Wales Debuts Ranked: Warren Gatland's Eight Bolters Rated After Two England Matches

It was yellow card chaos last weekend in South West London, with England at one stage dropping down to just 12 men on the pitch. England fought hard to complete the 19-17 comeback win, with George Ford slotting the match-winning penalty.

However, this ill-disciplined win has not come without it's repercussions for England. Captain Owen Farrell fell victim to the new 'Off Field Review / Bunker' system, seeing his shoulder charge to the head of Taine Basham upgraded from a yellow to a red card. Farrell now faces a ban that will likely rule him out of some Pool Stage action at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland granted eight bolters their test match debuts over the two matches. There are plenty of opportunities to claim a place for the Rugby World Cup squad, after numerous Wales veterans including Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb withdrew themselves from the training squad.

Some of the Wales newcomers put their hands up for future opportunities, whilst others struggled to keep their heads up in the deep waters of the international stage. With the dust settled on the back-to-back fixtures between England and Wales, lets take a look and review the performances of Warren Gatland's eight most recent debutants.

The only newcomer to play in both the Cardiff and London fixtures, back-rower Taine Plumtree will be hoping to recover from an unfortunately timed injury ahead of the Rugby World Cup. You could here the New Zealand born bolter swear in pain as he walked down the Twickenham tunnel, with a shoulder issue being the cause of his problems.

However, despite the untimely set-back to his world cup plans, the former Auckland Blues' man had an impressive couple of stints in Gatland's side. Plumtree replaced Exeter Chiefs flanker Christ Tshiunza after 50 minutes at the Principality Stadium, and showed a great go-forward to drive his fatiguing forwards around the park.

Plumtree presented a strong engine, and brought the All Blacks flair with some neat touches to put his teammates into space. The 23-year-old had a solid debut in the Welsh victory, and followed this up with another strong showing at Twickenham. Plumtree was one of just three players that were retained by Warren Gatland, to make the trip to Twickenham for last weekend's return fixture. . A second half injury cut his day short after 47 minutes, with Taine Basham replacing him in the number eight spot.

Corey Domachowski: D -

Cardiff prop Corey Domachowski started from the off, in the first of two matches between Wales and England. Making the short walk to step up from Cardiff Arms Park to the Principality Stadium, Domachowski was awarded his test match debut by Gatland, yet struggled at times under the bright lights.

Given the run out for the first half, Domachowski was out-scrummed by England tight-head Will Stuart throughout the first half. Stuart won a hat-trick of scrum penalties against the Welsh debutant, with Marcus Smith taking full advantage with a trio of first half penalties from the tee. Domachowski was replaced by Nicky Smith just nine minutes into the second half.

In similar style to Cardiff teammate Domachowski, tight-head prop Keiron Assiratti made his Wales debut by starting in the Cardiff test match against England. Assirati was given the tough task of going head-to-head with England co-captain Ellis Genge in the scrum, and the front-rower struggled as England controlled the set-piece in the first half.

However, Assiratti achieved a strong scrum turnover to kick-start Wales' tide-turning momentum in the second half. This was the prop's last impact of his Wales debut, as he was replaced by fellow debutant Henry Thomas, and departed the pitch alongside Domachowski after 49 minutes.

After making seven test match appearances for England, Bath prop Henry Thomas underwent the necessary international stand-down period to become eligible for Warren Gatland's Wales. Similar to front-row teammate Nicky Smith, Thomas played a key role in the Welsh scrum turn-around of the second half in the first Cardiff.

Marking his debut with an off-the-bench appearance against his formerly represented nation, Thomas put in a solid showing both up-front in the scrum and around the park in the loose. Thomas carried well, and reminded England fans what they were missing, as the 31-year-old dented the defensive line. A strong first outing for his new country, Thomas did himself plenty of favours for World Cup contention.

Gloucester centre Max Llewellyn took a bit of time to settle in on his Wales debut, with nerves playing a potential factor on his eagerness to fly out of the defensive line. Llewellyn bit in on Marcus Smith in the match's early stages, and gave the Harlequins fly half the space to play in his teammates through the midfield.

Llewellyn was benefitted by his centre partner George North, who helped the centre learn the ropes on his test match debut. After settling in, Llewellyn linked up with relative fluidity, alongside fellow newcomer Sam Costelow at halfback. He was instrumental in the Welsh phase play in the latter stages, which saw his side take control in Cardiff.

Aside from the twice appearing Taine Plumtree, Joe Roberts was the stand-out debutant for Warren Gatland. The Scarlet played with the confidence of a multi-test veteran, and welcomed the pressure as he set off downfield. Roberts was soon introduced to the physicality of international test match rugby, as he had to deal with the powerful running lines of Ollie Lawrence.

He saved Wales from conceding the opening try of the match, as Ben Earl charged down a loose ball that was bouncing in-goal. Roberts knocked the ball out of his reach, with centre partner Nick Tompkins grounding the threat. The Scarlet also gave Arundell a shove for good measure, after the England winger was given a yellow card for his hit on Liam Williams, after the fullback called for the mark.

In similar fettle to Llewellyn's introduction through George North, Roberts started off the fray with Saracen centre Nick Tompkins. However, Roberts was later entrusted by Gatland to lead the midfield, as he linked up with fellow debutant Kieran Williams for the final 20 minutes.

Kieran Williams: D

The Ospreys centre stepped up to the occasion, as he was entrusted by Gatland to run out in a midfield partnership alongside co-debutant Joe Roberts. Running on full of fire on the 58 minute mark, Williams worked hard to make an impact, yet faltered alongside his squad after replacing Nick Tompkins.

Williams did not exactly have a stand-out performance from the inside centre, yet he will be happy to get the debut under his belt and push on for a Rugby World Cup place. The Osprey's performance was overshadowed by the dramatic finale to the Twickenham match action, with Gatland's side throwing away the lead to a side that at one stage fielded just 12 men.

Kemsley Mathias: C

Kemsley Mathias made his Wales debut nine minutes into the second half, as he replaced Tomas Francis with Gatland shaking up the front row. Mathias started off his Wales test debut with an instant impact, forcing England to hand over possession with a scrum penalty. Kemsley worked hard to hit the rucks, and was often a supporting line to the ball carriers. A solid option to make the hard yards, Mathias worked his socks off around the park.

Mathias then struggled against Will Stuart, who is becoming a man who enjoys taking Welsh debutants to the cleaners after having a field day against Corey Domachowksi in Cardiff. Following that Mathias jostled in the scrum against a true old-school veteran, as Dan Cole packed down the scrum for the last 25 minutes.