15. Stuart Hogg – 6
A couple of assured touches early on before retiring after 13 minutes with a head injury.
[Liam Williams 6]
14. Kyle Steyn – 8
Rock solid in defence. Dangerous in attack. Unlucky to be bundled into touch by some great Welsh scramble defence in the first half, but took his two tries well after the break.
[Josh Adams 7]
13. Huw Jones – 8
Ran a great line onto Tuipuloto’s pop-pass early doors to set up the critical first penalty. Tidy and compact throughout – and certainly not inconvenienced by George North’s physicality.
[George North 6]
12. Sione Tuipulotu – 8
The catalyst that takes the pressure off Russell and gives him the space he needs to work his magic. Now an essential cog in the team structure.
[Joe Hawkins 5]
11. Duhan van der Merwe – 8
Big and strong. Trouble for Wales every time he had the ball, though the Welsh did handle him better than the English did last week. Dan Biggar tested him in the air and he was not found wanting, but did tie himself in knots clearing up the Welsh stand-off’s clever grubber in the first half and was posted missing when Huw Jones broke through on Tuipuloto’s short pass.
[Rio Dyer 5]
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10. Finn Russell – 10
World class. The first half was not easy with Wales fighting their corner bravely but he kept pegging away, mixing it up and making his tackles, then 10 minutes into the second half he produced a phenomenal 50-20 kick which killed Wales stone dead. From there on in it was a Finn Russell masterclass – vision, sleight of hand, deft chips, searching pass-kicks, razor edged breaks – asking questions to which Wales simply had no answer. He did miss his last three conversions – but what the hell?
[Dan Biggar 7]
9. Ben White – 7
Looked sharp enough but struggled with the referee’s liberal interpretation of off-side at the breakdown, and his box-kicking could have been more competitive.
[Tomos Williams 6]
1. Pierre Schoeman – 8
Comfortable in the scrum, active in the loose — caught the eye with a great strip on Jac Morgan.
[Dillon Lewis 6]
2. George Turner – 9
Best forward on the park despite a yellow card which could have been a red – and which could very well have given Wales a route back into the game. Tremendous work-rate both sides of the ball. Exploded onto into the action to score his try, and did very well to get it grounded. Good darts.
[Ken Owens 7]
3. Zander Fagerson – 8
A welcome return, and none the worse for his sabbatical. Comfortable in the scrum and busy around the park. Carried aggressively to set up Russell’s second penalty.
[Wynn Jones 7]
4. Richie Gray – 7
The reliable ‘go to’ man at the line-out. Sure and steady elsewhere, but are the fires still burning?
[Dafydd Jenkins 7]
5. Grant Gilchrist – 9
Another big game from a big player. Not physically imposing, not particularly quick around the park, not dominant at the line-out – but the sum of the parts adds up to a great old-style second-row forward.
[Adam Beard 6]
6. Jamie Ritchie – 7
His own game takes care of itself, but he had to work hard at times in the first half just to keep the show on the road – which he did – and he kept it there until Russell’s magical mystery tour built up its own head of steam.
[Christ Tshiunza 7]
7. Luke Crosbie – 6
Disappointment after the euphoria at Twickenham last weekend. A tactical sacrifice for the ten minutes of George Turner’s yellow card and then he damaged his shoulder almost immediately after he got back onto the pitch, meaning had to withdraw just as it was getting interesting. And he has Hamish Watson breathing down his collar!
[Tommy Reffell 7]
8. Matt Fagerson – 9
The man is a workaholic, and not a bad rugby player either. A defensive bastion in the pressure pick-and-drive situations close to the line and always a big player in similar situations at the other end of the park. Rewarded for his part in van der Merwe’s final try at Twickenham by scoring the final try today.
[Jac Morgan 6]
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Replacements
16. Fraser Brown – 7
Came on for George Turner’s spell in the sin-bin then replaced him on the hour mark, and the various structures and systems didn’t miss a beat.
17. Jamie Bhatti – 7
A 64th minute arrival on the park with the game was already won. No fuss, no problem – only a job to be done – which they did professionally.
18. WP Nel – 7
See above.
19. Jonny Gray – 7
See above
20. Jack Dempsey – 6
Came on for Luke Crosbie in 44th minute and immediately gave away an absolutely needless penalty hard on the Welsh line.
21. George Horne – 7
Sharp and assured after replacing White on the hour mark.
22. Blair Kinghorn – 8
Grabbed his chance to give Gregor Townsend a genuine selection dilemma. Solid in defence, ran hard and took his try well, though a laboured pass did cost Kyle Stein a try
23. Chris Harris – 5
A cameo appearance in place of Sioni Tuipulotu in the 72nd minute.