14. Louis Rees-Zammit: 7 – Left Wales fans watching with baited breath, as he limped off the pitch for a Rio Dyer cameo. Made a key tackle on Rory Arnold in a try-scoring position, to save a sure-fire try. Tried to vary his attack, by going to the boot and backing his pace. Rees-Zammit muscled up to his opposite player, and kept Marika Koroibete quiet.
15 Liam Williams: 7 – Cleared his lines well when called upon at the boot. He rode a heavy shot, and did well to continue despite some concern. He marshalled the Wales defence from the back-field, as the fullback general made key tackles on the scarce Australian line-breakers. Great hands to thread Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams in the wide channels.
Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee: 6.5 – Under the orders to keep the scrum and line-out consistent, Dee made good on his appearance, with the final Wales try coming from a rolling maul. Kept the scrummaging at a high tempo, as Wales twisted the knife into the Wallabies.
17. Corey Domachowski: 6.5 – Eager to get involved around the park, as the adrenaline was pumping for the replacement prop. Suffered a case of ‘white-line fever’, as he only had eyes for the try-line when Wales continued to extend their lead.
18. Henry Thomas: 6 – The former England international had a decent run out for his Rugby World Cup debut. On amongst the trio of front row replacements that came on for the exhausted starters, Thomas was a well-suited replacement for the impressive Tomas Francis. More of the same for his World Cup future.
19. Dafydd Jenkins: 5.5 – Difficult to give a fair judgement as Jenkins only had a nine minute outing off the bench. Involved in the rolling maul which Jac Morgan scored at the end of the match.
20. Taine Basham: 5.5 – A similar role to Jenkins, as Basham reinforced the Wales pack for the final 10 minutes of the match. Hard to give a fair marking, but he burnt out the Australian tacklers, and won the line-out that led to the final push-over try.
21. Tomos Williams: 6.5 – On the pitch for the final 20 minutes, and kept up with the high tempo that was set by Gareth Davies. He upped the intensity with the replacement forwards eager to get involved, more than happy to boss around the newcomers for the closing moments of the match.
22. Gareth Anscombe: 8.5 – Given an unexpectedly early start to proceedings, following the eleven minute substitution for an injured Dan Biggar. There were slight concerns after he was winded by Koroibete after just 17 minutes, yet he soldiered on for an inspired performance. Anscombe slotted six penalties, a drop goal and a conversion, with a try assist boosting a top performance.
23. Rio Dyer: 5.5 – The Dragons man may well be called upon for an extended run in two weeks time, if Rees-Zammit’s injury is in anyway serious. His first involvement saw him halted by the Australian defenders, with an ambitious offload not going to hands. Only given the last 10 minutes so hard to stamp his mark on the match, but a useful talent for Gatland to have.