Wales’ player ratings at the halfway point of the Six Nations
It has been a bruising start to the campaign for Wales in the Six Nations Championship, with Steve Tandy’s side emerging from the opening three rounds without a win.
Heavy defeats to England and France laid bare the scale of the challenge, although there were clear signs of improvement in the narrow loss to Scotland; a Test match they should have won. With the first fallow week now offering a moment for reflection, it is an opportune time to assess how the players have fared so far.
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Aaron Wainwright 9
Despite Wales’ poor start to the Six Nations, Wainwright has been nothing short of outstanding.
The Dragons star has performed exceptionally well in a struggling side and would get into the starting XVs of many other tier one nations.
Wainwright consistently got Wales over the gainline even when operating behind a beaten front-five against England and France.
After three rounds Wainwright has made the second most post-contact metres out of any other player in the Championship with 70, is second in terms of dominant contacts and is second in terms of carries with 48.
Rhys Carré 7
The Saracens prop has been one of Wales’ better players.
Carré produced his best performance in a Wales shirt in the narrow defeat to Scotland, with 10 extremely powerful carries which yielded some much-needed gains in the contact area.
He took the game to the Scottish pack and crossed for a well-deserved try, his second during the Six Nations.
Carré has also scrummaged well but his challenge is consistency and lasting more of the game after getting replaced before the 50 minute mark against Scotland.
Sam Costelow 7
The Scarlets playmaker has only been selected for one game to date in the Championship but that was his best performance in a Wales shirt.
Costelow controlled the game superbly while his flat passing game unpicked the Scotland defence and got his backline going.
His kicking out of hand and at goal was extremely accurate while he ran the show.
Wales may even have won the game if Costelow hadn’t departed with what looked like a painful lower limb injury in the second-half.
Ben Carter 7
The Dragons lock had to make do with cameo appearances against England and France before making his first Six Nations start in the defeat to Scotland.
Carter was excellent against Gregor Townsend’s side, running the lineout and imposing himself physically throughout.
He also put in a credible 22 tackles and is in pole position to keep his shirt for the remainder of the Six Nations at least.
Carter has to target becoming Wales’ first choice lock at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Dafydd Jenkins 6
The Exeter Chiefs second-row put in a monster shift in the narrow defeat to Scotland, finishing the game as the top tackler with 24.
That was his best performance of the championship to date and Jenkins was dominant for large periods of the game.
His partnership with Ben Carter seemed much more fruitful than the one he had with Adam Beard.
In the opening two games of the championship he did not have enough of an effect on the game but he is a grafter who never stops going.
Eddie James 6
The powerful Scarlets centre endured a tough baptism of fire in the hammering against England at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
It was also tough going in the first half against France but he bounced back strongly after the break to put in a credible performance.
James has finally found his feet as an international centre, putting in a very good performance against British & Irish Lions pair Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.
He carried the ball into contact like he wanted to really hurt someone and regularly made metres, while his defence was very good.
A work in progress but has a very high ceiling.
Dewi Lake 6
The Wales captain had a horrible time against England at Twickenham as the lineout malfunctioned badly, while he also failed to tap the ball from a penalty five metres short of the line.
But the Gloucester-bound hooker has bounced back very well.
He has found a way to fix Wales’ lineout woes; this area of the game was nearly perfect against France and Scotland.
He also carried extremely well against Scotland and led from the front.
Consistency is the key.
Alex Mann 6
Found it tough going against both England and France, with Wales taken to the cleaners physically against both sides.
But he proved the doubters wrong in the narrow defeat to Scotland, putting in his best performance in a Wales shirt.
Mann was a good source of ball at the back of the lineout, was extremely physical and was far more effective at the contact area.
The Cardiff backrower needs to kick on from here.
Louis Rees-Zammit 6
It was always going to be difficult for any full-back playing on the back foot in the opening two games.
Apart from a few early fumbles Rees-Zammit has done reasonably well under the high-ball.
According to the official Six Nations stats he has made more metres than any other player (292) and is joint third with defenders beaten with (12).
But is he better off on the wing or full-back moving forward?
Nicky Smith 5
It was a tough start to the championship for Smith who was part of a Wales pack annihilated at Allianz Stadium Twickenham with his first-half yellow card proving costly.
Smith virtually played the whole second-half in the narrow defeat to Scotland and did reasonably well.
The Leicester Tigers loosehead was good in the scrum, carried well and won a turnover at the breakdown.
Tomas Francis 5
The experienced Provence tighthead has anchored the scrum well for Wales to date in the championship.
Francis is Wales’ best scrummaging tighthead by a country mile which is a cause for concern given he is 33 and approaching the end of his career.
He is in the side purely for his scrummaging but ideally Wales needs a tighthead who combines the set-piece with greater impact around the field.
Tomos Williams 5
Found it tough going in the opening two games, partly down to the fact he was playing on the back foot.
But Williams’ kicking out of hand was wayward which put his side under pressure.
To his credit he was far better against Scotland last weekend and helped get Wales’ attack ticking but his alleged croc roll in the second-half proved costly.
Josh Adams 5
The first two games were extremely difficult for Adams who was under pressure playing on the back foot.
But he enjoyed his best game for a long time against Scotland with some stellar defensive work, including a try-saving tackle on Kyle Steyn while also scrambling back well on a number of occasions.
He has also scored two tries so far in this season’s Six Nations.
James Botham 5
The Cardiff backrower was called into action after a mere 10 minutes against Scotland and had a strong game.
Botham was excellent in defence, won a turnover at the breakdown and was extremely physical throughout.
The one blot on his copybook was reacting too slowly when Finn Russell spotted Gabriel Hamer-Webb out of position for Darcy Graham’s decisive try.
Did not feature against England and France.
Ryan Elias 5
The Scarlets hooker has looked good as a replacement.
Elias has carried well and has got Wales over the gainline while the accuracy of his throwing in at the lineout has been much better.
Jarrod Evans 5
The Harlequins playmaker has done a good job off the bench and tried his best to get Wales’ attack going.
He kicked well against Scotland and put in a vital tackle on George Horne when the visitors were on the attack.
Joe Hawkins 4
The Scarlets centre was not included against England but started at inside centre when France and Scotland rocked up at the Principality Stadium.
It has been a mixed bag for the Scarlets centre who has provided a more physical presence than Ben Thomas but found it difficult defending against France.
Hawkins carried the ball well in the narrow defeat on Saturday but received a yellow card for a high tackle on Scotland backrower Gregor Brown.
Ellis Mee 4
The Scarlets wing had a tough day at the office in the opening weekend defeat at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
But Mee was one of Wales’ better players in the heavy defeat to France, competing well under the high ball and making one break down the touchline.
It was arguably harsh to drop the 22-year-old for the Scotland Test match.
Olly Cracknell 4
He tried his best to carry and get Wales over the gainline in his only start of the Six Nations against France.
But he found it very difficult to make much of an impact against the ferocious French pack.
Not included in the matchday 23 against Scotland as Wales went for more mobile options but still has a part to play.
Archie Griffin 3
The Bath tighthead endured a torrid time against Ellis Genge at Twickenham and struggled to make an impact on the game despite his best efforts.
His numbers are always high around the park but he got stuffed by Scotland’s Elliot Millar Mills in the decisive scrum last Saturday, which ended Wales’ hopes of a comeback victory.
Dan Edwards 3
The 22-year-old has been playing well for the Ospreys and was one of Wales’ better players in the autumn.
But he wasn’t at his best in the heavy defeats at Twickenham and against France in Cardiff, albeit it must be noted he was playing on the back foot.
His kicking out of hand wasn’t as accurate as it could have been while defensively the opposition made too many metres when running down Edwards’ channel.
But he is a quality player with high potential and is likely to get handed the keys to the number 10 shirt in Dublin following Sam Costelow’s injury.
Josh Macleod 3
The Scarlets captain was part of a pack beaten up against England in round one.
Macleod’s work rate was not an issue, putting in 12 tackles while he won a turnover penalty at the breakdown.
But on the whole England’s backrow ran riot at the contact area.
Not included in the matchday squads against France and Scotland.
Harri Deaves 3
Deaves was a second-half replacement against England but was not included against France and Scotland.
He made a good fist of it at Twickenham with some big tackles but it was a losing battle.
Gabriel Hamer-Webb 3
The Leicester Tigers wing had a tough outing against Scotland leaving the field early with a nasty laceration to his face before returning.
After understandably chasing Jarrod Evans’ shot at goal Finn Russell spotted the former Cardiff wing out of position at the restart which resulted in Darcy Graham’s try.
It is harsh to put this solely on Hamer-Webb’s shoulders but Wales should have dealt with it better.
Adam Beard 3
The Montpellier lock has endured a disappointing start to the Championship.
He was anonymous in the defeat to England and put in his poorest performance against France.
Beard missed a tackle on Théo Attissogbe in the first minute of the match which led to the opening France try and also decided to kick away possession after Dafydd Jenkins had worked his backside off to win a turnover.
Beard’s kick rebounded off the back of a France player leading to another try at the stroke of half-time which killed Wales.
For a player who has been ever-present in the starting XV over the past seven years getting dropped for the Scotland match must have been a bitter pill to swallow but he is good enough to bounce back.
Ben Thomas 3
The Cardiff playmaker struggled against England with his loose pass directly leading to Henry Arundell’s third try.
Thomas was subsequently dropped for the next couple of Test matches.
He will get a chance to bounce back this weekend after getting released to play for Cardiff against Leinster.
Taine Plumtree 3
The Scarlets backrower did not have the best start to the Championship, getting yellow carded and giving away a penalty try as a replacement against England.
Ironically had his best 10 minutes in a Wales shirt during the opening exchanges against Scotland before getting forced to leave the field with a nasty shoulder injury.