Player Ratings - Scarlets vs La Rochelle
- 3436
Scarlets
1. Rob Evans – 7/10
Solid afternoon for the loosehead. Coped very well at scrum time under huge pressure from his opposite number. Carried 8 times for a respectable return of 20 metres gained.
2. Ken Owens – 8/10
The standout performer in an impressive Scarlets forward pack performance. Very accurate at the lineout, consistently providing his backline with an excellent attacking platform. Thoroughly deserving of the man of the match award.
3. Samson Lee – 6/10
Coped very well at scrum time under huge pressure from the opposition. Recorded a perfect tackle success rate but failed to get on the ball often enough.
4. Tadhg Beirne – 7/10
Another excellent performance from the Munster bound lock. He was an absolute nuisance throughout, securing several turnovers and constantly disrupting the speed of the La Rochelle attack.
5. David Bulbring – 6/10
Quiet afternoon from the big second rower. Good option at the lineout but failed to get his hands on the ball enough, only carrying 4 times.
6. Aaron Shingler – 6/10
Very solid work rate throughout. Made a couple of huge tackles around the park, got through a huge amount of work at the breakdown and threw some deft offloads.
7. James Davies – 7/10
Carried well and put in a good shift at the breakdown. Shifted to the wing early on after an injury to Asquith and didn’t look out of place. Showed great awareness to offload back inside to Scott Williams for Scarlets’ third and final try.
8. John Barclay – 6/10
Quiet afternoon for Barclay. Got through a solid amount of work at the breakdown and made some vital defensive tackles. However, he failed to make a real impact in an attacking sense.
9. Gareth Davies 6/10
Davies passing was solid as usual but his defence was equally solid as he completed a total of 11 tackles.
10.Rhys Patchell 7/10
Patchell was excellent going forward and orchestrated Scarlets attack well. He was rewarded for his attacking efforts with a try late on in the second half.
11.Steff Evans 6/10
Evans looked good when he got on the ball but was forced off in the second half through injury.
12.Hadleigh Parkes 7/10
Parkes was elusive in attack and seemed to cause La Rochelle a number of headaches. He made 14 runs and managed to beat a total of four defenders, which was the most out of any Scarlets player.
13.Scott Williams 6/10
Williams was strong going forward as he had a number of nice carries but he was somewhat questionable in defence completing just 3/5 tackles.
14.Paul Asquith N/A
Unfortunately, Paul Asquith was forced off early on through injury.
15.Leigh Halfpenny 7/10
Halfpenny was his usual self and only missed one kick the entire game. He was also threatening in attack completing 9 runs for an impressive return of 65 meters.
La Rochelle
- Charles Bouldoire – 6
Looked to be a clever fullback, with lovely kicks in behind the defence which turned them on their heels. La Rochelle were unlucky to lose him in the first half.
- Vincent Rattez – 5
Missed a crucial tackle on Rhys Patchell in the 2nd half when drifting across the field. It looked like the Scarlets fullback had butchered a try by straightening up but a weak hit from the French winger allowed him to breeze through for the try.
- Arthur Retiere – 7
Some great touches from the outside centre, including a chip and chase which led to the first try. Broke through the defence on a couple of occasions and was the visitors main threat in the backline.
- Pierre Aguillon – 6
Ran some decent lines to break through the middle at times but was completely outclassed by Welsh international Hadleigh Parkes.
- Steeve Barry – 7
Beat defenders with ease throughout the game, threatening the Scarlets defence, especially after James Davies was deputised on the right wing due to an injury to Paul Asquith.
- Jérémy Sinzelle – 5
Did not run the game well from stand-off. Benjamin Noble looked much better than the former French international when he came on for the final quarter of the game. Even the try he created with a chip in behind looked to be a wrong option only for poor cover from Scarlets back three allowing the French team to score.
- Alexi Bales – 4
Poor, aimless box kicking gave the dangerous Scarlets back-line the ball again and again. His kicking was far too deep for his teammates to contest and it led to him being replaced after 57 minutes.
- Afa Amosa – 6
Deputised for the talismanic Victor Vito well, carrying often for a gain of 20m. However, he couldn’t perform to the same effect as the former All Black who was sorely missed.
- Zeno Kieft – 5
Scarlets had an absolute field day at the breakdown and much more could have been asked of the La Rochelle openside, who played with limited effect, only making 3 tackles and making no turnovers.
- Levani Botia – 7
Looked to be La Rochelle’s go-to-man in the first half, when he carried hard and direct at the Scarlets defence. Unluckily for them, they lost him to injury early on, which led to a complete mismatch between the teams in terms of ball-carrying forwards.
- Mathieu Tanguy – 5
Though he was probably working well in the engine room for the scrum, as the La Rochelle pack rumbled forward, he was ineffective around the field, getting turned over on a couple of occasions.
- Romain Sazy – 5
Did really well to get the first try of the game in the first half, after a kick through from Sinzelle wasn’t dealt with. Went on to concede a massive 4 penalties, which is not good enough when your opposition has a goalkicker like Leigh Halfpenny in their ranks.
- Uini Atonio – 6
Was doing really well in the loose in the first half as Scarlets struggled to deal with his size and power. It’s a pity that he usually can’t last longer than 50 minutes given his stature.
- Pierre Bourgarit – 5
One of La Rochelle’s main ball carriers and part of a fantastic scrum that caused real problems for the hosts. However, he conceded 3 penalties throughout the game, one as silly as the next as Scarlets piled on the points.
- Dany Priso – 7
As said previously, the La Rochelle scrum was a force to be reckoned with. The French loosehead is a key part of that. He also carried with great intent, setting a platform for La Rochelle to play off of.
Replacements
- Kevin Gourdon - 7
Entered the fray early due to Botia’s injury. The French international was one of La Rochelle’s best forwards when on the field. His never-say-die attitude led to a consolation try for Boudehent, when he stole the ball on his own line, after time was up.
