OKay so rewatched this game's first half (cba with whole game) to look at Tipuric, figured I'd give his involvements a rating from 1-10, also noting that I'd expect an average of around 6 from these because usually any involvement should in fact be positive in nature. Times are the video times, not match time. I havent included regular ruck inspections/clearouts, or lineout lifts. And if something is done just as per expected (eg lineout wo n on own throw) will not be given a 10 rating
8:07 - Lawes catches the ball having stopped and lost momentum, very upright, Tipuric rushes off the line. Lawes still make yards in the tackle despite receving man and ball at the same time. And although he's improved, carrying is not the strongest part of his game, poor impact from Justy boy - 2
10:10 makes a tackle on Anthony Watson, shepherding him into touch. Not overly physical, but good positive result - 7 (Pretends to attempt quick throw, and nails Watson in stomach for good measure with it)
Not involved in England's opening try other than initial maul defense
12:55 - Is in charge of attempting to Pressure Ben youngs box kick, makes minimal effort - 5 (as likely no outcome to come from it, but still, surprised at lack of effort)
17:00 - Last man to join the scrap, pathetic effort. Also looks confused when he arrives
no rating for this, just a joke
22:10 - Good tackle on marauding Curry, stops momentum dead, though was a joint tackle with Ken Owens, so - 6
23:35 - Farrell shoves Biggar, ends up tripping himself - LOLS
24:24 - Curry with minimal footwork gets on outside and breaks gain line through poor tackle attempt. Completed tackle, but leaves defense on back foot - 3
24:30 - Has ball kicked at him, reacts well to pick up rebound - 6 (Again nothing special here)
29:00 - Good defensive read, shoots up out of the line to prevent ball going wide - 7
29:58 - Watches as Jamie George steps in side, then attempts to obstruct Itoje reaching ruck from offside position. Not picked up by ref, but could have been - 4
30:05 - Grinding up against his outside centre, as George North wins a penalty by poaching
31:10 - Wins own lineout ball, sets up maul- Uncontested catch - 6
34:02 - Slaps ball back from England players after Kickoff scramble - 6
34:45 - Mainstream carry, lack energy, attempt at a show and go but no acceleration into contact or attempt to break tackle - 5
36:20 - Itoje Screaming at Welsh scrum half, leaning over a ruck. Relatively amusing
36:25 - Recipient of a crossfield kick from Biggar, held width well but not a contested catch. - 6
38:40 - Nice late pullback pass - 7
40:00 - Ruck inspecting and side entry (an odd combo) - Again got away with it, but pointless - 4
47:11 - Again charging down kick along AWJ, doesnt even raise his arms, confused as to why?
47:45 - In lineout, poor throw (very low) not meant for him, but slow to react at tail and knocks it on - 4
54:25 - Carries with more energy this time, tackled by Curry, Wriggles for a yard maybe - 6
So thats 84 points out of 16 involvements by my count, averaging a rating of 5.25
Thats only the actual involvements and doesnt take into effect he was a ruck inspector, with no real offensive ruck impacts other than being last man there and standing over a ball, he didnt slow any of England's ball all half
He makes a lot of tackles because he lurks in that 2nd man from the ruck spot, where you basically make every tackle against a play off the scrum half (which england didnt do a whole lot of this game, hence his lesser tackle number first half), and offensively lurks wide nearly all the time. Had no noticeable impact on the game bar a flashy kick out wide, and a good defensive read, maybe could add lineout prowess to that. Was poor in the tackle, in that he brought his man down but regularly lost a lot more ground than you'd expect from your openside, and the first hit on Lawes was particularly shocking in the resulting yardage gained by Lawes given the position he was hit in
ABsolutely nothing to say this man deserves the hype, he may look good in training and have lots of skills, blah blah blah, but in a rugby game from my openside, I'd say Mark Wilson, Lawes and Curry all provided more than he did (Yes that was the English backrow)
If in included his non involvements in these areas, I'd have him well below average in this first half performance. And i tried to be generous in my markings
Just let that sink in - Not a single defensive ruck involvement, not one from an OPENSIDE FLANKER
On a side note, Tuilagi red and England finish game with 13 men, letting Wales get close... maybe he stood out second half, because he loooks best against understaffed defenses in his wide out lurking
