Wales v England, player ratings: Owen Farrell must carry can for ill-discipline

Wales won the Triple Crown and moved two victories away from a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam after defeating England 40-24 at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, but how did each player perform? Ben Coles and Daniel Schofield run the rule over the starting XVs.

Wales

15. Liam Williams
Mixed bag. His support work with Rees-Zammit paid off for that bizarre try. Will be disappointed not to stop Watson and also charged down, but won a key turnover. 7/10

14. Louis Rees-Zammit
Did he knock on or not? Regardless it ended up in a try. His speed is such a weapon chasing high kicks too. Nearly caught the ball and scored at the end. 7/10

13. George North
The youngest Test centurion ever, which is some achievement. Required plenty of attention from England’s tacklers. Caught out for Slade’s line break but made some cracking cover tackles. 8/10

12. Jonathan Davies
Quiet first half, with Davies more of a distributor than a runner. Partnership with North has promise but needs time. Off with half an hour to go. 6/10

11. Josh Adams
Back in the side after his Covid-19 ban and the covering George Ford had no chance stopping Adams for his try off Biggar’s kick. Limited chances with the ball. 6/10

10. Dan Biggar
Good nudge to the corner set up opening three points and then a razor sharp cross-field kick caught England out for Adams’ try. Off after 45 minutes. 8/10

9. Kieran Hardy
Charged down early by Itoje, but nice snipe off the scrum in response and settled in, before sharp thinking led to his try from a tapped penalty. Impressive. 8/10

1. Wyn Jones
Soft hands in midfield and the scrum was solid enough too against Kyle Sinckler. Caught out though for Ben Youngs try around the ruck. 6/10

2. Ken Owens
Had one lineout towards the tail picked off but otherwise accurate. Forced Curry to knock on in a tackle with Navidi. 7/10

3. Tomas Francis
Moves well in the loose, with one nice tackle on Daly. Gave up a penalty for an offside tackle but his defence stuck out. 6/10

4. Adam Beard
Nice lineout steal poaching a ball intended for Wilson. Wales want more of him in the loose and he’s starting to deliver that too. Nailed-on starter now. 7/10

5. Alun Wyn Jones
Slipped off a few tackles but high work-rate, as ever, trying to keep up with Navidi in the tackle stakes. Easier afternoon with the referee than his counterpart. 7/10

6. Josh Navidi
Quickly established himself as Wales’ top tackler, no surprise, and they’re a far better side with him involved at the breakdown. Handling error cost Wales a penalty. 7/10

7. Justin Tipuric
Wales’ main man at the tail of the lineout - in fact most of the lineout - and his defence was sound again. Only saw glimpses of what he can do in attack. 7/10

8. Taulupe Faletau
Pinged for not rolling away but a prolific ball-carrier, finishing with 18 and made good ground throughout in another industrious performance. 8/10

England

15. Elliot Daly
Far more flashes of his old self but simply commits too many turnovers for an international full-back. Very hard to see him retaining his place. 4/10

14. Anthony Watson
Probably the best finisher in the Six Nations, taking the only opportunity that came his way. Some excellent work in defence. 7/10

13. Henry Slade
Felt like an aeon since we have seen him make a clean break in an England shirt. Still underused for a player of his class. 6/10

12. Owen Farrell
As captain has to bear responsibility for failing to get a handle on England’s terrrible discipline. A lot better playing performance by attacking the gainline. 3/10

11. Jonny May
Lost the much hyped footrace against Louis Rees-Zammitt. Did a lot of his best work under the high ball including the move that led to Youngs scoring. 6/10

10. George Ford
Still feels that he sits too deep to make the most of his passing ability, although unleashed a peach of pass to put Slade away. Kicking was far less accurate. 5/10

9. Ben Youngs
Should apply for a trademark on his dummy and go try but his passing is still not as sharp as it should be. England need to speed up the No 9 succession plan. 6/10

1. Mako Vunipola
So integral to the way England play with his little pull-back passes. Always near the top of the charts for carrying and tackling. 6/10

2. Jamie George
Needed a bit more devil. Restored to the team in place of Luke Cowan-Dickie but showed up far less as a carrier. Sumptuous pass for Watson’s try. 5/10

3. Kyle Sinckler
Exorcised some of the ghosts of 2019 with an all-action performance, giving England the nudge at the scrum and proving a focal point as a ball-carrier. 7/10

4. Maro Itoje
Some of the decisions were debatable but no player can afford to cough up five penalties. Discipline was already a concern. This was close to unforgivable. 4/10

5. Jonny Hill
Silly, silly penalty to concede that Hardy scored from spoiling an otherwise solid showing in which he came up with a lineout steals and a couple of massive tackles. 4/10

6. Mark Wilson
Eddie Jones bills him as England’s ‘glue’ player and he got through his customary tonne of work without making a defining contribution. 5/10

7. Tom Curry
Brilliant contest against Josh Navidi in the back row. Set the tone for a ferocious defensive effort and came up with some key turnovers. 7/10

8. Billy Vunipola
Somewhere near back to his best after being “rubbish” by his own admission in the previous two matches, carrying for 113 metres. 7/10