Six Nations 2017: Wales v England player ratings from the Principality Stadium
Six Nations 2023

Six Nations 2017: Wales v England player ratings from the Principality Stadium

11 February 2017
Rugby Rucker
RUCK runs the rule over the Wales and England teams after Saturday’s Six Nations clash in Cardiff.
Who were your star performers?!… Comment at the bottom of the page!
Wales Player Ratings v England
15 Leigh Halfpenny Became only the sixth player to complete 300 points in the Six Nations. Put his body on the line 7/10
14 Alex Cuthbert Still no sign of the Cuthbert of four years ago. George North was a big miss for the hosts 5.5/10
13 Jonathan Davies Sharp throughout the contest, but a poor defensive clearance ultimately cost his side the win 6/10
12 Scott Williams Did not make the impact he would have liked as defences dominated in midfield. Great dummy run for the hosts first try. 7/10
11 Liam Williams Scored a brilliant first-half try and caused England’s defence problems throughout the game, winning a few key turnovers. 8/10
10 Dan Biggar Produced one of his best Test match displays for a long time. He was heroic in defeat. 8.5/10

9 Rhys Webb Not a fan of his constant backchat but he distributed well throughout. 7/10
8 Ross Moriarty Put his shoulder to the wheel in opening 40 minutes, especially, making a dozen or more tackles. He was colossus today. 8.5/10
7 Justin Tipuric He worked hard and was everywhere all day. 7.5/10
6 Sam Warburton Dominated the breakdown area in the first-half, but struggled with an injury late on 7.5/10
5 Alun Wyn Jones (c) The skipper led from the front throughout, galvanising his team with a series of monster hits and carries 7.5/10

4 Jake Ball Put in a solid shift with ball in hand 6.5/10
3 Tomas Francis He came out as the loser of lively contest with England’s Joe Marler. 6/10
2 Ken Owens It wasn’t an easy day for the Wales front row, but Owens found his targets in the line-out and showed up well enough around the field. 6.5/10
1 Rob Evans The Scarlets man gave everything after earning a starting place 6.5/10
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin 5/10, 17 Nicky Smith 4/10, 18 Samson Lee 4/10, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Taulupe Faletau 6/10, 21 Gareth Davies 5/10, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts 4/10
England Player Ratings v Wales
15 Mike Brown His usual solid self when the ball was coming towards him, and made some excellent carrying with the ball in hand. 7/10
14 Jack Nowell The Cornishman was used as a battering ram and worked hard all around the field. 7/10
13 Jonathan Joseph One bad pass straight into touch but worked hard. 6.5/10
12 Owen Farrell When England were up against it, Farrell stepped up and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. Looked the general 8/10
11 Elliot Daly Missed a kick in the first half but showed some nice steps and scored a sensational winning try. Played very intelligently overall. 8/10

10 George Ford Distribution was brilliant in the first half but faded a bit as the game went on. 7/10
9 Ben Youngs Scored a great try but will want to forget his intercepted pass that almost conceded a try 6.5/10
8 Nathan Hughes Looked to step up and take on a lot of the running, but isn’t the same player as Billy Vunipola yet and that showed. 7/10
7 Jack Clifford Replaced early in the second-half but threw himself around until then. 7/10
6 Maro Itoje Looks like England’s new enforcer, and is the first to confront the opposition in times of conflict. Not quite the same impact as Chris Robshaw defensively, but he was formidable in the air. 7.5/10
5 Courtney Lawes Produced some fine moments but faded late on 7/10
4 Joe Launchbury He did exceptionally well to lead the line and tackled with vigour. This performance will be remembered for a long time! 9/10

3 Dan Cole The grizzled tighthead veteran stood up on a day when he was needed. 7/10
2 Dylan Hartley (c) Taken off six minutes into the second half. Jamie George was the better man today. 6/10
1 Joe Marler Tackled like there was no tomorrow. His fitness is improving. 7.5/10
Replacements: 16 Jamie George 6.5/10, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kyle Sinckler 6/10, 19 Tom Wood, 20 James Haskell 7/10, 21 Danny Care 6/10, 22 Ben Te’o 6.5/10, 23 Jonny May 5/10