Wales player ratings: Dan Biggar finishes strong despite Rugby World Cup exit

Following Wales’ 29-17 loss to Argentina in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, here is how we rated Warren Gatland’s charges.

15 Liam Williams: There were doubts over whether he was fully fit for the fixture and was in the wars throughout the game. He battled through it for as long as he could, playing an hour of action before making way for Rio Dyer. He had a few bright moments on defence and bravely went in to pilfer over the ball at the breakdown. Williams got his hands on the ball plenty and gained over 120 metres. 7

14 Louis Rees-Zammit: The extremely talented winger got plenty of chances on attack and came close to scoring a superb try that would have got Wales back ahead in the latter stages. However, it was not to be, and while he did shine in attack at times, he was often wasteful as attacks stopped when the ball got wide to him. He also gave Argentina a great platform to strike from with his overcooked kick when he moved to full-back. 6

Midfielders

13 George North: A stellar offload created the opening try for Dan Biggar, and the veteran back continued to have a reasonably good game throughout, fronting up well on defence, too. 6

12 Nick Tompkins: Fizzed balls wide with superb accuracy, battled well on defence and added real value on attack. He was guilty of conceding three turnovers but was constantly busy around the park. 5

11 Josh Adams: Gave his all in every situation and battle, landing some great hits and working tirelessly on the kick chase. He won an excellent turnover and proved to be a real threat with the ball in hand whenever he got his hands on the ball. 6

Biggar signs off

10 Dan Biggar: A legend of Welsh rugby, and he gave it his all in his final game in the red jersey before hanging up his Test boots. Brilliantly finished off the opening score to put his side ahead. He kicked superbly and was excellent on defence, despite clearly struggling with an injury. 7

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🙌 Lovely continuity from Wales in the only try of the game so far! #RWC2023 #WALvARG pic.twitter.com/n0z0S9PJ3H

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023

9 Gareth Davies: A few handling errors, but he didn’t disappoint when North broke through the defence and offloaded to him as he set up Biggar for the opening score. It was an otherwise solid outing for the scrum-half who was replaced early in the second half. 6

Loose trio

8 Aaron Wainwright: Brilliantly busy and filled Taulupe Faletau’s void brilliant in a workaholic performance. He got his hands on the ball plenty, whether he was cleaning up loose passes or carrying to the line. 7

7 Tommy Reffell: One part of the double openside flanker tactic for Wales, and while Reffell regularly threatened the breakdown, he was unable to come up with a turnover. However, he was solid on defence, making 14 tackles during his 57-minute shift. It was a busy breakdown shift on attack, too, as he did not make a single carry and conceded one penalty. 6

6 Jac Morgan: Like his fellow back-rowers, Morgan fronted up and actually had a strong game despite the defeat. He was relentlessly busy on defence and had some good touches with ball in hand, beating four defenders and gaining over 20 metres. 7

Second-row

5 Adam Beard: Didn’t adjust the lineout calls with Ryan Elias struggling to hit the back jumper in the first half. He conceded a penalty, too, and like most of the forwards, he was busy on defence, racking up 15 tackles. Not a poor performance, but not a particularly great one. 5

4 Will Rowlands: He just never gave in. The second-rower just cracked on with his work, whether he was hammering into tackles or carrying hard to the line. 7

Front-row

3 Tomas Francis: Wales weren’t able to get the upper hand in the scrums, and Francis does have to shoulder a lot of the blame for that, with his side losing two of their own feeds while he and Gareth Thomas were on the pitch. He was sound defensively and offered a bit on attack, but Wales struggled at the set-piece. 5

2 Ryan Elias: He threw his weight around well on defence and was strong with ball in hand, but three poor lineout throws, from five, cost Wales promising attacking opportunities in the first half and was replaced at the break because of it. 4

1 Gareth Thomas: Much like Francis, he also didn’t have it all his own way at scrum time, conceding a penalty, but was strong defensively. 5

Replacements: When the changes started to be made, Wales began to lose control of the game. Dewi Lake did ease the lineout woes but conceded three penalties and Sam Costelow threw the intercept pass for Nicolas Sanchez. Tomos Williams was the only real shining light from the bench. 4

READ MORE: Argentina fight back to break Wales hearts in Rugby World Cup quarter-final