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Wales vs England player ratings: Josh Adams and Liam Williams deliver for hosts in thrilling Six Nations win

A player-by-player look at the two teams

Jack de Menezes

Saturday 23 February 2019 22:17 GMT

Wales vs England - player ratings

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Wales vs England - player ratings

Wales: Rob Evans - 6

Penalised in the first scrum for collapsing that gave Farrell three points, but made a good recovery thereafter.

Wales vs England - player ratings

Ken Owens - 6

Looked nervous at the lineout, having his first throw picked off and getting pinged for a dummy-throw at the second, but his carrying provided Wales with some go-forward.

PA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Tomas Francis - 7

Impressed against fellow Exeter prop Moon as both came off equals in the front-row battle.

Wales vs England - player ratings

Cory Hill - 7

Cut a sublime line to score the try that broke England’s spirit, and was a key cog in the lineout along with Tipuric.

Wales vs England - player ratings

Alun Wyn Jones - 8

Hit hard by Vunipola and Lawes that sent him in reverse - something that doesn’t happen very often - but he was at his physical and brutal best. Carried hard every time he got the ball, though one looping pass was picked off by Nowell.

REUTERS

Wales vs England - player ratings

Josh Navidi - 8

One of the player’s of the tournament so far as he disrupted English ball at the breakdown and tackled his heart out. Key penalty when he forced May to hold on started the comeback.

Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Justin Tipuric - 8

Made a quick start with two big tackles within the first minute, though harshly penalised for a no-arm tackle. Caught napping for Curry’s try, but other than that he was excellent.

REUTERS

Wales vs England - player ratings

Ross Moriarty - 8

Hit Farrell on more than one occasion as they renewed their rivalry from two years ago. Hit hard himself once but he rarely went backwards in contact.

Wales vs England - player ratings

Gareth Davies - 7

Knocked on at the lineout when Wales had a chance in the red zone before the break but his defensive hurrying of Farrell was pivotal to Wales’ turnaround.

Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Gareth Anscombe - 7

Hit with a bone-shuddering tackle from Farrell that was just on the limit after kicking deep but kept his composure to kick Wales back into the match. Deserved more credit than the home fans gave him.

PA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Josh Adams - 8

Lively when Wales were in attack and made an important tackle on Jonny May when he threatened to break off a Slade offload. His finish for the final try was of the highest calibre and sent Cardiff delirious.

AFP/Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Hadleigh Parkes - 6

Turned over on a couple of occasions and on the end of a big tackle from Lawes early on. Found himself out wide quite a few times when he could have been more use in-field

PA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Jonathan Davies - 6

Kept quiet in attack as he struggled to get into the ball but was defensively impressive and set-up Anscombe’s early penalty in the second half that triggered the fightback.

REUTERS

Wales vs England - player ratings

George North - 7

Looked dangerous with ball in hand but England did a good job of doubling-up on him. Nearly scored when Dan Biggar threw a wide pass to him, but his run set-up Hill to go over for the try that broke England’s back.

REUTERS

Wales vs England - player ratings

Liam Williams - 8

Looked exhausted inside 15 minutes as England stretched him from one side to the other, but grew into the game and made a nice break off a deep catch. Defended well, preventing Farrell from getting on the end of his chip, and supreme in the air in the final half-hour to give Wales front-foot ball.

REUTERS

Wales vs England - player ratings

England: Ben Moon - 7

Can be proud of his performance on his first Six Nations start as he held up well in the scrum, before being replaced three minutes from time. A good shift.

Getty

Wales vs England - player ratings

Jamie George - 6

Failed to hook the ball in a scrum under pressure that nearly cost England dear when Davies kicked through, but otherwise was solid as we’ve come to expect.

Action Images via Reuters

Wales vs England - player ratings

Kyle Sinckler - 6

One of England’s standout tackles but the two penalties against him for blocking Anscombe and choking Jones proved costly, both for England and for him.

AFP/Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Courtney Lawes - 7

Three big tackles early on set the tone for England’s defence, but when he left the field in terrible shape with an apparent ankle injury, the talismanic bone-rattler had gone and so too has England’s bite.

AFP/Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

George Kruis - 6

Stole an early lineout to make the most of Owens’ nerves and supported well, but didn’t carry as much as some other second-row options are renowned for.

Action Images via Reuters

Wales vs England - player ratings

Mark Wilson - 6

Beaten to the breakdown by Navidi and Tipuric that left him fairly ineffective for the first time this championship.

AFP/Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Tom Curry - 9

Spotted the gap behind Tipuric to sneak through for his first international try, but his defensive effort was astronomical. 17 tackles by half-time was nothing short of incredible, and although his impact on the breakdown faded after the break as England struggled, this was a standout performance.

Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Billy Vunipola - 6

Tried to take on more responsibility and dropped deep regularly to run kicks back with impetus. Carried hard and was definitely a step in the right direction, but Wales’ defence proved up to the task.

Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Ben Youngs - 6

Did well to get back and field a Davies kick after turnover ball and prevent himself from carrying over the try line, but not able to do anything at all with ball in hand.

Wales vs England - player ratings

Owen Farrell - 5

Put under pressure from the off, being charged down in his own half and putting up a few misjudged kicks. Struggled to cope with Gareth Davies and it was a rare off-day from the England captain.

EPA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Jonny May - 6

Wales did a good job of keeping the ball away from him and testing his aerial skills out. But nearly seized his chance just before the break after chasing his own kick, only for Parkes to get there first. Targeted aerially in the second half, and his game was painfully ended when Tuilagi’s hip landed on his head with 10 minutes to go.

EPA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Manu Tuilagi - 6

Anonymous in the first half but looked like the player you expect him to be after the break. One strong carry and a flare-up with Liam Williams fired him up, and a 30-metre carry saw him beat both centres and Williams to put England on the attack that eventually lead to three points. Needs to do it more often to justify his place, though.

PA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Henry Slade - 6

Charged down Anscombe to stop a Wales attack and put England on the counter but otherwise kept rather quiet. Questions will be asked of his partnership with Tuilagi.

Getty Images

Wales vs England - player ratings

Jack Nowell - 7

One of England’s heard runners. Made important metres when he came to Youngs’ rescue on their own line, and helped the scrum-half out again when a loose lineout left him in retreat by burrowing through a gap in the Welsh pack.

PA

Wales vs England - player ratings

Elliot Daly - 6

Shanked a long-range penalty effort on the angle early on. Lost his positioning for the final try as he got too far under the ball to allow Adams to score, and questions over his aerial ability reemerged.

PA

Warren Gatland celebrated his final Six Nations match against England with a dramatic 21-13 victory in Cardiff that continues Wales' march towards the Grand Slam.

Second-row Cory Hill forced his way over in the 68th minute after a lengthy period of Welsh resurgence to seize the lead for the first time, his team thriving amid the arrival of replacement fly-half Dan Biggar from the bench to direct the final quarter.

And bedlam ensued at the Principality Stadium in the closing moments when Josh Adams grabbed Biggar's crossfield kicked to touch down and confirm a famous win.

Gatland's first taste of success over opposite number Eddie Jones in four attempts also set a new national record of 12 consecutive victories and was a fitting way to end their Championship rivalry before the Kiwi steps down after the World Cup.

So how did the two teams fare? See the gallery above for our player ratings.

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