ENGLAND kept their second Grand Slam charge on course with an absolutely thrilling win in Cardiff, thanks to Elliot Daly.
The 24-year-old from Croydon showed the kind of street wisdom and cool head much needed for such an occasion.
But there were other stand-out performances on Taffside as England ran out 21-16 winners.
Not least those from man of the match Joe Launchbury and Wales’ No10 Dan Biggar, who may have played the best match of his career and Ross Moriarty at No8 for the hosts.
SunSport breaks down the marks out of 10 for each player.
WALES
Rob Evans – Folded under a crucial scrum, five yards from England’s tryline. But then got his act together and that seemed to drive on the Wales front row. 6
Ken Owens – Solid, had to keep those around him ticking over in the scrum when things looked shaky under Red Rose pressure. 7
Tom Francis – Deserved his start as loosehead prop, but as predicted was taken off ten minutes into the second half. 7
Jake Ball – Crucial to Wales’ defence, but doesn’t do any glory jobs. Was happy to ride through the tackles and suck in the England tacklers when he had the ball. 6
Alun Wyn Jones – Fluffed a crucial catch from Rhys Webb with the line beckoning, captain butterfingers! Needed a big performance tonight but couldn’t provide it unfortunately. 5
Sam Warburton – The flanker makes big plays, but he never showed he is still looking for that edge that made him hand over the captaincy. 5
Justin Tipuric – Unspectacular going forward from Tipuric, but was quietly keeping England at bay in defence, until an unfortunate end. 5
Ross Moriarty – High tackle on Jack Nowell wasn’t the ideal start, gave England the platform for their first three points. A driving tackle on Maro Itoje will do wonders for his confidence. Superb effort. 8
Rhys Webb – Solid game, but a knock-on and forward pass, it could have been better from Webb, who has still eyt to return to the form he showed before the Rugby World Cup, before he got injured. 6
Dan Biggar – Knew that he would most likely be taken off and replaced by Sam Davies if he did not perform. Got the Principality Stadium on its feet with a lovely grubber and chase in the first half, but was outpaced by Jack Nowell. Unlucky to be on the losing team, was at times simply magnificent. 9
Liam Williams – Looks better with each international appearance. Not all the pace in the world but a smart rugby player, his try under the posts showed superb movement. 7
Jonathan Davies – Who said the Wales centres can’t make ground? That seems to be the norm, but Davies was in good form at the Principality, adding yardage to Wales’ game. 6
Scott Williams – Unspectacular from Williams, you wouldn’t think he’d be knocking on the door of Warren Gatland’s Lions squad anytime soon, but then the England centres hardly shone in Cardiff. 5
Alex Cuthbert – Had massive questions on his head after stepping in as an unsurprising late replacement for George North. Was even booed by some of the Taffside crowd. His defence for Elliot Daly’s try in the corner summed up why he’s not fancied. 4
Leigh Halfpenny – Made a solid start with an early penalty from the off and then a nice kick to touch from deep. His kicking was good, but he did not really grow into the game. 6
Replacements
Gareth Davies – Kept his shoes on, but couldn’t see the match through for Wales. 6
Nicky Smith – Once he came on, there were less scrums, but did solid enough in the front row. 6
Samson Lee – More experienced than most of his front row team-mates. 6
Taulupe Faletau – Proved he needs games, got tackled within seconds of coming on and went backwards. Somehow, in typical Faletau fashion, he kept hold of the ball. 5
Scott Baldwin – Not much impact from Baldwin, made some handy tackles. 5
Jamie Roberts – Came on too late to make an impact, in many ways, has been the victim of the recent ‘Warrenball’ cull, but doesn’t look like getting a starting place back soon. 5
Related Articles
ENGLAND
Joe Marler – Carried hard and straight early on and scrummed like an absolute machine. Would have been looking to hit top form in this game after all the ‘Gypsy-gate’ saga that hung over him from last year. 7
Dylan Hartley – Clearly went out there to empty the tank knowing that Jamie George was waiting to finish the game off. Made a crucial tackle on Rhys Webb as the Dragons continued to impose themselves in the England half. 6
Dan Cole – Won a pressure-releiveing penalty with England well and and truly under the pump. Being asked to play longer and longer and could suffer for it. 7
STAR MAN – Joe Launchbury – Top tackler in a white shirt with a big performance in the battle of the would-be Lions locks. Rocked the gain-line and showed Warren Gatland he’s worthy of a trip to New Zealand. 9
Courtney Lawes – Smashed into the Wales wall time and time again. Tackled like a demon and never gave up. Always on hand to support Launchbury with two-man hits. 8
Maro Itoje – An immovable force over the ball after a tough week against France last time out. Days like these are why this guy is one of the most-talked about players in world rugby. 8
Jack Clifford – Welcomed into the game by being folded in half by the red wall of Wales rock-steady defence. Largely anonymous from there on in during his first Test start in the No7 shirt. 4
Nathan Hughes – Dumped on his backside early on. Got better as the game went on and managed to put in the sort of gain-line breaking hits England are used to from Billy Vunipola. 6
Mike Brown - One of Mr Angry's best games in a Red Rose shirt for a long time. Ran some deadly lines and instead of hogging it sprayed it around with some neat offloads. Huge heart. 7
Jack Nowell - Called a workhorse by Eddie Jones and worked like a dog yet again. Looked to come off his wing we he could to attack Wales through the middle. Nailed Liam Williams when he looked in for a score. 7
Jonathan Joseph - Superb long-range pass to Elliot Daly to help set-up Youngs' try. Tackled all day long even though he was limited to time with ball in hand as Wales kept him on a leash. 7
Owen Farrell - Completely spooked by the Liam Williams try as he stood there rooted to the spot as his teammate for next year ghosted past him. Missed converting Youngs' try before kicking some lifeline points. 6
Elliot Daly - A constant danger and menace and ran in the superb winner to stun Cardiff and keep the winning run going. Could have had even more points had he nailed a first-half penalty. 8
George Ford - Calm and cool under the intense pressure of this Anglo-Welsh grudge-match. Running it more and growing with every single game under Eddie Jones who has given him the keys to this side. 7
Ben Youngs - A nerve-steadying try on his 67th cap in a Red Rose shirt. But the hero became the villain when his box kick was charged down when England were camped on their own try line. 6
Replacements
Jamie George - Heroic display from the bench and must be due a start. 7
Matt Mullan - Shored-up a creaking scrum with a 10-minute cameo. 6
Kyle Sinckler - Almost got over the line as England ramped up the pressure. 6
Tom Wood - Came on as Jones emptied the bench to run the clock. 5
James Haskell - Man-marked Falateu in the battle of the big-name back-rows. 6
Danny Care - Kept up the ante and quick ball was crucial to the late drama. 7
Ben Te’o - First run out at 13 for England. Gave his side something different. 7
Jonny May - Turned on the gas with his one and only touch for needed yards. 6
Leave a comment