-goal to send Wales 8-0 up. Copped a yellow card to stop his team from conceding on half-time. Unfortunately this was costly as Wales missed him during the sin-bin period.
9. Kieran Hardy - 7.5
Kicked brilliantly in the first half and ran his weight against the gargantuan Springbok pack. Was substituted at the right time.
1. Gareth Thomas - 7.5
Thomas really punched above his weight. To go toe-to-toe with Frans Malherbe and have parity is no mean feat.
2. Ryan Elias - 7
Another strong showing from Elias. A strong tackler and solid set-piece operator, the Scarlet was unflashy but very good.
3. Dillon Lewis - 8
Lewis’ selection raised a few eyebrows, but much like Gareth Thomas, he resisted the force of Ox Nche. Had to play virtually 80 minutes, which no tighthead wants. To come up against the two best packs in the world unscathed is admirable.
4. Will Rowlands - 7
Rowlands hasn’t had many opportunities in open space for Wales, until today. A rangy lock and strong line-out forward, Rowlands had another strong outing today.
5. Adam Beard - 7.5
There is nothing more powerful than a Springbok maul, but Adam Beard fears them not. With his telescopic limbs, he did a stellar job of halting the Boks from getting going. Unfortunately came off earlier than he would have liked.
6. Dan Lydiate - 6.5
Another player welcomed back to the Wales setup with open arms. A warrior in the tackle and solid at the breakdown.
7. Tommy Reffell - 8.5
“Tommy Turnover” had an excellent start in a red shirt. With a handful of dominant tackles, some hefty carries and a textbook jackal, Reffell looks like he is here to stay.
8. Taulupe Faletau - 6
Faletau is rarely showy, but always strong. Always replied to South Africa’s kick-offs with interest.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Dewi Lake - 7
Lake has really grown into his impact role in recent matches. Showed once again that he is an underrated finisher.
17. Rhys Carre - 3.5
Unfortunately for Carre, his only real impact on the game ended with a trip to the bin.
18. Tom Francis - N/A
Went off immediately after coming on.
19. Alun-Wyn Jones - 7
The Welsh talisman’s presence was just as important as his performance. This is a role the former skipper could get used to.
20. Josh Navidi - 5.5
Made a couple of good carries but didn’t get many opportunities to make a significant impact.
21. Tomos Williams - 6.5
Had a strong game off the bench but was responsible for a tactical team error, kicking the ball to the Springboks (and Cheslin Kolbe) while down to 13 men. Otherwise good performance.
22. Gareth Anscombe - N/A
Unused sub.
23. Owen Watkin - 5
Made a few good tackles, but might need some practice before he starts a test on the flank!
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
Yeah me too. I think the Welsh have it in them to make it a contest in the first half. Give the boks' second stringers a headache. Disrupting lineouts is one area the welsh could cause problems. Bok lineouts have been subpar.
And then fronting up in the collisions and at the rucks. If the boks get the ascendancy there too early, it could be a hiding. Jaden hendrikse had a tough game against the Scots - who were very good at disrupting the boks flow. The welsh would have taken note of this i'm sure.
But the bok bench will finish the welsh off i'm afraid.
Go to commentsYes, certainly. As an AB fan happy to be included in that top 3 of "matches that are routinely decided by one score" now, we were well outside that for a few years.
They have not had enough games yet. You can't undo so many poor years just like that. Asking for miracles like SA losing is not the way to get back to number 1.
They might get there as those bad years filter out of the rankings but it's guarenteed to be great fun going back and forth with SA once that happens.
Admittedly Foster only really had one bad year (21/22 season), but that's more likely because COVID stopped a lot of tough games from being played, and effected the other countries they did play far more than themselves.
A real shame we both don't get to see it unfold first with our regions teams in SR!
Go to comments