England
Elliot Daly Tested out aerially early on but seemed much happier when moved to the wing. Took his try well. 7
Anthony Watson An impressive finish on his first appearance of the season. Will be delighted to put injury problems behind him. 7
Manu Tuilagi Can have no complaints with red card. Shame as it spoiled another impressive performance with a try to boot. 6
Owen Farrell (capt) Not a classic performance, giving away a few penalties. Cranked things up when Wales fought back. 6
Jonny May Had touched the ball just once before an accidental elbow to the head from Leigh Halfpenny ended his match after eight minutes. -
George Ford Has quietly had an excellent tournament and again exerted a calm authority. Put both Daly and Tuilagi away for tries. 8
Ben Youngs Lovely inside pass for Watson’s try and a vintage performance to silence those who think it is time for him to be put out to pasture. 9
Joe Marler Quickly went viral after getting too familiar with Alun Wyn Jones but played a pivotal part in England’s scrum dominance. 7
Jamie George Set-piece solid but hard to shake the feeling that he is staying in the side because of his leadership more than anything else. 7
Kyle Sinckler Quietly impressive throughout rather than going from one extreme to the other as he did against Wales last year. 8
Maro Itoje A constant thorn in Wales’s side. Allowed to get away with a lot at the breakdown but he was at his destructive best. 9
George Kruis A trademark performance on what may prove to be his last appearance for England. Lots of hard graft. 8
Courtney Lawes Has not always enjoyed playing at blindside but he excelled against Ireland and was similarly effective here. 9
Mark Wilson A relentless performance which was astounding given how little he has played this season. Ended with a remarkable 22 tackles. 9
Tom Curry He and Wilson dovetail together so well. Even in the closing stages, still flying into tackles with staggering commitment. 8
Wales
Leigh Halfpenny Kicked his goals but did not offer much in the way of an attacking threat. 6
George North Far too many handling errors. An early knock-on set Itoje away and another denied Wales a try in the first half. 5
Nick Tompkins Spooked by Tuilagi opposite him early on but drastically improved in the second half, playing a crucial role in Tipuric’s try. 8
Hadleigh Parkes Shanked an early kick, gave away a high tackle for which he might have seen yellow and handling left plenty to be desired. 4
Liam Williams A few signs of rust after such a long lay-off but occasionally threatened. Was not able to prise open England’s robust defence. 6
Dan Biggar Thumped by Curry and Tuilagi early on. Clever crossfield kick to Tipuric and always looking to create something. 8
Tomos Williams He will be disappointed with the way he slipped off Watson for the opening try but stayed cool to time pass to Tipuric perfectly. 6
Rob Evans rought in to shore up the scrum but Sinckler came off the better in their battle. Could not make his presence felt in the loose. 4
Ken Owens Got through plenty of work but had some wobbles at the lineout, understandably given England’s prowess in that area. 5
Dillon Lewis Went down with an injury early in the first half and did not come back out for the second. Is yet to truly convince at this level. 5
Jake Ball Made way in the second half with an arm injury. Does not quite have the heft in terms of carrying that Wales clearly need. 5
Alun Wyn Jones (capt) Conceded an early penalty and his attempts to wind up Itoje failed. His presence ensured Wales kept going till the last. 6
Ross Moriarty Attempts to ruffle Itoje’s feathers did not work. Still a way off the sort of form that earned him a place on last Lions tour. 5
Justin Tipuric Finished off what is surely the try of the championship. Did his utmost to effect things at the breakdown. 8
Josh Navidi Had a hand in Tipuric’s try and got through plenty of work. The decision to select him ahead of Faletau did not backfire. 7
