Ireland v Wales: Welsh player ratings
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:50
Wales were unable to rise to the occasion in their 27-12 Six Nations defeat to Ireland at Croke Park, Dublin.
A yellow card to Lee Byrne in the first half was costly for Wales as Ireland crossed the line twice while they were down to 14 men.
Too many errors again by Wales when they had the ball in hand and yet again they will feel they haven't played to their potential as has been the case for them throughout the competition.
Timmy Hancox rates the Welsh players:
Wales:
15 Lee Byrne: Replaced by Andrew Bishop
He did produce a few useful breaks, but in the end was the villain for Wales for his yellow card in the 25th minute while the score was locked at 6-6.
4/10
14 Leigh Halfpenny:
Had a quiet game by his standards and didn't have a lot of opportunities to run with the ball. He was beaten for pace by Keith Earls, but did put in
some good tackles with a big hit on Geordan Murphy in particular..
6/10
13 James Hook:
Wasn't able to slip through the gaps with a tight Irish defence shutting him down, but he did keep Brian O'Driscoll quiet with some very good tackling.
6/10
12 Jamie Roberts:
Carried the ball over the advantage line and straightened the line constantly with strong running, but couldn't ever slip through the Irish defence and create a try scoring opportunity.
7/10
11 Shane Williams:
He was never allowed any space to work with and attempted some kicks down the touchline that didn't work in an effort to make his presence felt. He coped with the elusive Tommy Bowe on defence well enough.
6/10
10 Stephen Jones:
Had a 100 percent record with his goal kicking and was one of the better Welsh backs
without managing to create a big break for the outside backs.
7/10
9 Richie Rees: Replaced by Dwayne Peel
Was completely out-shone by a great performance by his opposite number and wasn't able to get any control over proceedings.
5/10
8 Gareth Delve:
Read the game well to collect several Irish kicks over the top and was a more than useful ball carrier.
7/10
7 Martyn Williams: Replaced by Sam Warburton
Was his usual work-horse self and got around the park well with some cameo appearances in the backline.
7/10
6 Jonathan Thomas:
Had a hard working game but didn't shine on the side of the scrum with lock looking like better fit for him.
6/10
5 Luke Charteris:
Competed well in the line-outs and did some handy work in the
tight-loose to secure the ball for his side.
6/10
4 Bradley Davies:
Did a sterling job at first receiver and carried the ball up strongly to get over the gain line repeatedly.
7/10
3 Adam Rhys Jones:
Scrummed well and did some good work on the defence with a few big tackles.
6/10
2 Matthew Rees: Replaced by Huw Bennett
Had a poor day throwing into the line-outs and showed a distinct lack of match fitness after a long injury absence.
5/10
1 Paul James: Replaced by Rhys Gill
Wasn't able to get any dominance over John Hayse and lost a crucial scrum against the head that was very costly.
5/10
16 Huw Bennett: On for Matthew Rees in the 57th minute.
Did well in the line-outs and carried the ball up at first receiver a few times
without making a big impact from the bench.
6/10
17 Rhys Gill: On for Paul James in the 77th minute.
Not on long enough to be rated.
18 Ian Gough: On for Bradley Davies in the 59th minute.
Not on long enough to be rated.
19 Sam Warburton: On for Martyn Williams in the 69th minute.
Not on long enough to be rated.
20 Dwayne Peel: On for Richie Rees in the 62nd minute
Not on long enough to be rated.
21 Andrew Bishop: On for Lee Byrne in the 65th minute.
Not on long enough to be rated.
22 Tom Shanklin:
Not used
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