As Wales cruised past Canada to victory in Cardiff, Robert Rees brings you the player ratings for the 46 men involved in Saturday’s test match.
Wales 68 – Tries: Williams (2), Botham, Holmes (2), Smith, Dee, Rowlands, Basham (2); Conversions: Sheedy (7), Thomas (2)
Canada 12 – Tries: Lloyd, Coats; Cons: Nelson (1)
Wales Player Ratings
Leigh Halfpenny – No score given due to getting injured in less than a minute. Impossible to judge anything he did and we all hope the injury was not too serious. With any luck, he can get back to playing as soon as possible.
Jonah Holmes – 8 – Looked dangerous out wide and bagged two tries. Kept the form he’s shown with the Dragons all season.
Willis Halaholo – 6.5 – Kept quiet for most of the game, felt it was the perfect game to get his destructive carrying game going.
Jon Davies – 7.5 – Marshalled the midfield superbly. Kept the 10-12 defensive channel tight and played some great rugby with ball in hand, assisting one of Holmes’ tries.
Tom Rogers – 7 – Had a few nice touches in the first half. However, was kept quieter in the second period. Brought some great vocal support from some in the bottom tier stands.
Callum Sheedy – 8 – Led the line superbly throughout his time on the pitch and delivered some really slicing attacks through the Canadian defence. Added some superb kicks off the tee.
Tomos Williams – 9 – Last Word’s Man of the Match with the highest of Wales’ player ratings. He was part of most things awesome in the first half for Wales and delivered quick ball to get Pivac’s men on the front foot.
Nicky Smith – 7.5- Did not have to do much other than keep the set piece in dominant form. Stood up to everything, however, due to wide ball missed out on some carrying yards. Did bag a try.
Elliot Dee – 8 – Powerful carrying throughout, added a try to his game and was extremely accurate at the lineout.
Dillon Lewis – 7 – Kept the Welsh scrum on top throughout the game and made sure no inches were given in the tight defensively.
Ben Carter – 8.5 – The official ‘Seren Y Gem,’ Carter impressed at the set-piece, whilst barging his way around the field. He asserted his dominance wherever he went.
Will Rowlands – 7 – A try for Rowlands tipped off a fine performance that saw him continue his run of form in the Welsh jersey. Made some good carries and was always around the breakdown.
Ross Moriarty – 7 – Not his busiest games. However, put in a big shift defensively when needed. He was always an option at second and third phase ball.
James Botham – 7.5 – Has adapted to the test level superbly since arriving on the Welsh scene. He grabbed a try to add to another top performance in red.
Aaron wainwright – 7.5 – Was excellent at the base of the scrum and utilized his athletic carrying ability to add some dynamism to the Welsh attack.
SUBS; Elias 6.5, Thomas 6.5, Brown 6.5, Turnbull 7, Basham 9, Hardy 6.5, Thomas 6.5, Tompkins 8.5.
Canada Player Ratings
Cooper Coats – 6.5 – Dealt solidly under plenty of Welsh attacks that saw him play sweeper. Bagged a try late on and left a solid impression on his debut.
Cole Davis – 5 – Allowed far too many metres outside him and didn’t have enough ball to make meaningful impact upon the game.
Ben Le Sage – 5 – Midfield was a muddle throughout the afternoon. He could not stop enough ball coming through his channel.
Quinn Ngawati – 5 – Looked under pressure throughout and never had control on the aspects he needed to grab hold of.
Kainoa Lloyd – 7 – Gave plenty of options and looked comfortable with the ball in hand against a tough defence. Bagged a try for his efforts.
Peter Nelson – 6 – Could not get enough ball to lead many attacks. However, gave Canada a few good opportunities in the second half.
Ross Braude – 5 – Ball was too slow when Canada managed to retain it and couldn’t find an edge to cut through Wales.
Djustice Sears-Duru – 4.5 – Dismantled at the set piece and offered little resistance around the park.
Andrew Quattrin – 4.5 – Part of a front row that had a tough day at the office and was always feeling the heat.
Jake Illnick – 4.5 – Couldn’t get an upper hand on his opposite number throughout the match. He also struggled for momentum.
Conor Keys – 4.5 – Lineout was under pressure and offered little against the Welsh on their put in.
Josh Larsen – 4.5 – Lacked the power to compete with the Welsh pack, needed some grunt around the park to help Canada make more yards.
Reegan O’Gorman – 4.5 – Could not stop enough fringe attacks from the Welsh and needed to be an option more with ball in hand.
Lucas Rumball – 5.5 – A leader who shone through at times. However, he lacked an edge to affect the Welsh breakdown, the area you need your openside to dominate.
Siaki Vikilani – 6.5 – Looked powerful from the base of the scrum. He was their main carrier and looked for the ball around the park.
SUBS; Howard 5, Keith 5, Rowland 5, Carson 5, Smith 5, Albornoz 5, Percillier 5, Povey 5.
“Main photo credit”
